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| Diemerstein Castle |
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| Villa Denis |
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| Inside Villa Denis |
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| Wonderful place for meetings and conferences |
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| Once a brewery, now a gasthof |
Diemerstein is a small valley settlement near Frankenstein, which is also a small town, a village really, and except for the name, you’d never notice it while driving the winding road through deep valleys and verdant forests. But the name is catchy. Let’s see…humm, Lon Chaney? Monster? Bolts of electricity and bolts through the neck? Ah, you immediately think of you know whom, although the monster’s real name is never reveald in the book by Mary Shelly, Frankenstein: or the Modern Prometheus.
This Frankenstein also has a castle called Frankenstein Castle. No connection, and besides we weren’t going there. On the Kaiserslautern side of Frankenstein, our destination is the Diemerstein Castle, a smaller ruins dating to the early 13th Century.
Confused yet? German names tend to blend and melt on the English speaker’s tongue. ‘Berg’ this, ‘burg’ that, ‘steins’ galore, and ‘bachs’ without number. Well, here’s a clue: Stein means stone. Franenstein means Stone of the Franks. Diemerstein means Stone of the Diemers. Some say the Hoy Roman Emperor, Frederick I (Barbarrosa) had the castle built. But in about 1215 Rudegar Von Diemarstein probably resided in the Diemerstein Castle. After that, the provenance becomes cloudy until Swedish soldiers apparently sacked the valley and destroyed the castle in the 17th Century, during the Thirty Years War. Damn those Swedes!
In the 18th Century a group of Mennonites moved into the valley and were permitted to worship unmolested. Their private and very secluded graveyard is still there and still in use. It’s a peaceful place near a stream, tastefully tended, and laden with growing flowers and plants. Somewhere along the line, townspeople became vary of their Mennonite neighbors and a law came into effect that made the Mennonites carry their dead through the forest, rather than by road. Doesn’t sound too odious until you see the valley and realize those valley walls are steep and thick with trees and bushes.
Back to the castle. At one time, eleven families co-owned the castle and apparently lived there at the same time. Say goodbye to privacy and modesty. To see the ruins now you’d never think it possible, but in the past, the grounds were more developed, and the castle was surrounded with stone houses. Now the homes are gone, without evidence, and the hillside overgrown with massive trees.
Above a tower doorway, you’ll see an inscription from Ulrich von Hütten, who took shelter here, and was a major German figure during the time of the Reformation, circa 16th Century.
You ask yourself, why build a castle in such an out of the way spot? The answer is obvious if you take away the autobahns and realize that for merchants and armies these valleys led from major settlement to major settlement. In times of peace, there were tariffs to be collected and in time of war, there were towns to be plundered.
Although it is now mostly deserted, this valley was once a bustling core of businesses. The nearby restaurant, Landgasthof Schlossberg, was a brewery. Across the street, ruins of the old post office sit in idle protest of time and changing customs. Before the railroads, the post office served as restaurant, hotel, stables, and hub of long distance communication.
Down the valley and in the shadow of Diemerstein Castle, sits Villa Denis, an example of Bavarian classic style. Paul Denis, a Frenchman and partner in the establishment of the railroad built it in 1853. Same story of industrial progress. A better, faster, more efficient method of doing business springs up, displacing the old. Now the Villa Denis serves as a wonderful setting for meetings and conferences.
Normally, both the villa and the castle are closed to the public. This was a rare opportunity to step back in time. How did I find out about an English tour of Diemerstein Valley? The German tourist kiosk at Ramstein KMC is a bustling nest of information. It’s amazing what you find out when you ask and even more amazing when you find an opportunity and take it.
