Burg Gerolstein, Medieval castle ruins in Gerolstein, Germany.

Burg Gerolstein is a ruined hilltop castle on a 440 m rock above the Kyll valley, east of Gerolstein's centre. Its surviving parts include a 35 m long, 11 m high shield wall built two metres thick in the 16th century, plus traces of a northern outer bailey and a main castle. Two chapels added in 1486 stood in a half-tower and below the rock.

Burg Gerolstein was first documented in 1115, when Gerhard von Blankenheim moved his seat to the castle he had built, called Gerhardstein, from which the town's name probably derives. In the 13th century Gerhard IV enlarged it into a fortress with an outer and inner bailey. After the Blankenheim line died out in 1423 it passed to the house of Loon-Heinsberg, and in 1468 to Dietrich III, Count of Manderscheid. A lightning strike damaged the powder tower in 1670; French troops took the castle on 6 July 1691 and it was retaken on 5 August, when Gerolstein was destroyed.

Two chapels within the castle show how faith shaped daily life for its residents in the 15th century. They reveal that religious practice was woven into the everyday routine of those who lived here.

The ruins are accessible year-round without admission fees, allowing you to explore both the outer fortification and main sections. Sturdy footwear is recommended since the terrain is uneven and some paths can be steep.

The castle was first documented in 1115, when Gerhard von Blankenheim moved his seat to the Gerhardstein he had built; the town name Gerolstein probably derives from it. The ruin also appears in records as Löwenburg, Junkernburg or Jungkernburg (1840).