Burg Greifenstein, Medieval castle ruins in Hohenstein, Germany

Burg Greifenstein is a ruined spur castle about 200 metres northwest of Burg Hohenstein on the same wooded ridge above the Aartal. Two adjoining residential buildings survive, with roughly two-metre-high wall remains and worked rock; the site was integrated into the natural rock and probably linked to Hohenstein by wing walls.

The castle's origin date is unknown, but it was a Katzenelnbogen fief held by ministeriales; in 1386 Count Eberhard of Katzenelnbogen granted it to Heinrich Breder. It appears as "Griffinstein under Hoenstein" in 1448, and was last directly documented on 15 March 1585, when Landgrave Wilhelm IV of Hesse-Kassel renewed the fief for four Knebel von Katzenelnbogen ministeriales. It was probably destroyed during the siege of Hohenstein in 1639/40.

The name Griffinstein under Hoenstein appears in a 1448 document, and the castle was a Katzenelnbogen fief held by ministerials such as Heinrich Breder, named in a 1386 fief register. The last direct documentary mention is a fief charter of 15 March 1585, when Landgrave Wilhelm IV of Hesse-Kassel renewed the castle fief for four ministerials of the Knebel von Katzenelnbogen.

Burg Greifenstein lies about 200 metres northwest of Burg Hohenstein on the same wooded ridge, which drops steeply to the west, north and east. The ruins are reached on foot along paths through the forest; no buildings, restaurant or garden stand on the site. The area is a protected Bodendenkmal, so searching for or collecting finds requires a permit, and chance finds must be reported to the monument authority.

The ruin is a protected Bodendenkmal under Hesse's heritage law: any search or deliberate collecting of finds needs a permit, and chance finds must be reported to the monument authority. Local heritage volunteers carried out test excavations here at the end of the 20th century.