Dilsberg Castle
| Dilsberg Castle | |
|---|---|
Bergfeste Dilsberg | |
 Tower and curtain wall of Dilsberg (April 2006) | |
  Location within Germany | |
| General information | |
| Town or city | Neckargemünd |
| Country | Baden-Württemberg, Germany |
| Coordinates | 49°23′55″N 8°50′13″E / 49.39861°N 8.83694°E |
| Construction started | before 1208 |
| Owner | Counts of Lauffen (first known owner) State of Baden-Württemberg |
Dilsberg Castle (Template:Lang-de) is a castle on a hill above the River Neckar in Neckargemünd, Germany. The castle was built by the counts of Lauffen in the 12th century. In the 13th century it became the main castle for the counts. In the 14th century it became part of the Electorate of the Palatinate and received town rights in 1347. During the Thirty Years' War, the castle was considered impregnable until Imperial forces under Tilly took the castle in 1622 after a long siege. In 1799, French forces tried and failed to storm the castle. A 46-metre-deep well helped keep the defenders supplied during this assault. In the 19th century the castle fell into ruin and was used as a quarry. American writer Mark Twain stopped there in the 1870s and wrote about in A Tramp Abroad. Today the castle and its town are a tourist attraction and are administered by the Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg, attracting thousands of visitors.[1]
