The Castles of the Altdahn group
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History: The exact construction dates of these fortifications are not known. The first existing reference to a Lord of Dahn was made in 1189. The constructions were destroyed several times during their turbulent history; in 1462 Grafendahn was captured and razed to the ground by Count Palatine Friedrich I., Tanstein has been in an uninhabitable condition since 1571, finally Altdahn remained the residence of the lords of Dahn until 1603. In 1689 French troops caused the definitive end of the “Dahner Palaces”. Characteristics: In the castle’s museum their history can be followed in a detailed manner. An inn offers food and drinks. |
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Location:
The castle group "Dahner castles" The castles Altdahn (old Dahn), Grafendahn and Tanstein, also called “Dahner Palaces” are the biggest castle group in the Pfalz. The ruins of the three castles are on five adjacent sandstone cliffs. Heinrich of Dahn, who appears in several documents from 1189, is believed to be the first Ministerial connected to the castles. At the beginning of the 13 th century he and his family had close connections with the Church. Heinrich of Dahn came from a lineage of knights, several of whom climbed to very high ecclesiastical positions. From this period the castles were granted as fief by the bishopric of Speyer. In 1240 a branch seperated from the ancestral house, they named themselves after the Neudahn castle (new Dahn) which is situated to the north-west of the village. The middle castle, later called Grafendahn, was inherited by Konrad Mursel at some time before 1287, as part of inheritance which caused a family divide. A temporary reunification of the split family property took place in 1287 due to an absence of male heirs in the Neudahn and Grafendahn families.Grafendahn Castle was excluded from the reunification as the bishop of Speyer gave it to the daughters of Konrad of Dahn. In 1288 the site was held by hereditary lease, which allowed for lease holders interior and exterior to the Dahner Ministeriale. In 1328 Count Johann II of Sponheim, the first Gemeiner, is mentioned. Eleven years later he acquired the castle and a quarter of all the property of Dahn. Hence, it was outside the Dahner knights sphere of influence. Since that time it has the independent name Grafendahn. After the dying out of the Sponheimer counts, Grafendahn went to the margraves of Baden pre-1440, who sold it in 1469 to the Kurpfalz. In 1462 Count Palatine Friedrich I. of the Pfalz took Grafendahn and destroyed the castle. After this it became the fief of the knight Hans von Drott. The castle, which was described as uninhabitable in 1485, was bought by Hans von Drott which unified his estates of Grafendahn and Berwartstein Castle. Later owners include the sovereigns of Fleckenstein and between 1642 and 1793 the Schenken of Waldenburg. What was left of the castle was probably destroyed in 1689 by the French. Since then the castle has remained in ruins. According to the examination of the three castles, Tanstein, which was also a property granted as fief by the Hochstift Speyer, seems to be the oldest defence construction of the castle group. The castle remained the property of the sovereigns of Dahn until 1523, until an alliance with Franz von Sickingen was the undoing of Heinrich von Dahn’s. After the fall of Nanstein, Tanstein was handed over to the church. Until 1536 it remained in episcopal hands and was then given back to the heirs of Heinrich von Dahn. The conditions of the transfer from the church to the heirs of Heinrich von Dahn introduced the castle’s decline. These conditions stated that it was not allowed to build new nor greater fortifications and that the residential buildings must stay in their existing state. This and the fact that in 1551 troops of the Kurpfalz occupied Tanstein for a short time contributed to the fall of the castle. Since 1571 it has remained uninhabited. |
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