Welcome to Hardenburg castle and fortress ruins

The ruins of Hardenburg Castle near Bad Dürkheim are large and mighty, rising over four levels of terraces; they are considered to be one of the largest and most impressive castle complexes in the entire Palatinate.

Built at the beginning of the 13th century as a comparatively modest hilltop castle, Hardenburg was expanded into a fortified Renaissance residence in the 16th century. Mighty walls and bastions, turrets, gates and battlements still bear witness to its fortress-like character today. At the same time, however, gardens, the remains of spacious residential wings and once magnificent halls point to a no less important civilian use as residential great hall befitting the status of the Counts of Leiningen. The Hardenburg functioned as both a fortress and a castle. It was a “fortified castle“, as it is technically known – one of the most important of its type in Germany after the expansions in the 16th century. It survived the Thirty Years‘ War, but was occupied by the French during the Palatinate War of Succession in 1690, partially destroyed and then rebuilt by the Leiningen family.

The end of Hardenburg Castle came with the conquest of Bad Dürkheim by French revolutionary troops in 1794: the interior was destroyed and the “Westbollwerk“ towering over the entire complex was blown up. The occupying administration then released the area for the extraction of building materials. However, what remained of the former “fortified castle“ and has been preserved or restored since the late 19th century, still is an impressive and interesting historical relic.

Now a carefully maintained ruin owned by the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hardenburg Castle represents around 800 years of history. The information centre, accessible for people with disabilities, houses a permanent exhibition on the development of the castle and the life of the Counts of Leiningen. You can climb the wide steps up to the platform of the defence tower and enjoy a magnificent view. The Castle’s Courtyard and the Renaissance Gardens invite you to linger.