Burg Wallenstein, Castle ruin in Meschede, Germany

Burg Wallenstein is a ruined hilltop castle on the 469-metre Wallenstein in the Wallenstein nature reserve near the Wallen district of Meschede, North Rhine-Westphalia. Its main feature was a square residential tower built directly on a rock cliff; two wall remnants about 8.50 metres long and up to 1.80 metres high survive. East of it lies a lower plateau, possibly the bailey, with traces of a four-metre-deep, eight-metre-wide neck ditch.

Burg Wallenstein was probably built in the first half of the 14th century as a Landesburg of the Counts of Arnsberg, protecting their holdings in the Wenne valley and sometimes serving as a summer residence. It passed to the Archbishopric of Cologne in 1368, and in 1414 it was destroyed in a feud between Cologne and the Counts of Nassau. Bernd Hake received permission to rebuild in 1452, but by 1484 the castle stood uninhabited.

The castle's name lives on in the Wallenstein nature reserve and the Wallen district of Meschede. A local legend, "Das Ende des letzten Raubritters vom Wallenstein", tells of the last robber knight of Wallenstein. The site also served at times as a summer residence of the Counts of Arnsberg.

The site is reached by hiking trails that lead up the hilltop, allowing visitors to explore the ruins up close. The surrounding area is generally accessible, but good footwear is recommended since trail conditions can vary depending on weather.

The castle is the subject of a local legend, "Das Ende des letzten Raubritters vom Wallenstein" (The End of the Last Robber Knight of Wallenstein). The ruin lies in the Wallenstein nature reserve on the 469-metre summit, and two wall remnants up to 1.80 metres high survive at the cliff edge.