Sporkenburg

Eitelborn, Germany, Germany

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Sporkenburg is a late medieval castle ruin perched in the forested Westerwald hills about one kilometer south of Eitelborn in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, known for its spur castle design with a fortified inner ward measuring 35 by 18 meters.

First constructed in the late 13th century by Emmerich of Andernach and Henry of Lahnstein, it was destroyed by Count Otto of Nassau before Heinrich II of Helfenstein rebuilt it around 1310 as a fief of Trier's Archbishop Baldwin, serving as the center of the Helfenstein-Sporkenburg lordship with a distinctive 20-meter shield wall, bartizans, and a surviving Palas hall.

Sold in 1515 already partly ruined, it passed to the von Nassau and von Metternich families before French troops razed it in 1635 during the Thirty Years' War, with state restoration efforts beginning in 1967 and modern audio guides enhancing visitor access today.