Madenburg is aptly named, for this castle drove me mad on two separate trips. On the first in 2008, my wife and I experienced one of those rare moments where I got momentarily lost. Put another way, we went up the wrong mountain! By the time we figured out our error we were pretty beat from a three+ hour hike in the greenwood and in no mood for another climb.
On the second trip in 2010, I got to the castle alright, but the entire thing was closed for ruhetag. I had heard this prior to the climb, but hoped (vainly) that at least part of the grounds were open . They were not. I did circle the castle and had a near-miss run in with a very nasty German Shepherd that was "guarding" the battlements. A hair raising moment indeed.
Initially called Maidenburg, Madenburg was built in the 1100s as a Reichsburg, that is, a castle of the Holy Roman Emperor. Its name was first mentioned in 1176, and it was also known as the Eschbacher Schloss (for the town of Eschbach nearby). It was expaned in the early 1500s. During the Peasants Revolt of 1525 the castle was destroyed, but then rebuilt. However, by 1536 it had fallen into disrepair, though still occupied and briefly witnessing another round of expansion in the late 1500s. While it survived the Thirty Years War, it fell victim to French troops in 1689. It remained a ruin until some restoration work was started in 1937.
Madenburg saw a number of different owners, including the Leiningen and Sickingen families. At one point it was even owned by Ulrich von Wurttemburg. The castle was unique in that it had a double ringwall about it, as well as shield walls on both the north and south ends, the former being doubled up.
Above, the main entrance to the castle, which includes a double shield wall.
Left, a view of part of the main living quarters.
Right, another portion of the main living quarters that demonstrates the damage wrought in 1689. At least three floors are discernable from this angle, the openings being passageways and not windows.
Below, part of Madenburg has been rebuilt to house a restaurant. Thus, this section sports modern glass in the window frames.
Left, another view showing the stretch along the inner ringwall (right) and outer ringwall (left). The outer wall is only partially extant.
Below, the south end of the castle with another section of living quarters, this possibly serving as a keep. From what I can tell based on external evidence and ground plans, there appears to have been no primary Burgfried or keep, though Madenburg did have several small towers.
Below inset, this portion of the sturcture indicates that some type of turret occupied this spote at one time.
