Bertradaburg

Mürlenbach, Germany, Germany

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Bertradaburg is a ruined hill castle on a rocky spur at 348 meters above sea level above Mürlenbach in Rhineland-Palatinate's Vulkaneifel region, Germany, built on remnants of a Roman castrum that likely guarded the ancient road from Trier to Cologne.

First recorded in the 13th century as a state fortress of Prüm Abbey under Abbot Heinrich von Prüm, local legends link it to Bertrada the Elder—Charlemagne's great-grandmother—and even claim it as his birthplace around 747 AD, though fortified in the early Middle Ages with advanced features like fireplaces in all rooms.

Seized and auctioned during French secularization after 1794, its surviving 30-meter double tower gate, shield wall, and roundel were restored in the late 20th century with state funding, now privately owned with holiday apartments and open for guided tours and the annual Mürlenbach Castle Festival.