New Wolfstein Castle

Wolfstein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, Germany

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New Wolfstein Castle, or Burg Neu‑Wolfstein, is a ruined hill castle standing on a 238‑meter‑high hill directly above the town of Wolfstein in the Kusel district of Rhineland‑Palatinate, Germany.

It probably dates to the late 13th or early 14th century and was built in connection with the founding of Wolfstein as part of the town’s defenses, likely under Habsburg King Rudolf I, and first appears in records in 1324 as “Hus zu Wolvenstein.”

The castle served secular and administrative functions over time, including housing the town’s Amtskellerei, but was badly damaged in the Landshut War of Succession in 1503, demolished and rebuilt in 1609, and then destroyed by French troops in 1688 during the War of the Palatine Succession, after which it was rebuilt again as a barracks and later used as a quarry.

Today only the ruins remain, recognized as a cultural monument, offering a modest but atmospheric medieval site that visitors can explore as part of a walk through Wolfstein’s hilltop landscape.