Rabeneck Castle

The castle ruin Kräheneck (Rabeneck), also called Weißenstein or Dillweißenstein, is located at Kräheneckstraße 4 in the Dillweißenstein district of the city of Pforzheim in Baden-Württemberg.

The name Rabeneck used for the castle is not of historical origin. The castle ruin has nothing to do with Rabeneck Castle, nor with the patrician family of the same name.

Today, the castle is used as a restaurant and youth hostel. Before 1835, only the name Burg Weißenstein was common; since then, Rabeneck has prevailed.

The lowland castle was built around 1240 by the Lords of Weißenstein and inhabited until 1295. 800 meters as the crow flies, on a mountain spur, lies the ruin of Kräheneck Castle, which was probably a defensive castle for Rabeneck. In the following period, the castle is mentioned under frequently changing feudal lords. The Lords of Weißenstein were in a feudal relationship with the Margraves of Baden. Further feudal tenants after 1444 were the Lords of Kaltental, the Lords of Ehingen, and the Lords of Neuhausen. At the end of the 16th century, the castle fell to Martin von Remchingen.

In 1649, a citizen acquired the castle and used it as a quarry with official permission. Rabeneck was an elongated, trapezoidal small complex with remains of a former four-story residential building. The dismantling of the ruin was only stopped in 1855 when the Baden state acquired the remains. This probably happened on the initiative of the engineer Ludwig Naeher, who was very actively involved in monument preservation.

In 1877, buttresses were installed as structural safety measures. In 1885, some parts were secured and partially demolished again.

After the city of Pforzheim acquired the ruin, which still shows wall remains of the palas and the shield wall, it was converted into a youth hostel between 1958 and 1959. The cubic building in the castle courtyard was built according to plans by the municipal building authority. This building was replaced by a significantly larger new building between 1995 and 1996. The plans for this came from Ralf Rinnebach of the municipal building authority. At the same time, some ruin walls were renovated. The northern curtain wall was repaired from 1997 to 1998.

A vaulted cellar, which was filled in 1958, was uncovered and integrated during the new construction. A part of the defensive wall, which was demolished undocumented at the time, could not be reconstructed.