Freudenkoppe Castle Ruins

The Freudenkoppe or Burg Freudenkoppe is the ruin of a hilltop castle. The ruin is located one kilometer southeast of Neroth on a 610 meter high basalt cone, the Nerother head.

King John of Bohemia, known as the Blind, had the castle built as Count of Luxembourg around 1340. It was one of the large number of fortifications in the county of Luxembourg through which the king wished to secure or drive the county's borders. The Freudenkoppe was probably not suitable as a permanent residence. The castle complex was only about 40x75 meters and the keep with its 10x10 meter circumference was too small as a living space. It is not known when the castle was abandoned, destroyed and robbed
Of the remains of the castle, the keep is best preserved today. The solid masonry, 1.1 meters thick, consists of rubble stones made from lava slag straight from the millstone cave. The ruins of the detached castle house from the 15th century still make an imposing impression today. The two 12 m high gables and the wall facing the mountain have been preserved from the approximately 16 x 11 m large, rectangular building. The south side has collapsed. On both gables the chimney niches and smoke outlets can be seen up to the ridge, and the window openings have self-supporting arched lintels made of greywacke. The three huge buttresses that support the house on the southeast corner against the slope are particularly impressive.

Best to hike from the east on the Nerother head or go there by mountain bike. All other ways are very steep and tedious.