Botenlauben Castle

The castle was home of the minnesinger and crusader Otto von Botenlauben and his wife Beatrix de Courtenay (founders of the Frauenroth cloister), who both stayed from 1220 to 1242.

In 1553, during the 'Margravial war', the castle was destroyed for the last time, and since the 17th century has served as a quarry to the residents of Reiterswiesen.

Around 1830, this situation came to an end when people began to take an interest in the Romantic period and the Middle Ages (embodied definitively in 1881 when the ‘Botenlauben club’ was founded).

From the beginning, the guiding principle was always to make the castle into a tourist attraction, which became more of an historical interest at the start of the 20th century.

Today, life in the castle during the Middle Ages is remembered and re-enacted each year in September with the 'Burgfest'.