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30-603: The remains of this castle are located on the side of the 613-metre-high Blättersberg mountain. The Rietburg stands at a height of 535 metres above sea level on the northeastern flanks of the 618-metre-high Blättersberg , a peak in the Haardt mountains that form the eastern edge of the Palatinate Forest. There is a car park at the foot of the Blättersberg near Villa Ludwigshöhe . This may be reached by taking

60-567: A refuge hut , although these occur in lowland areas (e.g. lowland forests) too. Mountain huts can provide a range of services, starting with shelter and simple sleeping berths. Some, particularly in remote areas, are not staffed, but others have staff which prepare meals and drinks and can provide other services, including providing lectures and selling clothing and small items. Mountain huts usually allow anybody to access their facilities, although some require reservations. While shelters have long existed in mountains, modern hut systems date back to

90-695: A Hohenstaufen follower and went down in history as the result of a political hostage taking : in 1255 he took the Welf Queen Elisabeth , wife of the German king, William hostage, together with her escort during a journey from the episcopal town of Worms to the imperial castle of Trifels near the village of Edesheim . She was imprisoned at the Rietburg. A coalition of regional princes and towns forced him to release his prisoners on 4 December 1255. Hermann escaped with his life, but his castle

120-585: A deed belonging to the South Palatine abbey of Eußerthal . The castle was built by Conrad II of Riet, the eldest of six sons of Conrad I and his wife, Adelheid, whom he married in 1184. Following the death of Conrad II, his cousin, Hermann of Riet, inherited the lordship of the castle ( Burgherrschaft ). In the conflicts that broke out after 1250 between the Hohenstaufens and the Welfs he remained

150-686: Is a mountain, 613.2 m above  sea level (NHN) , in the Palatine Forest in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate . The mountain has a north summit (613.2 m) and a south summit (606.0 m); on the latter is the Ludwig observation tower . The Blättersberg lies in the Haardt , the eastern mountain chain of the Palatine Forest, in the eponymous nature park . Its summit rises 3 kilometres west-northwest of Rhodt unter Rietburg , within whose territory most of

180-508: Is not able to find any other place before sunset, but conditions may be spartan (e.g. a mattress in a hall or warm basement). In Slovakia there is a dense network of mountain huts ("chata") in most mountain and forest regions, serving a culture of hiking. In the past they were managed by the official tourist union, but now are mostly in private hands. Official mountain huts are similar to guest houses and are run by full-time managers. In winter, some refuges are closed. There are many huts in

210-526: Is the castle of Rietburg (Rhodt), which is also a landmark. At the southern foot of the mountain, by the upper reaches of the Modenbach stream, lies the historic estate of the Buschmühle mill. The elevation of the Blättersberg is given on some topographic maps as 613.2 m, but on others as 618 m. About 60 metres south-southeast of the summit is another high point, 611.8 m. On

240-532: The Edenkoben exit off the A 65 motorway from Karlsruhe to Ludwigshafen am Rhein ), then following the road to Rhodt and, subsequently to Rietburg . A chairlift, the Rietburgbahn runs up the mountain. All that has survived of the castle is part of the shield wall , parts of the enceinte and the zwinger . The construction of Rietburg castle is dated to the period 1200 to 1204 and ascribed to

270-817: The Hüttenbrunnen hiker's car park in the Edenkobener valley above the Kohlplatz . Numerous hiking trails run through the local countryside. Refuge hut A mountain hut is a building located at high elevation, in mountainous terrain, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineers , climbers and hikers . Mountain huts are usually operated by an Alpine Club or some organization dedicated to hiking or mountain recreation. They are known by many names, including alpine hut , mountain shelter , mountain refuge , mountain lodge , and mountain hostel . It may also be called

300-770: The Mehliskopf to the Hornisgrinde . In exceptionally clear weather, the tall houses of Frankfurt ( Westendstraße 1 ) may be seen to the far north-northeast, to the east Katzenbuckel (immediately left of the Königstuhl) and to the south-southeast, the Central Black Forest as far as Kenzingen , where the Black Forest descends eastwards into the Freiburg Bay . The Rietburg is the venue for

330-732: The United States , for example in the Rocky Mountains , the Appalachian Mountains and other ranges. The High Huts of the White Mountains in New Hampshire are generally "full service" (cooks serve food) through summer and early fall, while some are open the rest of the year as self-service huts, at which hikers bring and prepare their own food. The Alpine Club of Canada operates what it calls

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360-523: The battlements . As the girl lay dashed to pieces on the ground, the robber burst out laughing. At this, all the "warriors" stormed the castle en masse and chased the baron off the wall. Ever since, the evil spirit of the baron has had to restlessly run through the night." Since 1954, a chair lift , known as the Rietburgbahn has run from the Rhine Plain up to a terrace on the eastern side of

390-592: The lords of Riet . These noblemen were initially vassals of the North Alsatian Benedictine abbey of Weißenburg , later they became ministeriales and feudatories of the then German Hohenstaufen lords. The family came from the region between Speyer and Germersheim and had taken their name from their place of origin along the River Rhine that had been colonised by reeds (German: Riet = "reed"). They were first mentioned in 1149 in

420-668: The "largest network of backcountry huts in North America." The New Zealand Department of Conservation "manages a network of over 950 huts of all shapes and sizes." The mountains of Asia do not have a well-developed system of public mountain huts, although hiking, trekking and mountain climbing are common. In 2015, a competition was launched to design huts that could be located along trekking trails of Nepal. Many places in Africa have hiking huts but they are usually privately owned and require payment and reservations. At least one hut

450-545: The 16th century. In 1925 the municipality of Rhodt carried out comprehensive preservation work in order to prevent the further ruin of the Rietburg. In 1931 the Palatine Forest Club built a refuge hut in the castle and, in 1955, the castle restaurant was built. Since 1991 the Rietburg Club has worked on the conservation of the site. For example, in 2012 25,000 € was invested in a wooden bridge over

480-685: The International Rietburg Hill Run every September, a race which is part of the Palatine Hill Running Cup. It is 8,200 metres long and climbs 420 metres. A major local vineyard, which is in the Palatine wine region , has been named Rietburg after the castle. Bl%C3%A4ttersberg The Blättersberg near Rhodt unter Rietburg in the Rhenish-Palatine county of Südliche Weinstraße

510-763: The Rhine Plain. From here the whole Bergstraße Route may be seen across the plain from Melibokus in the north to the Königstuhl near Heidelberg . The view continues to Steinsberg near Sinsheim , the highest point of the Kraichgau region; and in clear visibility the Heuchelberg and Stromberg may be seen. To the southeast is the Northern Black Forest from the Badener Höhe via

540-612: The Rietburg. The return journey offers good views over the plain. The bottom station is accessible on foot or by car and is located near the schloss of Villa Ludwigshöhe , a stately residence built from 1846 to 1852 by order of Louis I of Bavaria . The top station of the Rietburgbahn lies just a few steps away from the castle ruins and a pub, the Höhengaststätte Rietburg has been incorporated into it, which has an open-air terrace with extensive views over

570-976: The UK have such huts in Snowdonia or in the Lake District . A well-known example is the Charles Inglis Clark Memorial Hut (the 'CIC Hut') - a purpose-built hut below the northern crags of Ben Nevis in Scotland . In the past, some shelters in Scotland were built in exposed locations at high elevation, often as part of military training exercises. However, and particularly following the 1971 Cairngorm Plateau Disaster , these were deliberately demolished because they were thought to pose dangers exceeding their benefits. The Norwegian Trekking Association operates about 460 cabins mostly in

600-912: The Valais Alps is the highest alpine refuge at 4,554 m, the Rifugio Mario Premuda in Trieste is the lowest refuge in the Alps at 82 m (both are owned by the Italian Alpine Club ). In the United Kingdom the tradition is of unwardened "climbing huts" providing fairly rudimentary accommodation (but superior to that of a bothy ) close to a climbing ground; the huts are usually conversions (e.g. of former quarrymen's cottages, or of disused mine buildings), and are not open to passers-by except in emergency. Many climbing clubs in

630-721: The Victorious of the Palatinate and his cousin, Duke Louis the Black of Palatinate-Zweibrücken , the Rietburg was shelled by Leiningen troops and badly damaged, but remained inhabitable. The castle survived the Palatine Peasants' War of 1525 unscathed, but was finally destroyed during the Thirty Years' War (1618–48) and never rebuilt. During excavations in 1872, 580 gold and silver coins were found, dating to

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660-477: The high mountain pastures served for Alpine transhumance . The long history of mountaineering from the 19th century onwards has led to a large number of Alpine club huts as well as private huts along the mountaineering paths. These huts are categorised according to their location and facilities. They may have beds or a mattress room ( Matratzenlager ) for overnight stays. Just as the Margherita Hut in

690-414: The historic neck ditch , which was probably originally spanned by a drawbridge . According to the legend of the robber baron at the Rietburg "Once a robber baron lived at the castle (which was also called the altes Schloss or "old palace"); he was said to be a "wild vulture with the hideous face of Satan." He lay in wait for people and dragged them off to his eyrie as booty. He was especially hated by

720-688: The mid-19th century. The Swiss Alpine Club has built huts since 1863. In the United States, the Appalachian Mountain Club built its first hut at Madison Spring in New Hampshire in 1889. The construction of refuges and shelters in the Alps date back to ancient times, when Roman roads led across the mountain passes. In the High Middle Ages , hospitales were erected along the trade routes; cottages and sheds on

750-531: The mountain lies, 4.5 km west-southwest of Edenkoben , between the Edenkoben valley in the north and the Modenbach valley in the south, and 1.6 km (all as the crow flies ) northwest of the village of Weyher in der Pfalz . The mountain can be clearly made out from the Rhine Plain. On its east-northeastern flank, to the west and above the stately home of Villa Ludwigshöhe that is visible for miles,

780-639: The mountains and in forested areas, of which about 400 have lodgings. Many cabins are unstaffed and open all year, while the staffed cabins often are just open during summer. In Poland most mountain shelters and huts are run by the Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society , with some being privately owned. In the Polish mountains , there are about 100 shelters. Most mountain shelters offer multi-person rooms and refreshments. Polish mountain huts are obliged by their own regulations to allow overnight anyone who

810-582: The southern summit of the Blätterberg stands an observation tower , built in 1883, called the Ludwig Tower ( Ludwigsturm ). From the viewing platform of the 15 metre-high tower the view to the east into the Rhine Plain is blocked by the trees, but elsewhere one can see as far as the Badener Höhe and Hornisgrinde in the Black Forest to the south-southeast, nearby Trifels Castle to

840-650: The southwest, the Frankenweide forest with its hills, the Weißenberg ( Luitpold Tower ) and Hortenkopf (transmission mast) to the west, the nearby Kesselberg mountain to the northwest and the highest point in the Palatine Forest, the Kalmit , to the north-northeast. The Blättersberg and the Ludwig Tower may be reached from the top station of the chair lift near Villa Ludwigshöhe (530.8 m) or from

870-429: The women. One day he robbed a young girl who was gentle as a dove. The girl's father went with some followers up to the castle and tried in vain to storm it. The baron stood was on the battlements laughing and demanded a ransom from the girl's father. For a large amount of gold and valuable mineral ore he would get his daughter back. After the ransom was paid, the baron gave the father his daughter back - by throwing her off

900-686: Was seized from him and declared an imperial castle that was under the immediate suzerainty of the king. Its first vassal was the Upper Alsatian Landvogt , Otto III of Ochsenstein. When his daughter married Emich V of Leiningen-Landeck, the castle went in the 1280s to a branch of the House of Leiningen . Later, ownership passed to the Bishopric of Speyer . In 1470, during the Weißenburg Feud between Prince-Elector Frederick

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