Ruine Falkenberg

Wabern, Hesse, Germany, Germany

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Ruine Falkenberg, also known as the Alte Burg or Oberburg, is a ruined medieval hill castle perched on a 255-meter basalt peak in Falkenberg, part of Wabern in Germany's Schwalm-Eder-Kreis, Hesse, surrounded by protected elm woodlands.

Built around the mid-13th century by Konrad von Hebel at a key trade route junction from Hersfeld to Fritzlar, Kassel, and Gudensberg, it was first documented in 1250 as Valkenberc in a charter by Count Gottfried I of Ziegenhain.

Passed through families like Falkenberg, Hebel, Holzsadel, Riedesel, and Urff amid feuds between Hesse and Mainz—ceded to Hesse in 1354—it was repaired 1437-1454 before decay set in after the Falkenbergs inherited nearby Schloss Falkenberg around 1521 and relocated, leading to its abandonment and 1621 demolition.