Weidelsburg Castle (Ruin) (Ippinghausen)

The exact period of construction and the original builders of Weidelsburg are unknown, but it was first documented in the 12th century. Its function was to secure trade routes and the border of the Landgraviate of Hesse against Waldeck and Mainz. In 1266, the castle came into the possession of the Archbishopric of Mainz through purchase and was destroyed as early as 1275 during a conflict between Archbishop Werner von Eppstein and Landgrave Heinrich I of Hesse. The parts visible today originate from a reconstruction that began about a century later. In 1380, Landgrave Hermann II of Hesse and Count Heinrich VI of Waldeck attempted to rebuild the castle, but had to cease work two years later due to older claims by the Mainz Archbishop Adolf I of Nassau. Seven years later, the Archbishop himself initiated the reconstruction by the Lords of Hertingshausen.