Castle Rheineck, Medieval castle in Bad Breisig, Germany

Castle Rheineck stands on a hill about 187 metres above sea level on the left bank of the Rhine by Bad Breisig. A tall square tower of rough grey stone blocks with a dark slate roof and a black metal spire carrying a white flag rises beside a main building of light brown stone with arched windows and a steep grey slate roof with gables and dormers. A low stone wall and hedges run below the buildings.

The castle was built in the 11th century by the Counts Palatine, possibly Siegfried I or Otto I of Salm, who called himself Comes de Rinegke from 1126. King Conrad III ordered its destruction in 1151 after conflicts with the Salm-Rheineck family. Archbishop Rainald von Dassel of Cologne had it rebuilt from 1164 to secure Cologne's lands around Andernach.

The castle gave its name to the counts of Rheineck: Otto I of Salm called himself "Comes de Rinegke" from 1126, and around 1180 the knightly family of Ulmen took the name von Rheineck and held the hereditary burgraviate from the late 13th century. Johann IV von Rheineck, in debt after paying ransoms, turned to robbing ships and carts passing below the castle.

The castle remains privately owned and cannot be visited without prior arrangement. Interested visitors should contact the Bad Breisig Tourist Office before planning a visit to confirm what viewing options may be available.

The castle's name comes from its position: "Rinegke" means "corner of the Rhine", first used by Otto I of Salm in 1126. The Vinxtbach stream beside the hill once marked the border between the Roman provinces of Upper and Lower Germania, and later between the electorates of Cologne and Trier.