Weidelsburg, Castle ruin in Ippinghausen, Wolfhagen, Germany

Weidelsburg is the largest castle ruin in northern Hesse, standing on the wooded Weidelsberg at 492.3 m above sea level near Ippinghausen. High wall, palas and tower remains, gate arches and much of the zwinger survive, and the ruin is visible from afar as a landmark of the Wolfhager Land.

The Weidelsburg was first documented in 1235, though a predecessor, castrum Alstat, appears in Mainz records from 1111 to 1121. Built to guard roads and the Ludowingian border against Waldeck and Mainz, it was sold to the Archbishop of Mainz in 1266 and destroyed in 1273. The surviving walls and towers date from later rebuilds, including work begun in 1380.

The castle's name comes from the legend of Hessian women's loyalty: after Reinhard von Dalwigk was expelled in 1448, his wife was granted safe passage with as much as she could carry, and she carried her husband on her back. A relief at the north gate shows this scene.

The site is accessible via forest paths from the parking area, offering a moderate walk through natural surroundings. A small kiosk with information is staffed on first Sundays and holidays from April through October.

The viewing platform sits not on a tower but on the east Palas, at about 500 metres, reached by forest paths up the Weidelsberg. From it the view runs over Ippinghausen and Wolfhagen to the Elsberg ridge, the Isthaberg, the Hohe Habichtswald with its telecommunications tower, and south to the Kellerwald beyond the Edersee.