Top 19 Castles around Lirstal

The lower castle has completely disappeared. You can still see the beginning of the ring that connected the lower castle and the Ulmen city wall, a two-story outer wall of the palace, as well as a cistern and some foundation walls of other buildings. The old part of Ulmen Castle was built around 1074 AD and likely rests on the remains of a Roman settlement. In the Middle Ages, Ulmen Castle was further expanded and divided into the upper castle, whose remains of the walls still exist, and the lower castle, which extended to the banks of the maar river. Two knightly families lived in the castle, which is believed to have never been attacked or destroyed until 1673 due to its size. Only the Sun King's troops succeeded. It was rebuilt, but fell again in 1689 during the War of the Succession. However, Ulmen Castle was also rebuilt this time, with only the city wall being abandoned. With the invasion of Napoleon's soldiers, Ulmen also became French and later Prussian. The empty castle, whose last descendant died in 1801, was auctioned to a merchant from Cochem, who sold it as a quarry. When a devastating fire burned Ulmen to the ground in the 19th century, the residents of Ulmen rebuilt their houses with stones from the castle. That's why you can still see a coat of arms on some of the stables today. It wasn't until the early twentieth century that Ulmen Castle was declared a listed building and became the property of the municipality of Ulmen. The castle is always freely accessible.

The Löwenburg ruins in Monreal were built around 1229 as a hilltop castle on a rocky outcrop by Count Hermann III of Virneburg on land owned by his brother Philipp, who then transferred his rights to it to his brother Hermann. The Philippsburg ruins were built shortly afterwards by Count Philipp.

The Virneburg castle ruins are located on a hill at a height of 430 meters in the middle of the village of Virneburg, which is surrounded by 4 mountains, including the Schafberg, over which the hike leads through the juniper heath.

The Lion Castle The Löwenburg above the half-timbered village of Monreal is a so-called spur castle and was first mentioned in a document in 1229. Count Hermann III von Virneburg is considered to be the builder of the Löwenburg. According to tradition, he is said to have built the complex on the property of his brother Philipp following a division agreement. However, the resulting disputes between the brothers were later resolved and Philip assigned his rights to the region to his brother. Today, large parts of the Löwenburg are still preserved, which give a good impression of how stately the castle once looked. First and foremost, the remains of the 25 meter high keep with its three meter thick walls are visible from afar. The high entrance to the imposing keep faces towards the valley and is therefore strategically located on the side facing away from the enemy. The tower is also freely accessible as a viewing tower.

The Philippsburg The Philippsburg in Monreal was also built in the 13th century. The Philippsburg was given the nickname "Rech" (deer) in the local dialect due to its smaller size compared to the Löwenburg. There are two different theories about its origins: On the one hand, the Philippsburg was built as an outbuilding or outer structure of the Löwenburg, or on the other hand, it was built as Philip's "response" to the unauthorized construction of the Löwenburg by his brother. Some substantial wall remains of the Philippsburg have also been preserved - including the northwest tower and the restored south wall - which give a good impression of the original structure.

Very beautiful bridge over the Elzbach in Monreal. The bridge is the middle of three historic stone bridges in the town. On the bridge is the impressive sight from the 15th century, the Lion Monument. The four lions carved in basalt are among the most important monuments of their kind in the Rhineland due to their uniqueness. On the other side of the bridge is the statue of John of Nepomuk, who also gave the bridge its name "John's Bridge". Beautiful!

The narrow streets of Monreal, its quaint Holy Trinity Church, the massive Nepomuk Bridge over the clear Elzbach and the ruins of Löwenburg and Philippsburg castles high above the town are a beautiful destination in the eastern Eifel. The red and white half-timbered houses nestle closely together, and the four-gabled house from the 15th century in particular transports walkers into a fairytale past. https://www.eifel.info/a-monreal

Very nice old castle complex, worth seeing