The Michelsburg, also called St. Michelsburg, is the ruin of a hilltop castle on the 368 m above sea level summit of the Remigiusberg, high above the local community of Haschbach am Remigiusberg in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate.
The first documented mention of a hilltop castle on the Remigiusberg can be found in a document from the Archbishop of Mainz, Adalbert I, dated October 8, 1127. Benedictine monks had bought the castle from a knight Adelbert, torn it down and built the provostship of St. Remigius in its place. The location, shape and construction time of this first castle complex are unknown.
A second castle complex on the mountaintop was built during the inheritance disputes after the first Veldenz count line died out in the male line in 1259. Count Heinrich II of Zweibrücken built the castle in 1260, initially out of wood. It was later rebuilt in stone, extended and a chapel was built inside (dedicated to St. Michael). It served as the residence of various members of the second line of counts of Veldenz until 1444 and, after their extinction, was a fief of the Ritter Blick von Lichtenberg until 1524. In 1524, Count Palatine Ruprecht von Veldenz received the castle and, after he became sovereign of the newly created Principality of Palatinate-Veldenz on November 18, 1543 through the Marburg Treaty, made it his secondary residence. A princely crypt was set up in the neighboring provost church of St. Remigius.
Little is known about the fate of the castle in later centuries. According to a document issued at the Michelsburg, it was still intact in 1708. It is said to have been auctioned off to private owners for demolition by the French administration in 1803. The castle complex later changed hands several times.
In 1868, the castle complex came into the possession of the Catholic Church Foundation of St. Remigiusberg. Work to preserve the existing structure was carried out from 1972 to 1974.
Remains of the outbuildings with tower, parts of the moat in front, a sandstone well 8 m deep and 2.20 m in diameter, and parts of an archway are still preserved from the former castle complex. Particularly striking are the remains of an imposing shield wall, which is up to 4 m thick at the base and still stands around 20 m high.
The Michelsburg Castle and the neighboring former provost church of St. Remigius on the Remigiusberg near Haschbach, in the center of the Glan Valley, are the historical heart of the Remigiusland region.
The first documented mention of an illegally built hilltop castle dates back to 1127, when Benedictine monks purchased it from a knight named Adelbert. The monks used the stones of the former castle to build the Benedictine provost church of St. Remigi, the remnant of which is the Remigius Church.
Count Henry II of Zweibrücken built a second castle out of wood in 1260 – during the inheritance disputes of the counts of Veldenz – after the first male line of counts of Veldenz had died out in 1259. Later, this castle was expanded and furnished with stone, and a chapel (dedicated to St. Michael) was built inside.
In 1543, Count Palatine Rupert of Veldenz made the castle his secondary residence and had a princely crypt built in the provost church.
Little is known about what happened to the castle in later centuries, but it was reportedly still intact in 1708 and changed hands several times. In 1868, it came into the possession of the St. Remigiusberg Catholic Church Foundation.
Today, the 20-meter-high shield wall, remnants of the palace, the ring wall, and the moat are preserved.
The Michelsburg, also called St. Michelsburg, is the ruin of a hilltop castle on the 368 m above sea level. NN high peak of the Remigiusberg high above the municipality of Haschbach am Remigiusberg in the district of Kusel in Rhineland-Palatinate.
Translated by Google •
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