Hohenfels Castle (Palatinate)

Falkenstein is a municipality in the Donnersbergkreis district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The castle was the seat of the Counts of Falkenstein.

Falkenstein Castle (German: Burg Falkenstein) is a ruined hill castle (imperial castle) dating to the Middle Ages. It is situated above the eponymous village of Falkenstein on the Donnersberg, the highest point in the Palatinate region, which rises within the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Imsbach is a municipality in the Donnersbergkreis district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

The Donnersberg (German pronunciation: [ˈdɔnɐsˌbɛʁk] ; literally: "thunder mountain") is the highest peak of the Palatinate (German: Pfalz) region of Germany. The mountain lies between the towns of Rockenhausen and Kirchheimbolanden, in the Donnersbergkreis district, which is named after the mountain. The highway A63 runs along the southern edge of the Donnersberg. European walking route E8 runs across the mountain. The highest point of the Donnersberg is the rock Königstuhl ("king's seat") at 687 metres above sea level. The mountain has a diameter of about 7 kilometres and covers an area of some 2,400 hectares. The Donnersberg was formed by volcanic activity during the Permian, in the transition period between the lower and upper Rotliegend strata. The name Donnersberg is thought to refer to Donar, the Germanic god of thunder, a theory supported by the fact that the Romans dubbed the Donnersberg Mons Jovis after their god of thunder, Jupiter. According to other theories, the name of the mountain was derived from the Celtic dunum (meaning "mountain") or from the name of a Celtic deity, Taranis. During the Celtic La Tène period, around 150 BC, an important settlement (oppidum) was built on the Donnersberg, covering some 240 hectares. Part of the wall (Keltenwall) surrounding this settlement has been reconstructed. Archeological excavations are ongoing. In the Middle Ages, five castles surrounded the strategically placed mountain: Tannenfels, Wildenstein, Hohenfels, Falkenstein and Ruppertsecken. Today, only ruins remain of these five castles. About 900 metres east of the Königstuhl rock, a 27 metres tall tower was constructed in 1864–1865, the Ludwigsturm. After World War II, a radio mast for the largest U.S. radio station in western Europe was placed on the Donnersberg. In the early 1960s, a new communications tower was constructed, stretching over 200 metres. The Donnersbergbahn is a railway line that runs from Alzey to Kirchheimbolanden. The line originally ran even further, to Marnheim, but on March 20, 1945, the Pfrimm Viaduct, a railway bridge between Kirchheimbolanden and Marnheim, was destroyed by withdrawing German troops, and it has not been rebuilt since.

Wildenstein Castle (German: Burg Wildenstein) is a ruined hill castle on a hill, 486 m above sea level (NN), in the Wildenstein valley (Wildensteiner Tal), hidden in a wood at the foot of the Donnersberg near Dannenfels in the county of Donnersbergkreis in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The castles is of the motte and bailey type. Together with the three other ruined castles of Falkenstein, Hohenfels and Tannenfels, it forms the ring of the "Donnersberg Castles".

The Donnersbergkreis is a district (Kreis) in the middle of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are Bad Kreuznach, Alzey-Worms, Bad Dürkheim, Kaiserslautern, Kusel.

Ruppertsecken is a municipality in the Donnersbergkreis district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

Winnweiler station is the station of the town of Winnweiler in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Deutsche Bahn classifies it as a category 6 station and it has two platforms. It is located on the Alsenz Valley Railway (Alsenztalbahn, Hochspeyer–Bad Münster) and was opened on 29 October 1870 with the first section from Hochspeyer to Winnweiler.

Tannenfels Castle (German: Burg Tannenfels) is a ruined hill castle of the motte and bailey type which stands at a height of 460 m above sea level (NN) above the village of Dannenfels on the Donnersberg hill in the county of Donnersbergkreis in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Winnweiler is a municipality in the Donnersbergkreis, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the upper course of the river Alsenz, approx. 15 km (9.3 mi) north-east of Kaiserslautern. Winnweiler is the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde ("collective municipality") Winnweiler. Winnweiler station is on the Alsenz Valley Railway (Alsenztalbahn), running between Hochspeyer and Bad Münster am Stein. The settlement in Rhenish Franconia was first mentioned in an 891 deed, from the 12th century onwards it was a possession of the Counts of Falkenstein. As a Lorraine exclave it fell to the House of Habsburg upon the marriage of Maria Theresa of Austria with Duke Francis III Stephen in 1736. It was thereafter administered as an Oberamt of Further Austria until its occupation by French troops in 1797.

Winnweiler is a Verbandsgemeinde ("collective municipality") in the Donnersbergkreis, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Winnweiler. The Verbandsgemeinde Winnweiler consists of the following Ortsgemeinden ("local municipalities"): Börrstadt Breunigweiler Falkenstein Gonbach Höringen Imsbach Lohnsfeld Münchweiler an der Alsenz Schweisweiler Sippersfeld Steinbach am Donnersberg Wartenberg-Rohrbach Winnweiler

The Wiesbach is a 44.4-kilometre-long (27.6 mi) river of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The Wiesbach rises in the North Palatine Uplands and flows into the Nahe near Grolsheim in the county of Mainz-Bingen. It is a 2nd order stream managed by the Wiesbachverband, which operates in the counties of Alzey-Worms and Mainz-Bingen. Together with the Selz and the Appelbach it is one of the most important rivers of Rhenish Hesse.