Wilgartaburg castle ruins

Wilgartaburg is one of the earliest castles in the Palatinate (probably from the 8th or 9th century). According to an unexplained source, it was first built as a wooden castle in the late 10th or early 11th century by an abbot of the Hornbach monastery. The first stone was built in the Salian period (11th century); another in the 12th, a last in the 13th century. The castle was probably abandoned in favor of the better located Falkenburg at the end of the 13th century.

According to legend, in the 8th century, after the death of her husband, the wife of Wiligarta led Gaugraf Wernher I to live a hermit in penance in order to atone for his excessive life. On April 16, 828 her granddaughter, also called Wiligarta and daughter of Wernher II., Gave her farm "Wiligartawisa" with all fields, meadows and forests to the Hornbach monastery. Remains of the wall with many beam holes and rock chambers, elaborations on the rock, rock stairs and a cistern still testify of the former castle complex.

The castle ruins are located on the Wilgartswieser Burgen-Tour.