We traveled about 30 minutes northeast to visit the little
town of Neuleiningen. The village is
nestled around the ruins of a castle built during 1238-1241 by Count Frederick
III of Leiningen. The castle stayed in
the Leiningen family for about two hundred years and survived without damage
until being destroyed by the French in 1690 during the War of the Palantine
Succession. The castle was never
rebuilt, and its ruins now overlook the village and surrounding vineyards.
An area that used to be inside the castle walls now hosts a
little playground that the kids enjoyed running around despite the
on-again-off-again rain. A staircase at
the edge of the playground led to a path just outside the castle’s walls that
let you walk part of the perimeter. Wild
blackberry bushes lined the trail, and we emerged with some purple-stained
fingertips.
We had wanted to enjoy the village’s annual Castle Wine
Festival, but it was slow to begin. So,
we strolled around the village’s winding streets and visited one of the
wineries that the district is known for.
