Neublankenheim Castle

Neublankenheim Castle, locally known as Burgruine Neublankenheim, lies in a forest next to the L70 road from Ahütte to Ahrdorf, in the Rhineland-Palatinate region in Germany.

When exactly the castle was built is unknown. It was first mentioned in 1341 when it was given as a fief by the Margrave William V, Count of Jülich to Gerhard V von Blankenheim. There is also an earlier mention in 1272 although this is now mostly regarded as a confusion with Blankenheim Castle, some 18 km in a more northwesterly direction. Also because dendrochronology pointed to a building period between 1335 and 1339.

In 1470, after the Blankenheims had died out, the castle went to the Lords of Mirbach. In 1521 the castle was described by Dietrich von Mirbach as 'destroyed'. He asked his feudal lord; Count Johann von Manderscheid, for help in repairing his castle. Apparently this didn't work and in 1569 it was still described as dilapidated. At the end of the 16th century it wasn't suitable for habitation anymore.

Around 1770 the castle and surrounding lands were acquired by the Duchy of Arenberg. When in 1794 French revolutionary troops invaded the region, the castle was confiscated and subsequently auctioned.

In 2004 and 2006 the ruins were consolidated. The ruins now consist of a somewhat rectangle plan of 40 by 20 meters. On its southwestern corner stands the, 24 meters high, D-shaped keep.

At present the ruins of Neublankenheim Castle are freely accessible. A nice, ominous ruin.

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