Burg Hatzfeld, Medieval castle ruin in Hatzfeld, Germany.

Burg Hatzfeld is a castle ruin in Hatzfeld consisting of preserved stone walls and foundations standing on elevated terrain. The remains show the structure of a former defensive fortification with multiple wall sections still visible, revealing the scale and original layout of the stronghold.

The castle, first mentioned in 1282, was built by the Lords of Hatzfeldt on a rocky spur across the Eder from their original seat at Nieder-Hatzfeld. In 1311 they had to enfeoff it to Hesse, while the town court in the valley, founded in 1340, remained a fief of the Archbishopric of Mainz. A Hessian siege in 1379 damaged parts of the castle but failed to take it. It was already decaying in the 16th century, partly deserted by 1570, and sections were demolished in 1842.

The name Hatzfeld is tied to the family that held the castle as a Ganerbschaft, a joint inheritance among relatives; disputes in 1383 even led to mutual imprisonment, settled by Burgfrieden agreements. The first, in 1331, allowed a second dwelling beside the existing one, and that of 1419 regulated the Burghut, the armed watch. Excavated dress clasps, clay figures and vessels recall life in the fortress.

The ruin sits on a hillside at 435 m above sea level, east of Hatzfeld above the Eder valley, so the approach is uphill. The site has been gradually cleared and restored by the Verein für Burg- und Heimatgeschichte Hatzfeld since 1991, so parts of the walls and foundations are exposed while other sections remain overgrown.

The castle was held as a Ganerbschaft, a joint inheritance among family branches, which caused disputes: in 1383 relatives even took each other prisoner. The Burgfrieden agreements of 1331, 1383, 1419, 1491, 1497 and 1545 divided the buildings and regulated the armed guard, the Burghut.