Trifels Castle (Germany)

Trifels Castle, 310 meters above the small town of Annweiler, is one of the most famous Palatinate castles.
The walls stand on a rock of the Sonnenberg, which is divided into three parts, which is probably where the name Trifels comes from. In the High Middle Ages, Trifels Castle protected the imperial land around Annweiler. The German emperors and kings kept the imperial regalia in the castle in the 12th and 13th centuries. Since their possession only made the imperial rule lawful, it was said in the Middle Ages: "Whoever has the Trifels has the empire." The castle had two functions in the High Middle Ages: from 1125 to 1298, the imperial regalia were temporarily stored here, and the fortress was also the state prison of the Staufer era. The most famous prisoner was none other than the English King Richard the Lionheart. Like few other castles, the Trifels stands for the heyday of the High Middle Ages in the time of the Hohenstaufen emperors. However, the origins of the castle probably go back much further. During excavations in 1937, the remains of a wooden castle from the 10th century were found.
Today the castle is a magnet with more than 100,000 visitors annually. There is a wonderful view from the platform of the keep.