Ulmen Castle

Ulmen Castle, locally known as Burg Ulmen or the Ulmener Burgen, lies in the town with the same name, in the Rhineland-Palatinate region in Germany.

The site is mostly called Ulmener Burgen (so, Ulmen Castles) because there used to be two castles here; an upper and a lower one. The lower one, however, has completely disappeared.

Ulmen Castle was first mentioned in 1074 but is supposed to have been built around the year 1000. It is situated on top of a ridge around the Ulmener Maar. This lake is actually an ancient volcano crater and the ridge is the embankment of tuff, formed from the erupted material of the former volcano.

Around 1200 the upper castle was the home of Heinrich von Ulmen, a knight who took part in the Fourth Crusade and brought back a lot of Byzantine treasures. In 1292 the lower castle was built to better protect the town. During the next century, Ulmen Castle was the residence of successful robber barons.

In 1490 the town and castle became a township of the Electorate of Trier.

Between 1679 and 1689 Ulmen Castle was repeatedly damaged by fires and sieges by the troops of Louis XIV, King of France. The French troops finally destroyed it. In 1789 only the upper castle was restored, only to fall into disrepair again during the 19th century.

In 1794 French revolutionary troops invaded the region. The castle was confiscated. In 1822 it was bought by a private citizen who used it as a quarry. And when the town almost completely burned down in 1831, it was largely rebuilt with stones from the castle.

At present Ulmen Castle is a freely accessible town park. A not very nice ruin; the remaining walls have been consolidated too rigorously straight for my taste.

Gallery