Top 5 Castles around Minfeld

Today, not much is known about the building named „Affelderle“ – derived from the Middle High German word „Affalter“ for apple tree. It is a „lost castle“, a „Lost Place“, where there is not much left to see, and about which not much can be said with certainty anymore. It is said that the castle was once also called „Streitstein“ or „Schloss Streithberg“ (mentioned in 1574), it was probably built as early as the 10th century by the Weißenburg Abbey to defend the Rhine crossing Pfortz (Maximiliansau) – Knielingen and to protect against raids by Normans and Hungarians. The castle was originally built only of wood and earth; it was not until the 11th or 12th century that the stone construction is said to have been created: a motte-and-bailey castle with a strong ring wall and a drawbridge over the defensive moat. Such castles are known from French, where they are called „Motte“ („lump of earth“, „mound“). An early medieval castle type, built primarily of wood, whose main feature is an artificially created earth mound with a mostly tower-shaped building.

A very nice tour through the beautiful Palatinate landscape with its vineyards, small villages and many opportunities to stop and linger.

impressive gate system

According to Rheinpfalz, the castle tavern is currently not open.

In the Peasants' War of 1525, the castle in Bergzabern, which was first mentioned in 1333, was plundered and burned down. In the years up to 1532, the destroyed castle was rebuilt as a fortified palace on the same site. The south building was built first, founded on oak piles because of the swampy ground: called the Ludwigsbau after its builder, Ludwig the Black of Palatinate-Zweibrücken. The two round towers in the west and east served to house cannons, and the living and utility rooms were on the two upper floors. The complex was protected by a moat; a connection to the city wall is likely, but cannot be reconstructed today. The Wolfgangsbau was built between 1561 and 1579, a three-wing extension that adjoined the Ludwigsbau to the north. Begun under Duke Wolfgang, the Wolfgangsbau was completed under his son Johann I. The outstanding architectural feature is the giant gate in the Renaissance style. The castle was plundered during the Thirty Years' War. On February 20, 1676, French raiding parties from the Philippsburg fortress burned down the castle and destroyed parts of the town. In 1704, the building had no roof, and the cellars under the Ludwigsbau and the east wing of the Wolfgangsbau were used primarily. From 1720 to 1725, the castle was rebuilt under the direction of the Swedish-Zweibrücken chief building director Jonas Ericson Sundahl and inventory for the living quarters was purchased. In 1728, the castle was habitable again. A high point in the history of the town and castle of Bergzabern was the years 1744 to 1774, when the widow of Christian III, Duchess Caroline of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, had her widow's residence in the castle. The castle suffered damage during the French Revolution as a symbol of the defeat of feudal rule. It was confiscated as national property and subsequently sold on to private individuals in sections. In 1909, the castle burned down completely. The roof structure and interior furnishings in particular were destroyed. Damage occurred again in the Second World War, especially to the giant gate. The building was completely renovated in 1982-1984, and the Bad Bergzabern municipality moved its administrative offices into the castle. Source: https://www.vg-bad-bergzabern.de/slider/schloss/

It's hard to believe that this was once a castle with a moat and defensive walls. Definitely a gem in this city.

The 'Tour des Bouchers' - Butcher's Tower is one of the 15 towers that were built at the end of the 13th century as part of a fortress wall. The tower is called the "Butcher's Tower" because the butcher's guild was responsible for it. When the fortress was demolished in 1706, the Butcher's Tower remained with a few other towers. The tower was used as a prison until the middle of the 18th century. In 2017-2020, the exterior of the Butcher's Tower was restored. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metzgerturm_(Lauterbourg)

Definitely worth a visit