History

Burg Nollig is located on the Middle Rhine near the town of Lorch. It was initially constructed around 1300 as a half-timbered fortified tower. Later in the 14th century, the building was clad with heavy masonry. The wooden framework is still visible from the inside.

The floor plan suggests that the foundations of the castle are, in fact, the existing foundation walls of an earlier Roman fort. The castle was built as a counter-castle by the Archbishop of Mainz to balance power in the region gained on the opposite bank of the Rhine by Burg Fürstenberg. It functioned as a watch tower.

In 1936, the castle was bought by Fritz Wild, a gemstone cutter from Idar-Oberstein, who began a stylish renovation in 1939. The massive residential tower had reinforcements added as a shield wall, with large towers at the corners. The castle has no curtain wall, as the town walls performed this function.

The ruins of Burg Nollig have been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Upper Middle Rhine Valley since 2002.

Castle Highlights

Burg Nollig sits majestically above the Rhine Valley and is not a castle but the northwest bastion tower of the Lorch town walls. It is privately owned and not open to the public. The best views can be seen by taking a river cruise on the River Rhine or from the opposite bank.