"Gemünden, the pearl of the Hunsrück" is the name of the scenically very attractive resort at the foot of the Soonwald. In fact, the visitor can hardly resist the impression of the special that the old town of Gemünden radiates. In front of him on a rocky outcrop rises the castle of the Barons of Salis-Soglio, rebuilt at the beginning of the 18th century and centuries earlier by inhabited by the noble families of Sponheim, Schmittburger and von Salis. Gemünden nestles around its walls with its many old half-timbered houses, which in turn are surrounded by the Simmerbach, which flows below Gemünden as the Kellenbach through a picturesque valley to the Nahe, framed by Soonwald and Lützelsoon. If the visitor climbs the Schlossberg and looks down from its height at the winding alleyways and slate-roofed, nested houses, he must realize that this spot, which once had over a thousand inhabitants, was always a center of local trade and commerce.
Source: gemuenden.de/index.php/ortsbesichtung.html
Even from afar, Gemünden offers a picturesque sight. The houses in the actual "spot", surrounded by the Simmerbach, nestle closely to the Schlossberg. The towers of the evangelical and catholic churches rise up from their midst, and high above on a rock terrace crowns the castle of the family of Salis Soglio. Numerous idyllic corners and beautiful old half-timbered houses from the 17th and 18th centuries give the place a special charm. Unfortunately, war and fire destroyed most of the old houses. History mentions the place for the first time in 1304 as property of the Counts of Sponheim. The city rights were granted between 1325 and 1337. There is nothing left of the former city fortifications. The first castle complex on the rock above the Simmerbach goes back to the Counts of Sponheim. They built the residential tower around 1350, of which only the basement is still standing today. In 1514, Fritz von Schmidtburg acquired Gemünden Castle from the Count Palatine of Simmern and expanded it. It remained in the possession of the Schmidtburgers for more than 300 years. During the Palatinate War of Succession (1689), the castle was largely destroyed by explosions and fires. It took more than a quarter of a century for today's castle (1716-1728) with four mighty round towers to be rebuilt in the early Baroque style on the foundations of the old castle complex. With the marriage of the last woman from Schmidtburg to the Austrian captain Anton Freiherr von Salis Soglio from Graubünden in 1810, ownership passed to the current owners. The coat of arms of both families, the Schmidtburger buckle and the willow tree of those from Salis, are carved in stone above the castle portal. The stables were built on the west side of the palace in the mid-19th century. In 1937/38, the intermediate wing was expanded to include a kitchen extension in a manner that was successful in terms of monument preservation. In the two old towers of the former castle there is a chapel with the grave monument of Fritsch von Schmidtburg. Grave monuments of the later Schmidtburgers are in the choir of the Evangelical Church in Gemünden. Source : Text information board
The evangelical church below the castle dates from 1905/06, but the chancel is late Gothic. Old building plans suggest that the first church was definitely built in the late Romanesque period (13th century). In 1901/02, most of the tower had to be demolished due to dilapidation. In 1905/06 the nave and choir square were demolished. A single-nave neo-Gothic nave was then built while retaining the late-Gothic choir. In the 16th and 17th centuries, members of the Schmidtburg family were buried in the church and a number of valuable life-size grave monuments were created, three of which are still preserved today. The monument to the first Schmidtburger (Fritz Schenk von Schmidtburg), originally erected on the south side, has been in the private chapel in Gemünden Castle since 1904. When the Protestant church was rebuilt in 1906, several tombstones that had previously been in the choir floor were moved to the outer wall. Source : Text information board
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