Burg Sterrenberg
History
Burg Sterrenberg was first mentioned in 1190 when it was listed as an imperial fief in the fief book of the imperial ministerial Werner von Bolanden, which included the customs in Bornhofen, granting the Bolandens the right to collect tolls on the River Rhine. The Lords of Bolanden owned the castle until the mid-13th century. The original castle consisted of the keep on a steep rock surrounded by a ring wall. The Bolandens appointed other knights to defend and administer the castle as Burgmannen, or ministeriales.
The Palatinate family of Bolanden died out in 1286, and Burg Sterrenberg was shared between the Counts of Sponheim-Dannenfels and the Counts of Katzenelnbogen until the electoral Prince Balduin, the Archbishop of Trier, came into possession of half of the castle in 1310. Count Diether VI of Katzenelnbogen was still in control of half the castle. As a result, hostilities arose between the Katzenelnbogen and the Archbishop of Trier over who owned the castle, which the Archbishop won in 1315. Later that same year, Diether von Katzenelnbogen was killed in a tournament accident.
Burg Liebenstein, the neighboring castle, was built shortly before, and in 1294, Siegfried Schenk von Sterrenberg and Ludwig von Sterrenberg acquired it from Count Heinrich von Sponheim-Dannenfels, moved there, and adopted the name "von Liebenstein," no longer appearing as co-owners of Burg Sterrenberg. Thus, the rivalry between Burg Sterrenberg and Burg Liebenstein began.
The bridge and gatehouse in the outer shield wall.
In the first half of the 14th century, the inner shield wall with a dry ditch was built, and after 1322, the outer shield wall was added, when Friedrich Walpot von Polch received the castle as a pledge with an obligation to build. By 1355, Burg Sterrenberg had evolved into the seat of power and center of the Electorate of Trier's estate on the right bank of the Rhine, and the shield walls provided extra protection and a more formidable barrier between the castle and neighboring Burg Liebenstein.
Further south on the River Rhine, the Electorate of Trier was also building Burg Maus in the 1350s to protect holdings and as an answer to the Katzenelnbogen castle, Burg Neukatzenelnbogen, or Burg Katz, even further upriver. Burg Maus would quickly become the more critical and strategic castle for the Electorate of Trier and their seat of power, resulting in Burg Sterrenberg's decline.
The inner ward and shield wall.
In 1456, Burg Sterrenberg was already in a dilapidated state and described as derelict and, by 1568, no longer inhabitable. The castle remained in the possession of the Electorate of Trier until 1806, at the end of the Holy Roman Empire, when it passed to the Duchy of Nassau, and it became Prussian in 1866. Since 1946, the castle has belonged to the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Before 1870, nearly half of the inner shield wall collapsed on the Rhine side, and in the 1870s, the wall was rebuilt to floor height, with a pointed-arch gate and battlements based on an 1855 drawing.
Reconstruction and repair work began at the castle around 1968-1970 and continued until 1977 to restore it to its former glory. In that time, the Ladies' House was rebuilt, the Gothic-style restaurant building was constructed, the keep was restored to its original height with battlements and white plaster, and the outer shield wall was raised to its original height and crenelated.
Castle Highlights
Burg Sterrenberg sits majestically above the River Rhine along with its close neighbor Burg Liebenstein. The best views of the castle are from the river. Burg Sterrenberg is considered the oldest preserved castle on the Middle Rhine, with the foundations of the keep, or bergfried, dating from the 12th century. The keep is the most impressive part of the castle, with a height of almost 15 meters. The castle is owned by the state cultural organization for castles in Rhineland-Palatinate and leased to a family from Braubach, who run the restaurant and rent out hotel apartments in the castle.
The Ladies' House.
The castle has two shield walls on the east side, facing toward Burg Liebenstein. The outer shield wall is the more imposing of the two, with a tower-like projection on the right and a crenelated wall as you approach the castle. Burg Sterrenberg also has an inner ward with a few buildings, including the Ladies' House and, on the Rhine side, a building that now serves as a restaurant for visitors.
Burg Sterrenberg can be explored in an hour or two. I recommend combining a visit to Burg Liebenstein, just past the shield wall, or if you want to visit a more substantial castle on the same bank of the River Rhine, head north up the B42 to Braubach and see the Marksburg.
Burg Sterrenberg and Burg Liebenstein are linked by a Rhine Legend of the Hostile Brothers, although no fighting between the two castles is recorded.
