Situated on the River Lahn about four miles above the town of Limburg in the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau, stands this very ancient and partly ruined castle, surrounded by a small village.  This castle was built about 1059 A.D.  The bridge across the Lahn River provided easy access to the Castle of Schadeck, built by a cousin of the Lords of Runkel.  When the Lordships of Runkel and Westerburg separated, this cousin became the Lord of Westerburg.

Despite the often tumultuous times through which the castle existed, it was not until mid-1634 that the castle was significantly damaged, when Croatian soldiers fighting for Spain and Austria invaded Germany and stormed the castle, plundering and buring it.  In 1642 the castle was rebuilt.

This castle continued as the home of the Lords of Runkel until 1825, when, upon the death of the last in the direct line, the property passed to another branch of the family.  The castle became the possession of the Princes of Weid-Neuwied, who have their own castle at Neuweid on the Rhine River and have never used the Castle of Runkel as their residence.

In the late 1800s, with no continuing occupation and care, much of the castle had fallen into ruin, with the remainder being used by the town of Runkel as a town hall.

Excerpted from: Ben Van Dorn Fisher, 1899, The Runkle Family, T.A. Wright, Publisher, New York, pp. 9-12.

The Runkel Castle from an old photograph

A postcard of the Runkel Castle and the town of Runkel on the Lahn River, Germany

A postcard of the town of Runkel

A 1995 image of the Runkel Castle

---

Links

Runkle Family History

Runkle Family Association Home Page

This page created and maintained by:

Thanks to the generous support from: