Dahner Felsenland

The southern Palatinate around Dahn holds the densest concentration of free-standing sandstone formations in the range: towers, walls, arches and mushroom-shaped rocks left where softer layers eroded faster than harder caps. The Teufelstisch, the devil's table, is a mushroom rock about fourteen metres high with a slab balanced on a narrow stem. Above Dahn, three castle ruins stand in a row on one ridge, Altdahn, Grafendahn and Tanstein, with rooms and stairs cut into the rock. The area is a climbing region with routes on the towers, subject to seasonal bans where falcons nest.

History

The three castles on the ridge above Dahn were not built at the same time; Altdahn, the oldest, probably dates from the early 13th century, and in 1236 Frederick of Dahn held it as a vassal of the Bishop of Speyer, Conrad IV of Dahn, who may have been a relative. Its history is one of repeated wrecking and rebuilding: in a feud with the Fleckensteins in 1363, again in 1372, in the War of the Four Lords in 1406, by accidental fires in 1426 and 1438, in the Thirty Years' War and finally, at the start of the War of the Palatine Succession in 1689, by French troops under General Mélac. A rockfall on 11 May 1820 brought down most of what remained. Felix Mendelssohn came to paint the ruins on 5 August 1844; conservation began in 1877, resumed in 1936 and has continued since 1960, and in 2007-2008 a cracked 1,100-tonne block of sandstone was secured (Wikipedia, Altdahn Castle).

Highlights

• The Teufelstisch - a fourteen-metre mushroom rock on a narrow stem.
• The triple castle - three ruins in a row on one sandstone ridge.
• The rock-cut rooms - chambers and stairs carved into the sandstone.
• The climbing towers - free-standing rocks with established routes.

When to go

April to October; climbing areas close seasonally for nesting falcons. Autumn colour in the beech woods is good. Winter makes the rock ledges slippery.

Practical notes

Castle ruins involve steep steps and exposed ledges. Climbing bans change through the year. Public transport is limited outside the main valley.

Nearby

Trifels castle lies northeast; the French border is south.

Key facts