The article says a fortification was built around 1117 by the noble freemen of Braubach, possibly in the town below, while the infobox credits House Eppstein. The hill castle is first mentioned in 1231. Dendrochronology dates the keep's base and the hall's lower part to 1239. Most of the present castle dates from the 14th century, including a Gothic chapel of about 1340.
The Katzenelnbogen counts expanded it, and the Landgraves of Hesse added bastions and round towers for artillery after 1429. The article says it was one of only two of 40 hill castles between Bingen and Koblenz that was never destroyed. It is part of the Rhine Gorge UNESCO site.
The German Castles Association bought it in 1900 for 1,000 gold marks and has had its head office there since 1931. The infobox says it is open to the public.
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