Burg Rauschenberg, Medieval castle ruins in Rauschenberg, Germany.

Burg Rauschenberg is the ruin of a medieval hilltop castle on a summit about 324 metres above sea level above the town of Rauschenberg. Its core held a bergfried, at least two main residential buildings and several small outbuildings, enclosed by an angular ring wall around an almost circular layout. Surviving are rubble remains of the bergfried, wall parts of a probably three-storey residential building with vault remnants, and a barrel-vaulted cellar. The photograph shows rough red and brown stone walls with pointed arch openings, two of them blocked, and a bare earthen floor.

Burg Rauschenberg was probably built in the 11th or 12th century on behalf of Fulda Abbey and was first mentioned in 1219, when the Fritzlar canon Conrad von Rauschenberg administered it. After the Ziegenhain counts died out around 1450 it passed to the Hessian landgraves and served as a hunting lodge. It was extended into a landgrave's palace from 1594 to 1597, plundered by the Swedes in 1639 and blown up in 1646 on the orders of a Hesse-Kassel colonel; in 1830 parts of the rubble were removed.

The castle displays typical elements of medieval fortified architecture that remain visible in the foundations and wall structures today. Visitors can see how the design served both defensive and residential purposes for its inhabitants.

The site is accessible via well-maintained hiking trails and invites exploration of the ruins and surroundings. Access is free, and the paths are generally walkable, though sturdy footwear is recommended.

The castle was blown up in 1646 on the orders of a Hessen-Kassel colonel, after Swedish troops had already plundered it in 1639 during the Thirty Years' War. Part of the rubble was carted away around 1830. Two wide, blocked pointed arches still stand side by side in the rear wall, with a small rectangular sign between them.