Meistersel Castle Explained

Meistersel Castle
Native Name:Burg Meistersel, Burg Modeneck, Modenbacher Schloss
Built:1000 to 1100 A.D.
Type:hill castle, rock castle
Condition:curtain walls
Location:Ramberg
Occupants:clerics, nobility
Coordinates:49.2756°N 8.025°W
Map Type:Rhineland-Palatinate#Germany
Code:DE-RP

Meistersel Castle is a ruined castle near Ramberg on the outskirts of the Palatinate Forest in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is located on a 492-metre-high hilltop that towers above the Modenbach valley near the Three Beeches pass (Drei Buchen) on the road from Ramberg to Edenkoben.

Meistersel Castle is one of the oldest castles in the Palatinate. Its name is derived from the words Meister ("master") and Saal ("hall") and hence the term Meister des Saales or master of the hall/chamberlain. It is likely that it was a seat for ministeriales of the imperial castle of Trifels. Its other name, Modeneck, comes from the name of the nearby stream.