Schoenburg Castle

Oberwesel, Germany, Germany

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Schönburg Castle, perched above Oberwesel on the Rhine River in Germany, is a medieval fortress first documented between 911 and 1166.

From the 12th century, the Lords of Schönburg controlled the town and levied Rhine customs duties, with up to 24 families sharing the site by the 14th century due to equal inheritance among sons.

Destroyed by French troops in 1689 during the War of the Palatinate Succession, it lay in ruins for 200 years—praised by Victor Hugo—until restoration by the Rhinelander family in the late 19th century; today, it operates as a hotel with stunning river views.