Burg Södel, Cultural heritage castle in Södel, Germany

Burg Södel is a castle in Wölfersheim with a long rectangular structure spanning three stories, featuring two timber-framed upper floors and a round stair tower as a distinctive element. The composition combines sturdy stone walls at ground level with lighter wooden framework above.

Södel and its predecessor castle passed in 1418 from the Falkenstein inheritance to the Counts of Solms-Lich. In the second half of the 16th century the castle was rebuilt as a widow's residence for the princes of Solms-Lich, as the date 1579 on a relocated portal shows. Count Ernst zu Solms-Lich enlarged the manor house from 1607 to 1611 and added the timber-framed upper storey. From 1610/11 to 1622 a mint operated in the castle.

The name Södel comes from the settlement, and the castle was rebuilt in the second half of the 16th century as a widow's residence for the princes of Solms-Lich. A displaced portal bears the year 1579, and an inscription stone above the northern passage names Count Ernst zu Solms-Lich and his wife Anna von Gansbach, with a spolie dated 1611.

The castle remains closed to visitors as it stands in private ownership and cannot be entered. While you can observe it from outside, the building shows signs of wear with damaged windows and roof damage, making external viewing the only option.

The 1579 date on a portal at the northern section was likely moved there from another spot, so it does not mark the building's own construction. Look for the stone above the round-arched passage, inscribed "Dern", "Johann" and "1611", whose right half has weathered away.