Beilstein Castle (Ruin)

Beilstein Castle is a castle ruin in the village of Beilstein, which belongs to the municipality of Greifenstein, about 10 kilometers southwest of Herborn and 17 kilometers northwest of the city of Wetzlar.

It is located in the eastern Westerwald in Hesse, close to the border with Rhineland-Palatinate. The castle ruin lies only a few meters above the village of the same name, which itself is situated at an altitude of about 355 meters above sea level in the Ulmbach valley.

The Lords of Beilstein were first mentioned in a document in 1129, and they probably began construction of the castle at that time on the remains of an older, but destroyed, castle complex. Later, the Counts of Nassau came into possession of the complex, which they further expanded and strengthened.

In the first half of the 14th century, the current palas was built, which had a floor area of about 23 by 9 meters and, with its three and a half stories, reached a height of well over 13 meters. The two end sides were designed like shield walls and had a tourelle at each corner for reinforcement. Towards the southern and mountain-facing side, the economic buildings were secured by a moat.

After the Thirty Years' War, the complex increasingly lost its importance and fell into disrepair. It was sold "for demolition" in 1812, with large parts of the palas subsequently being removed. The first stabilization measures were only carried out in the 20th century.

Until the beginning of the 21st century, the appearance of the castle was characterized by the still towering southeastern side of the palas building with its two tourelles. It was possible to climb the ruin, which also temporarily housed a restaurant. While some economic buildings were still inhabited or housed the restaurant, the remaining buildings of the outer bailey and the northwestern part of the palas were ruins.