The Krichingen house
The clearest fourteenth-century survival.
GilPe — CC BY-SA 4.0 · GilPe — CC BY-SA 4.0 · GilPe — CC BY-SA 4.0 · GilPe — CC BY-SA 4.0
Because inheritance in many German and Low Countries fiefs was divided among heirs rather than given to the eldest son alone. Rather than divide the castle itself, each branch would build an independent house inside the shared wall, with everyone sharing the defences, the well and the gate. The result is castles that look like one from outside and are several dwellings within — and Larochette is among the clearest surviving examples.
Sign in to write your review of this place.
No reviews yet — be the first.
Larochette Castle is a ruin on a rock ledge rising some fifty metres above a small town in the Ernz valley, and its setting is what distinguishes it: the town directly below with its red roofs, and forest enclosing the valley on every side. What survives reveals its unusual organisation: it was not a single residence but several separate houses inside one wall, occupied at the same time by different branches of the same ruling family — an arrangement common in this region when inheritance was divided among sons. The clearest survival is the fourteenth-century Krichingen house. The castle was destroyed by fire in 1565 and abandoned afterwards. Part of it was restored in the twentieth century and opened to visitors, with the rest conserved as a ruin. The visit is short and the ticket cheap, and the best of it is the view from the wall over the town and valley. Larochette lies between the capital and the Mullerthal, so it is a natural stop on the way.
The clearest fourteenth-century survival.
The town's red roofs fifty metres below.
Chateau de Larochette, 7620 Larochette