Reinsburg

Reinsburg Castle consists of the remains of a ridge castle in the Thuringian Reinsberg mountains. It is located between Kleinbreitenbach, Reinsfeld and Schmerfeld.

The foundation walls of Reinsburg Castle are laid out in an irregular, approximately oval shape and are about 60 meters long. Thus, it was the largest of all castles on the slopes of the Gera River. The ruins of the buildings are located in the southeastern area of the former castle site, which lies about 600 meters above sea level. The assumption that an underground passage connected the Reinsburg with the Plaueschen Ehrenburg found some evidence, but could not be confirmed.

The time of the Reinsburg's construction is unknown. The age of the mounds indicates that the fortress was built before the medieval fortification. At times it belonged to the county of Kevernburg and secured the trade and army routes in the valleys of the Gera and Wipfra rivers. From the second half of the 13th century there was a change of owners, especially the literature of the 19th century speaks several times of so-called robber barons or a robber castle. The last time it was stormed was probably in 1289 or 1290 in the course of a campaign by the Roman-German King Rudolf of Habsburg, which was aimed at the peace of the land and led to the destruction of a total of 66 castles in Thuringia.