Burg Grüningen, Medieval castle ruins in Pohlheim, Germany

Burg Grüningen is a castle site in Pohlheim with preserved stone walls about two meters thick and a round northwestern tower roughly nine meters in diameter. The structure has a square layout and parts have been restored, making the tower accessible to visitors today.

The castle was built between the 12th and 13th centuries as a moated fortress and first appeared in written records in 1459 through a sale document. The remains show it once formed part of the town's defensive fortification system.

The name Grüningen is tied to the castle that gave the settlement its shape, and the local Heimatverein Grüningen e. V. has cared for the ruin since restoration began on 3 June 1983. Its more than 25 years of volunteer work earned the Hessian Ehrenamtspreis on 1 November 2008. Today the grounds serve as the setting for castle festivals and other events.

The restored northwestern tower is open for visitors to climb and offers views across the surrounding Hessian landscape. Comfortable walking shoes are advisable since the grounds are uneven and the tower requires climbing internal stairs.

The two cellar vaults belong to the house remains at the southern corner, whose rebuilt timber-framed upper storey runs straight into the two-metre-thick defensive wall. North of it, the cellar foundations of another building are visible, and in the northeast the remains of a well. The round tower stump at the northwest corner, about 9.5 metres across, now serves as a viewing platform.