The ruined castle Rusteberg, also called Rustenberg, is a ruined summit castle on an isolated mountain peak between the municipalities of Marth and Rustenfelde in the district of Eichsfeld in Thuringia. The ruin of the castle is located on the steeply rising from the Leinetal conical Rusteberg (397.6 m above sea level NHN), about 10 km west of the district town Heiligenstadt. The limestone out of Muschelkalk is a witness mountain within the colorful sandstone landscape of the western Eichsfeld. In the Middle Ages here was an important military and trade route over Arenshausen and Uder in the Eichsfeld. (...)
From the former castle and late medieval fortress remains of the outer fortifications, partially buried vaulted cellars and the ruins of the castle chapel are preserved, which was supplemented in the 19th century using debris left over to a north-grown round tower and an entrance facade in the west. The former appearance and location of the main buildings are clearly visible on a view published by Matthias Merian. Accordingly, the castle complex consisted of the core castle on a hilltop location, around which a crescent-shaped, strongly fortified outer bailey was built. The main entrance to the south of the mountain was reinforced with a bastion-like vortor. A ringwall ditch fortification surrounded the castle walls, which were protected by further walls and towers. After the removal of the main building, these are now only noticeable as uneven floors. The former keep had a base of 7.7 by 7.7 meters and a wall thickness of 1.7 meters.