Falkenstein, Rhineland-Palatinate

Falkenstein
Coat of arms
Falkenstein
Location of Falkenstein within Donnersbergkreis district
Coordinates:
Country	Germany
State	Rhineland-Palatinate
District	Donnersbergkreis
Municipal assoc.	Winnweiler
Government
• Mayor	Andreas Fischer
Area
• Total	7.48 km2 (2.89 sq mi)
Population (2013-12-31)
• Total	198
• Density	26/km2 (69/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	67808
Dialling codes	06302
Vehicle registration	KIB
Website	www.falkenstein-pfalz.de

Falkenstein Castle

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

History

In 1255, the Counts of Falkenstein inherited territories of extinct Hagen-Munzenberg. In 1418, the line died out, the territory was passed to Lords of Eppstein and Counts of Solms. Later the Solms portion passed to Isenburg-Budingen by female inheritance. In 1647, there was a siege, shelling and storming of the castle by the French. In 1654 Falkensteiners stormed the building and shot the Lorraine commander Weingart. The last Count of Falkenstein, William Wirich, sold 1667, the impoverished county to the Duke of Lorraine. In 1736 the Imperial House of Habsburg possessed the county through the marriage of Francis Stephen of Lorraine with Maria Theresia. In 1816 Falkenstein was transferred along with the rest of Pfalz to Kingdom of Bavaria as a result of decisions taken at the Congress of Vienna agreements.