Burg Scharfenstein, Medieval castle in Leinefelde-Worbis, Germany.

Burg Scharfenstein is a hilltop castle on a 480-metre spur above Beuren, southwest of Leinefelde. Its lower storey is rough light-grey and tan stone, while the upper storey is timber-framed in black over white plaster with red and white hourglass panels, jettied forward. Small multi-paned windows sit in rows, and the steep red-tiled roof has a forward-facing gable and two thin flagpoles on the ridge. Today it houses a whisky experience centre, a hotel with restaurant and a coffee roastery.

Burg Scharfenstein was probably built around 1200 on the Schlossberg spur above Beuren; its first documented mention, in 1209, names Dietrich Böhme von Scharfenstein. Landgrave Ludwig IV of Thuringia took and destroyed it in 1219 during his feud with the Archbishop of Mainz. Rebuilt by the mid-13th century with a new ring wall and a second small bergfried, it was sold in 1294 by Count Heinrich von Gleichenstein to Archbishop Gerhard II of Mainz, and the Eichsfeld stayed under Mainz until 1802.

Burg Scharfenstein is today a whisky experience centre with a hotel, restaurant and coffee roastery. Its name recalls the noble family von Scharfenstein, mentioned in 1209 with Dietrich Böhme von Scharfenstein; their later coat of arms showed a leaping dog. The former Cistercian monk Heinrich Pfeiffer preached the Lutheran doctrine here from 1521 to 1523 under the protection of Hans von Entzenberg, in the surrounding villages, at the castle and under the "Burglinde".

The site is easily accessible in good weather and offers views across the surrounding landscape. Wear sturdy footwear as the pathways and ramps crossing the plateau can be uneven.

The castle's first bergfried, rediscovered during restoration work, has buckelquader masonry dating to the late 12th century, older than the 1209 document that names Dietrich Böhme von Scharfenstein. A lime tree in front of the gate is over 550 years old and measures almost 8 metres across. The plateau sits on shell limestone, a rock unfit for building, so the stone had to be brought in.