Burg Lichtenberg, Inhabited hill castle in Oberstenfeld, Germany

Burg Lichtenberg is an inhabited hill castle above Oberstenfeld in Baden-Württemberg, built of rough light-brown stone with a tall square tower capped by a steep red-tiled pyramidal roof. Its main range has a long red-tiled roof with dormers, and a lower wing extends to the left. A stone bridge crosses the deep ditch to the gate, and the narrow inner courtyard holds a round stone well.

The castle was founded around 1197 by a local noble family and became a center of regional rivalry over the following centuries. It passed through several hands and was damaged in various conflicts, though it was never fully destroyed.

The castle's name comes from the Lichtenberg family, first recorded in 1197 with Albertus von Lichtenberg; the name was kept even after the family died out in 1407. The castle chapel, built 1220–1230, preserves wall paintings from its construction period and from around 1350. The castle bell tower holds two historic bells cast by Johann Georg Rohra in 1704 and his son Johann Daniel Rohra in 1731.

The site is accessible on foot, and wearing sturdy shoes is a good idea since some paths are uneven and sections can be steep. The higher parts of the ruins offer open views over the village and the surrounding valley.

Although the castle changed hands many times over the centuries, its core structure was never torn down and rebuilt from scratch, which is relatively rare for a site of this age. This means visitors can trace several distinct construction phases within the same walls, something that few comparable ruins in the region offer.