Winzingen Castle

The earliest evidence of Winzingen Castle, including parts of the curtain wall and the ruin of St. Nicholas Chapel, dates to the 11th century. The castle's name is derived from the village of Winzingen, mentioned as early as 774, which later became part of Neustadt. The castle was first documented in 1146 in connection with Knight Berthold von Winzingen. After his death in 1155, the complex passed to Konrad von Hohenstaufen, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa's brother. In 1248, Count Palatine Otto II appointed Count Emich IV of Leiningen as castellan. Louis the Bavarian granted the already significantly dilapidated castle to his chancellor Hermann von Lichtenberg in 1324. Following the Palatine partition, Count Palatine Rudolf II appointed Count Emich V of Leiningen as castellan in 1350. An event was the birth of Elector Frederick II at the castle in 1482. During the Peasants' War of 1525, the castle suffered destruction and looting. In 1576, Count Palatine Johann Casimir inherited the complex and restored it, as evidenced by a painting from 1610. During the War of the Palatine Succession, the castle was occupied by French troops and largely destroyed by Hessian troops in 1696.