Sporkenburg

The Sporkenburg is a late medieval castle ruin about one kilometre south of Eitelborn in the district of Westerwaldkreis in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.LocationThe ruins of the spur castle lie within the parish of the village of Eitelborn in the Westerwald hills above the L 329 between Bad Ems and Arzbach. Located in the middle of the forest, the Sporkenburg is not easy to find. The easiest option is to follow the signs along the castle path (Burgweg) into the woods from the eastern exit of the village of Eitelborn aus (Erlenweg, near the cemetery). Pass through the barrier and take the right hand path from the crosstracks which leads gently downhill. Alternatively take the ascent from the L 329 from where the castle can be seen above the valley. The ruins are not managed and are freely accessible at any time.LayoutThe tower castle is located on a roughly rectangular hill spur above the stream of Emsbach. The spur drops steeply away to the west, south and east. To the north the castle is protected by a length of ditch . The outermost defences and the ward between the two curtain walls, the Zwinger, have almost completely disappeared.The inner ward is 35 metres long by 18 metres wide. It does not have a bergfried. On the north side the castle has a five-storey, slightly angled shield wall, reinforced with bartizans, that has a height of almost 20 metres. In the western section of the shield wall is the entrance to the inner ward. On the south side of the heavily built-up inner ward is the Palas with its Great Hall, whose outside walls have survived. The eastern part of the inner ward has been completely removed.