The design adhered as far as possible to the use of space in the old castle. An old cellar at the east corner of the site was rebuilt and roofed over in reinforced concrete to make a viewing terrace. Further excavations took place parallel to the construction work, and recovered stones were used as building material in rebuilding the ring wall and the foundation of the keep. The official dedication of the youth hostel took place on 12–13 June 1926 and was followed by a second building phase, from autumn 1926 to July 1927, in which the tower building, with two wings at right angles and a turret at the angle, was built as a girls' hostel on the foundations of two Fachwerk buildings against the shield wall. The ground floor consisted of a large day-room; on the first floor were a large dormitory, washrooms and living and sleeping space for matrons. Further sleeping space was under the single-pitched roof, and in addition there was a 4-bed room inside the turret. Rebuilding of the entire ring wall and the shield wall lasted until 1927. Once open, the youth hostel was almost always oversubscribed, leading to problems with the water supply. Insufficient water frequently led to a complete ban on washing. The problem was alleviated by tapping a new source of water on the western hillside. In 1929, the keep, with two holes in it from the explosion, was finally stabilised to a height of 3 m. The hole on the east side was used as an entrance to the tower. Also in 1929, the day-rooms were redecorated with dados and murals. In 1930–31, the ground floor of the ruined palas was rebuilt, to make a dining hall, a dishwashing room, and a flat for the hostel manager. In 1932, work was done on clearing the rubble from the moat. Under National Socialism Since there was still insufficient space in the hostel, which had over 30,000 overnight stays in 1934, the palas was completely rebuilt, providing 260 beds. The ceremonial laying of its foundation stone took place on 18 November 1934. The work, which took only 11 months, cost and included addition of a kitchen, another Fachwerk building, on the south side. On 25 October 1935, the rebuilt building was officially dedicated. In the presence of members of the Hitler Jugend, the Deutsches Jungvolk, the Bund Deutscher Mädel, and both the