Metternich Castle, Medieval castle ruins in Beilstein, Germany.

Metternich Castle stands as a ruin on a rocky outcrop above the Moselle River near Beilstein village. The remaining walls, towers, and foundations reveal the typical layout of a medieval fortress built to dominate the river valley.

A castle called Beilstein was first documented in 1268, held by Johann von Braunshorn as a fief of the Archbishopric of Cologne; research by Alexander Thon and Stefan Ulrich dates its construction to around the mid-13th century. After the Braunshorn line died out in 1361, the castle passed in 1363 to Kuno and Gerlach von Winneburg. In 1637 it came to the Lords of Metternich, who gave it its name; French troops destroyed it in 1689 during the War of the Palatine Succession, and it was never rebuilt.

The castle's name comes from the House of Metternich, which acquired it in 1637; the family's last owner was Klemens von Metternich, Austrian foreign minister from 1809 to 1848. Today a restaurant with beer garden occupies part of the ruins, and the 25-metre bergfried can be climbed as a viewing tower.

The site is accessible via marked hiking trails from Beilstein village and offers good views across the Moselle valley. Sturdy footwear is recommended since the climb is steep and the ruins sit on uneven ground.

French forces heavily damaged the castle in 1689, transforming it into the ruin that visitors see today and making it a protected monument. The destruction remains visible in the crumbling walls and missing roof structures throughout the site.