Rabenstein Castle (Upper Franconia)

Rabenstein Castle (Burg Rabenstein) is a former high medieval aristocratic castle in the municipality of Ahorntal in the Upper Franconian county of Bayreuth in the German state of Bavaria. The spur castle may be visited for an entrance fee. The hill castle is located within the Franconian Switzerland-Veldenstein Forest Nature Park on a rocky hill spur at a height of about 420 metres over the valley of the Ailsbach in Franconian Switzerland, 6.5 kilometres northwest of Pottenstein. Within walking distance of the castle is Sophie's Cave, a dripstone cave that is popular with tourists. In the vicinity of Rabenstein Castle there used to be several other castles: on the opposite side of the valley is the suspected site or burgstall of Brunnloch or Rabenloch, a little further up the Ailsbach valley once stood the castle of Ahorn, the present day hamlet of Klausstein, opposite it is probably the site of Hohenloch Castle above Ludwig's Cave, down the valley lies the Alte Veste and in the village of Oberailsfeld there was once another small fortification, Ailsfeld Castle on a rock in the valley. Towards the west, above the valley of the Wiesent, stands Rabeneck Castle, a fortification probably founded by the Rabensteins. The oldest parts of the castle were built in the first quarter of the 12th century as a residence in the Barony of Waischenfeld. At the same time the ministerialis family of Rabenstein, who were the builders of the castle and bore the raven on their coat of arms, were recorded as being in the service of the barons of Waischenfeld. In the early 13th century, the outer ward was expanded. During the following centuries ownership and occupancy of the castle changed hands several times. Its occupants included the House of Schlüsselberg and its lords, the burgraves of Nuremberg. In 1450 the castle was destroyed in the First Margrave War and in 1489 was rebuilt by Conz of Wirsberg. In 1557 the castle went to the von Rabensteins who had ambitions for the nobility and bought back their family seat.