Herzburg

About

The Herzburg (also sometimes the Harzburg) was a castle near the county town of Altenkirchen (Westerwald) that stood on the long hill spur between Gieleroth, Widderstein, Ingelbach and Borod. Archaeological monuments and place names give clues to the earlier settlement. The River Wied flows around this hilltop which is strategically located between the old "Cologne-Frankfurt Road" (now the B 8) and the old Cologne-Leipzig road (now the B 414).

The two routes are combined from Cologne to Altenkirchen and then branch out. The Cologne-Leipzig road is also called the Cologne High Military and Escort Road (Cölnische Hohe Heer- und Geleitstraße) from Cologne to Greifenstein/Herborn on the Lahn. The mineral wealth beneath the Herzberg and the proximity of the two "High Roads" (= watershed roads) suggest that the region was inhabited in prehistoric times.

A prehistoric tumulus was not removed until 1935 by the Arbeitsdienst ("labour service"). The rampart section, which was to protect the ridge from enemies, is still clearly visible. In old maps from 1820 the hill ridge of Harzburg is mentioned.

But the new cadastral map refers to it as Herzberg, Herzburg and Erzburg. Several springs rise on...