Fürstenberg

My Images of Fürstenberg at Imagekind
Fürstenberg 1
Fürstenberg 2

Fürstenberg is located in Rheindiebach, a district of Oberdiebach in the Landkreis Mainz-Bingen in Rhineland-Palatinate. The castle stands above Castle Rheindiebach in the Upper Middle Rhine Valley near Bingen. In 1219 CE, Burg Fürstenberg was commissioned by Engelbert II of Cologne in order both to secure the archbishopric’s property at Bacharach, and to serve as an administration centre for toll collection. In 1243, after the cessation of fighting between the Electors of the Palatinate, Burg Fürstenberg was given as a hereditary fief to the Count Palatine of the Rhine. The tower was added in 1500 to support the use of firearms. Spain captured the castle in 1620, and Sweden captured it in 1632. It was destroyed during the Nine Years’ War in 1689. In 1844, Luise von Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the widow of King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia, unsuccessfully tried to acquire the castle. Her son, Prince Frederick of the Netherlands, obtained it in 1845, and presented it to his wife, who commissioned architect, C. de Jong, to expand it in the neo-Gothic style. The project was never carried out. In 1910, Fürstenberg was sold to the Wasum family of Bacharach. In 1993, it was purchased from Gernot Stelter Rheindiebach, and is now undergoing conservation.

It is surrounded by vineyards, and features a twenty-five meter round tower as well as ten meter high walls. Still visible are parts of the gatehouse and some old plaster on the walls. It was secured by a moat and was accessible by a bridge and gate. There is a lovely view of the Rhine from the left of the terrace, and of Bacharach to the right. Southeast of the castle are Ruine Nollig, Lorch and the Rebhänge of the Rheingau.

A legend concerning Burg Fürstenberg goes as follows: Lambert of Fürstenberg married Wiltrud, a daughter of the Florsheim family. The couple had a child. Shortly after the birth, a young, beautiful, evil woman named Luckharde became a ward of the family. Luckharde seduced Lambert, and made plans to replace Wiltrud as lady of the castle. One night Luckharde slipped into Wiltrude’s chamber and smothered her. Lambert never suspected foul play, and after the grieving period, he married Luckharde. The evil woman hated the young child, and handed him over to an old crone to be nursed elsewhere in the castle. One night this old woman awoke to see a female form bending over the cradle and tending the child. When Luckharde was told of the incident, she feared that Wiltrud was not truly dead, and decided to test the story’s veracity for herself. She took the crone’s place in the bed by the child. She brought with her a dagger, and waited to see what would transpire. At midnight the female again appeared, and tended the baby as before.
Afterward the apparition approached Luckharde’s bed. It was indeed the ghost of Wiltrud. When Luckharde tried to stab the ghost, the dagger only sliced through air. As Wiltrud disappeared, as voice cried, "Do penance for thy sins!" The next morning, when searching for his wife, Lambert found a piece of parchment on which Luckharde confessed all. She retired to a nunnery, and Lambert became a hermit.