Tanstein Castle

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The Dahn Castle Group

The castle Tanstein is the ruin of a rock castle in the southern Palatinate Forest, the German part of the Wasgau, about 1 km east of Rhineland-Palatinate town of Dahn.

Location

The castle belongs to the Dahn Castle group, are among the more castles Altdahn and Grafendahn. The three castles were not the same, but right next to each other built on a mountain ridge. A similar form of castle building can be found, for example, in the Vosges Mountains in Alsace in the top three castles of Husseren.

History

Of the three castles of the group Tanstein is the oldest. A document from 1127 mentions a Anshelmus de Tannicka as the owner or manager; therefore the beginning of the 12th century is thought to be Constructed the castle. 1189 Heinrich von Thantrue is mentioned in a document of Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa and name to the castle as a direct fief. In the aftermath of Dahn and still Ulrich Konrad von Dahn be named as Reichministerialen. Since 1328 the castle is regarded as a fief of the bishops of Speyer. Until 1464 more often falls on change of ownership so that it can be assumed that the fief was assigned again and again, so was not hereditary in this phase.

1512 acquired Friedrich von Dahn Castle. Because he was an ally of the knight Franz von Sickingen, he was involved in the battles with the southwest German princes. After Sickingen defeat and death in 1523 also Tanstein fell into the hands of the victors. The occupation by troops of the Archbishop of Trier lasted until 1544 and resulted probably irreparable damage to the building structure, because in 1585 the castle was finally abandoned. 1689, at the start of the Nine Years War, the French destroyed the ruin completely.

Plant

Tanstein castle is located on the two westernmost castle rock castle of the Dahn group. Both were previously connected by a bridge. On the rocks are modern parapet walls that were set rather arbitrarily and give no impression of the former castle building. The western rock was apparently built with residential tower - like buildings which emulated on the rocks. Give testimony beam holes and processings on the rocks and a large cistern, where you caught the water from the roofs.

The south to the lower castle still has original masonry, but which dates from the 15th century. It contained ruins of a forge and a furnace.