Sooneck Castle was first mentioned around 1271. Like neighbouring Burg Reichenstein (Rhein), the castle was managed by the lords of Hohenfels as bailiffs for Kornelimünster Abbey near Aachen. What is certain is that the castle was besieged in 1282 by King Rudolph I. His troops overran and destroyed the castle and the king imposed a ban on rebuilding it, which he explicitly restated in 1290. When the castle was rebuilt it was given to an Austrian family who were fervent supporters of the Habsburgs, the Reitenaours, to stop Swiss expansion. The wars with the Swiss claimed many Reitenours: George, Robert and most famously, Nicholas, who died in the battle of Sempach. In April 1346 Archbishop Henry III of Mainz gave Sooneck Castle in fief to John, Knight Marshall of Waldeck, who subsequently had a new castle built on the site. After his death it passed jointly to four of his heirs and the castle thus became a multi-family property, or Ganerbenburg.
The branches of the family jointly residing in the castle were not on good terms and quarreled over inheritances. Several times, peace had to be legally imposed. When the line of Waldeck died out in 1553 with the death of Philipp Melchior, the Breidbach zu Bürresheim family, previously co-tenants, became sole tenants of Sooneck Castle. When that family became extinct, the castle began to fall into disrepair.
In the course of the War of the Palatine Succession, Sooneck - like all the castles on the left bank of the Rhine - was destroyed in 1689 by troops of King Louis XIV of France. In 1774, the Archdiocese of Mainz leased the ruins to four residents of Trechtingshausen who planted vineyards. The site later came into the possession of the village of Niederheimbach.
In 1834, the then crown prince of Prussia, Frederick William IV, and his brothers Princes William, Charles, and Albert bought the completely derelict castle and, between 1834 and 1861, had it rebuilt as a hunting lodge. In the rebuilding, which was designed by the military architect Carl Schnitzler, the historical structures were largely retained with the addition of buildings in romantic style. The Prussian royal crest over the north gate of the castle dates to this period. Disagreements within the royal family and the effects of the revolutions in Germany in 1848 prevented the castle from ever being used as a hunting lodge.
After World War I aristocratic properties were nationalized and Sooneck Castle became a possession of the state. After World War II it passed to the state of Rhineland-Palatinate and in 1948 to the State Ministry of Castles (today Generaldirektion Kukturelles Erbe Rheinland-Pfalz Direktion Burgen, Schlösser, Altertümer Rheinland-Pfalz). It can be visited on organized tours.
The residential areas of the castle are furnished predominantly with items in the neo-gothic and Biedermeier styles. The interiors are enriched by paintings owned by the Hohenzollern family and, since 1991, the Köth-Wanscheid family foundation, and drawings and sketches by Johann-Caspar Schneider among others.
Since 2002, Sooneck Castle has been part of the Rhine Gorge UNESCO World Heritage Site.References:
First record of Kastelholma (or Kastelholm) castle is from the year 1388 in the contract of Queen Margaret I of Denmark, where a large portion of the inheritance of Bo Jonsson Grip was given to the queen. The heyday of the castle was in the 15th and 16th centuries when it was administrated by Danish and Swedish kings and stewards of the realms. Kastelhoma was expanded and enhanced several times.
In the end of 16th century castle was owned by the previous queen Catherine Jagellon (Stenbock), an enemy of the King of Sweden Eric XIV. King Eric conquered Kastelholma in 1599 and all defending officers were taken to Turku and executed. The castle was damaged under the siege and it took 30 years to renovate it.
In 1634 Åland was joined with the County of Åbo and Björneborg and Kastelholma lost its administrative status.
Souness Castle ni mji wa kwanza katika Uingereza. Kama Burg Reichenstein jirani (Rhein), ngome ilisimamiwa na mabwana wa Hohenfels kama bailiffs kwa Kornelimünster Abbey karibu Aachen. Katika mwaka wa 1282 ngome hiyo ilizungukwa na mfalme Rudolf wa Kwanza. Baada ya majeshi yake kuvamia na kuharibu ngome hiyo, mfalme alitoa amri ya kuzuia ujenzi wake, ambayo alirudia waziwazi mwaka wa 1290. Jumba hilo la kifalme lilijengwa upya na familia ya Reitenauer ya Austria, ambayo ilikuwa ni msaidizi wa Habsburgs, ili kuzuia upanuzi wa Uswisi. Vita dhidi ya Uswisi vilimpoteza Reitenour wengi: George, Robert na maarufu zaidi, Nicholas, ambaye alikufa katika vita vya Sempach. Mnamo Aprili 1346, Askofu Mkuu Henry III wa Mainz alitoa ngome ya Soeneck kwa John, Knight Marshal wa Waldeck, ambaye baadaye alijenga ngome mpya kwenye tovuti hiyo. Baada ya kifo chake ilipitishwa kwa pamoja kwa wanne wa warithi wake na ngome hivyo akawa mali ya familia nyingi, au Ganerbenburg. Matawi ya familia yaliyoishi pamoja katika ngome hayakuwa na uhusiano mzuri na yaligombana juu ya urithi. Mara kadhaa, amani ilihitaji kulazimishwa kisheria. Wakati ukoo wa Waldeck ulipoisha mnamo 1553 na kifo cha Philipp Melchior, familia ya Breiberg zu Bursheim, ambao hapo awali walikuwa wapangaji, wakawa wapangaji pekee wa Soeneck Castle. Familia hiyo ilipokufa, ngome hiyo ilianza kuharibika. Katika Vita vya Urithi wa Palatine, Soeneck - kama majumba yote kwenye ukingo wa kushoto wa Rhine - iliharibiwa mnamo 1689 na majeshi ya Mfalme Louis XIV wa Ufaransa. Mnamo 1774, Kanisa Kuu la Mainz liliwakodisha magofu hayo kwa wakazi wanne wa Trechtingshausen ambao walipanda mashamba ya mizabibu. Baadaye eneo hilo likawa mali ya kijiji cha Niederheimbach. Mwaka 1834 mfalme wa Prussia, Frederick William wa Nne, na ndugu zake, Prince William, Charles na Albert, walinunua ngome hiyo iliyokuwa imeharibiwa kabisa na kuijenga upya kama nyumba ya kuwinda. Katika ujenzi huo, ambao ulibuniwa na mbuni wa kijeshi Carl Schnitzler, majengo ya kihistoria yalihifadhiwa kwa kiasi kikubwa na kuongezwa kwa majengo katika mtindo wa kimapenzi. Nembo ya kifalme ya Prussia juu ya lango la kaskazini la ngome ni ya kipindi hiki. Kwa sababu ya kutoelewana ndani ya familia ya kifalme na athari za mapinduzi ya Ujerumani ya 1848, ngome hiyo haikuwahi kutumiwa kama nyumba ya kuwinda. Baada ya Vita vya Kwanza vya Ulimwengu mali za watu mashuhuri zilipewa taifa na Ngome ya Sooneck ikawa mali ya serikali. Baada ya Vita Kuu ya Pili ya Dunia, mji huo ulipewa jimbo la Rhineland-Palatinate na mwaka 1948 ulipewa Wizara ya Jimbo la Castles (sasa Generaldirektion Kukturelles Erbe Rheinland-Pfalz, Direktion Burgen, Schlösser, Altertümer Rheinland-Pfalz). Inaweza kutembelewa kwa njia ya ziara zilizopangwa. Sehemu za makazi ya ngome ni furnished hasa na vitu katika neo-gothic na Biedermeier mitindo. Picha za ndani zimeongezwa na michoro inayomilikiwa na familia ya Hohenzollern na, tangu 1991, msingi wa familia ya Köth-Wansteig, na michoro na michoro ya Johann Caspar Schneider. Tangu 2002, ngome ya Soeneck imekuwa sehemu ya eneo la Rhine Gorge, eneo la Urithi wa Dunia wa UNESCO, na kumbukumbu ya kwanza ya ngome ya Kastelholland ni kutoka mwaka 1388 katika mkataba wa Malkia Margaret I wa Denmark, ambapo sehemu kubwa ya urithi wa Bo Jonsson Grip ilitolewa kwa malkia. Jumba hilo la kifalme lilijengwa katika karne ya 15 na 16 na lilitumiwa na wafalme wa Denmark na Sweden. Kastelhoma ilipanuliwa na kuboreshwa mara kadhaa. Katika karne ya 16 ngome ilikuwa inayomilikiwa na malkia Catherine Jarl (Stenbock), adui wa Mfalme wa Sweden Eric XIV. Mfalme Eric alishinda Kastelholma mnamo 1599 na maofisa wote wa ulinzi walipelekwa Turku na kuuawa. Jumba hilo liliharibiwa wakati wa kuzingirwa na lilichukua miaka 30 kurekebishwa. 1634 - Åland ilijiunga na Kaunti ya Åbo na Björneborg na Kastelholma ilipoteza hadhi yake ya kiutawala.