Burgh Stahleck (Stahleck Castle) is a castle in
Bacharach,
Germany that looks over the
Rhine River. Although the exact dates of construction are unknown, it was inhabited by 1095. From 1138 until 1148 there was a dispute over ownership of the castle.
Landgrave Hermann von Staleck, the brother-in-law of
King Konrad III, took possession of the castle in 1148.
In 1156 Hermann died and Konrad von Hohenstaufen was put in charge of the castle and the surrounding territory. In 1190 the castle was the most southerly possession of Bishops in nearby Cologne. In that same year, Frederick Barbarossa transferred the castle to his brother Konrad.
In October 1644, during the Thirty Years' War, the castle was damaged by French troops. It was repaired by Karl Ludwig in 1666. In 1689 the castle was nearly destroyed by the troops of Louis XIV. It was abandoned until 1828 when it was purchased by the prince of Prussia. It 1909 it was transferred to the Rhine Association for the Care of Monuments and Landsape Protection who began the first repairs in 1910. The castle was restored between 1925 and 1927 and converted into a Youth Hostel that continues to operate today.
Sources:
Castles and Fortresses by Robin S. Oggins
http://www.bacharach.mittelrhein.net/rhein/burgen-burg-stahleck/