Kirkel () is a municipality in the Saarpfalz district in

Saarland Saarland (, ; ) is a state of Germany in the southwest of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and the smallest in ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is situated approximatively 8 km southeast of Neunkirchen, and 20 km east/northeast of

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ; ; ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken has 181,959 inhabitants and is Saarland's administrative, commerci ...

Overview

A rather well-preserved

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

ruin Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

is located a few hundred metres from the town centre. The small Kirkel castle was built in 1075 and is the town's landmark. Located on top of a small castle hill, and due to its large tower with 169 steps to the top, it can be seen from a great distance. Kirkel has the densest forest range in whole Saarland region. It attracts many visitors due to its nice picturesque valleys and greenery over the hills. Kirkel celebrates festivals more than any other place in the area. The most famous sight was the "Wurstmarkt" around August, which lasted for five days with a proper beer festival. As of 2014, no more Wurstmarkts are being held in Kirkel.

Attractions

* Philippi Collection

References

External links

Burgsommer auf Burg Kirkel

Castle Kirkel
Castles in Saarland Saarpfalz-Kreis Palatinate (region) {{Saarland-geo-stub