Rietburg, Medieval castle ruin in Rhodt unter Rietburg, Germany

Rietburg is a castle ruin located on a mountainside in the Haardt range and visible from the valley below. The remains still show the structure of the original fortress with different rooms and walls that have partially collapsed over the decades.

The castle was built around 1200–1204 by Conrad II of Riet, whose family were ministeriales of the Bishop of Speyer. In 1255 Hermann of Riet kidnapped Queen Elisabeth of Brunswick; after a siege with a trebuchet she was freed on 4 December 1255 and the castle rebuilt with a shield wall. It passed to the Leiningen family in the 1280s and was shelled in 1470 during the Weißenburg Feud.

The name Rietburg comes from the lords of Riet, whose name derives from the reeds (Riet) along the Rhine near their place of origin. A local legend tells of a robber baron at the castle, also called the altes Schloss, who threw a ransomed girl from the battlements and whose spirit is said to roam the ruins at night. Since 1954 the Rietburgbahn chairlift has carried visitors up to a terrace beside the ruins.

A cable car system brings visitors directly from the valley up to the ruins, making the ascent easier. You can also walk up on foot if you prefer to hike and explore the surrounding area.

The Rietburgbahn chairlift, running since 1954, climbs from near Villa Ludwigshöhe to a terrace a few steps from the ruins. From the top station the view reaches across the Rhine Plain from the Melibokus to the Königstuhl near Heidelberg, and on clear days to the Heuchelberg and Stromberg.