Vetzberg Castle (Ruin)

The origins of the upper castle with its keep likely date back to the first half of the 12th century, with its first documented mention in 1150. In 1226, it was referred to as Vogtisberg, indicating its function as a secondary castle for the Counts of Gleiberg, administered by their bailiffs. From the mid-13th century, an expansion took place with the construction of the lower castle. The castle was the ancestral seat of the Dernbacher Ganerbschaft, a noble family in the 14th and 15th centuries. Due to brigandage, Vetzberg was besieged and destroyed multiple times, most recently in 1463 by the city captain of Frankfurt. With the "Eternal Public Peace" of 1495, the castle's significance ended, and the last co-heirs abandoned the complex. In 1765, the remaining co-heirs sold their rights to the Princes of Nassau-Weilburg, after which the castle gradually fell into disrepair.