Randeck Castle (Palatinate)
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Randeck Castle ( or ''Randegg'') is a
ruined 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 ...
hill castle A hill castle or mountain castle is a castle built on a natural feature that stands above the surrounding terrain. It is a term derived from the German ''Höhenburg'' used in categorising castle sites by their topographical location. Hill castles a ...
on the ''Schlossberg'' () roughly west of the
wine growing Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ...
village of
Mannweiler-Cölln Mannweiler-Cölln is a municipality in the Donnersbergkreis district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Mannweiler-Cölln is located in the Alsenz river valley in the North Palatine Uplands. It borders Oberndorf, Bayerfeld-Steckweiler ...
on the River
Alsenz Alsenz () is a municipality in the Donnersbergkreis district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Alsenz has an area of 12.88 km2 and a population of 1,647 (as of December 31, 2020). Culture and sights In the centre of the village is the Re ...
in the county of
Donnersbergkreis The Donnersbergkreis is a district (''Kreis'') in the middle of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are Bad Kreuznach, Alzey-Worms, Bad Dürkheim, Kaiserslautern, Kusel. History The district was created in 1969 by merging the dist ...
in the German state of
Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...
. It was the family seat of the lords of Randeck.


History

The castle was probably built in the 12th century. It is first recorded in 1202 with a Henry of Randeck (''Henricus de Randeke''). He was probably a grandson of Ulrich of Wartenberg.Martin Dolch, Stefan Ulrich: Pfälzisches Burgenlexikon IV.1 O-Sp, Kaiserslautern, 2007, , pp. 198 - 206. He was succeeded in 1231 by his son Godfrey I of Randeck. The grandson of Godfrey in 1298, Dietrich of Randeck. Another grandson in 1311, George of Randeck. From here were also descended Eberhard of Randeck (d 1372),
cathedral dean A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
and Bishop-elect of Speyer. The castle was loaned in 1649 by Emperor Ferdinand III to the
Teutonic knight The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...
, Hans Ludwig of
Lewenstein Lewenstein is a Yiddish-language surname. Notable people with the name include: *Maciej Lewenstein, Polish theoretical physicist * Moshe Yaakov Kopel HaLevi Lewenstein, German rabbi and writer *Oscar Lewenstein, British theatre and film producer ...
. After the Lewensteins died out, the castle fell in 1668 to the
Electoral Mainz The Electorate of Mainz ( or '; ), previously known in English as Mentz and by its French name Mayence, was one of the most prestigious and influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. In the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, the Archbishop-Elec ...
chancellor, Nikolaus Georg Reigersberg. In 1690, during the
War of the Palatine Succession The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between France and the Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial possessions in the Americas, India, and West Africa. Relat ...
, the castle was suddenly stormed by the French and blown up. Despite that, a few of its buildings were made habitable again. It was reported in 1844 that the castle was in private hands; it was torn down and its materials utilised. Today, the castle is owned by the Cultural History Society of Mannweiler-Cölln. The remains of the
enceinte Enceinte (from Latin ''incinctus'' "girdled, surrounded") is a French term that refers to the "main defensive enclosure of a fortification". For a castle, this is the main defensive line of wall towers and curtain walls enclosing the positio ...
, a corner
outwork An outwork is a minor fortification built or established outside the principal fortification limits, detached or semidetached. Outworks such as ravelins, lunettes (demilunes), flèches and caponier A caponier is a type of defensive structur ...
, the
flanking tower A flanking tower is a fortified tower that is sited on the outside of a defensive wall or other fortified structure and thus forms a flank. From the defensive platform and embrasures the section of wall between them (the curtain wall) could b ...
s and the foundations of the ''
bergfried ''Bergfried'' (plural: ''bergfriede''; English: ''belfry''; French: ''tour-beffroi''; Italian: ''torrione''; Castilian: ''torre del homenaje'') is a tall tower that is typically found in castles of the Middle Ages in German-speaking countries an ...
'' have survived.


References


External links

*
Burg Randegg bei burgenwelt.de
{{Authority control Castles in Rhineland-Palatinate Heritage sites in Rhineland-Palatinate Donnersbergkreis