Burg Trifels

Annweiler, Germany, Germany

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Burg Trifels is a majestic reconstructed medieval castle perched at 500 meters above the Queich Valley near Annweiler am Trifels in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, part of a trio of hilltop fortresses including Anebos and Scharfenberg.

First documented in 1081 under the Salian dynasty and elevated to an imperial Reichsburg by Emperor Henry V in 1113, it housed the Holy Roman Empire's crown jewels and served as a state prison for notables like England's King Richard the Lionheart from 1193 to 1194, remaining a power center for the Hohenstaufen emperors until around 1330.

Destroyed by fire in 1602 after lightning struck, it decayed into a quarry until 19th-century restorations by Bavaria and the Trifels Association, with further Nazi-era and postwar rebuilding creating its current form featuring a treasure chamber with regalia replicas, towers, and panoramic views popular with hikers.