Burg Rauenstein, Castle ruin in Frankenblick, Germany

Burg Rauenstein is the ruin of a spur castle on a ridge at 510 m above sea level in Rauenstein, Thuringia. Surviving are stretches of curtain wall, a gate structure, shell towers and the prominent bergfried, which rises from the masonry remains.

Rauenstein began as a Schaumberg seat: in 1349 Regent Jutta of Henneberg allowed the fortification of the "Haus Ruhestein", confirmed by Margrave Frederick the Strict of Meissen in 1351. The Schaumbergs left the castle in 1632; imperial troops partly destroyed it in 1640. In 1729 Duke Anton Ulrich of Saxe-Meiningen bought the estate from Hans Siegmund von Schaumberg, the last Schaumberg at Rauenstein.

The name Rauenstein comes from the Schaumberg family, who held the castle from the 14th century and made it the seat of the Schaumberg-Rauenstein line. The village below was mentioned in 1455 as older than the castle and bought by the Schaumbergs. A porcelain cabinet now occupies the new palace built at the foot of the ruin.

The grounds are best accessed during daylight hours since the paths and stairs are uneven and sometimes steep. It is advisable to wear sturdy footwear and allow yourself time to explore the different levels of the complex.

The castle was abandoned by the Schaumberg family in 1632 and partly destroyed by imperial troops in 1640; from 1669 the castle bailiff Georg Dietrich zu Klein-Ziegenfeld lived in the ruin, before he moved to a new house on the market square in 1670. The tower keep was secured at the end of 2006 after the municipality of Effelder-Rauenstein bought the site.