Burgruine Rietburg

Rhodt unter Rietburg, Germany, Germany

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Burgruine Rietburg towers at 535 meters on the slopes of Blättersberg mountain above Rhodt unter Rietburg in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, built between 1200 and 1204 by Conrad II von Riet—vassals of Weißenburg Abbey and later Hohenstaufen ministeriales—as a hillside castle guarding regional trade routes.

Seized as an imperial castle in 1255 after Hermann von Riet's infamous hostage-taking of Welf Queen Elisabeth, it passed to Ochsenstein, Leiningen, and Speyer bishops, enduring the 1470 Weißenburg Feud yet suffering destruction in the Thirty Years' War.

Preserved since 1925 with excavations uncovering 580 16th-century coins, it features partial walls and rooms, now enhanced by a refuge hut, restaurant, cable car, and annual hill run for visitors.