Schlosseck Castle

Schlosseck Castle, also spelled Schloßeck, is a Staufer-era castle ruin built on the site of a facility dating back to the 9th/10th century. It is located near Hardenburg, a district of Bad Dürkheim in Rhineland-Pfalz, above the Isenach Valley on a spur of the Rahnfels.

There are no documentary records about the castle, and its original name is unknown. The name Schlosseck is a post-medieval popular tradition. The oldest structural remains date back to the 9th or 10th century and originate from an early medieval refuge castle (cf. Heidenlöcher, Waldschlössel). In the early 13th century, a high medieval new building was erected. Given the territorial conditions at that time, the Counts of Leiningen can be assumed to be the builders. Archaeological excavations revealed that it probably fell victim to a fire in the same century, but was still inhabited in the 14th century.

Christian Mehlis carried out the first excavations on the site in 1879. The castle portal was reconstructed from finds between 1883 and 1884. From 1988 to 1989, conservation measures were carried out on the castle. Since 1963, the complex has belonged to the state castle administration of Rhineland-Pfalz.