The Angry brothers

The rocky ridge at the back of Bornhofen bears the ruins of two castles. These are separated by a high wall known locally as the Fighting Wall. And hereby hangs a tale.

At Sterrenberg Castle we are told, there once lived a knight, whose consort died young. After that, a young damsel kept the house for him and his two growing sons. The latter lost their hearts to the girl, and the younger of the two found favour with her. One day, recruiting started for a crusade and the lucky lad was off to the Holy Land, the damsel having pledged her troth. On his return after many years, however, the lad brought a Greek wife with him. Sterrenberg Senior built a new home for the couple and called it Liebenstein Castle. The elder brother was dismayed at the younger’s faithlessness, and soon a high wall separated the two premises. Yet, the brothers met in church, and swords were drawn. In a vain attempt to separate them, the damsel was stabbed and died. The two brothers fell in a dual, and all of this broke the father’s heart.

These were the two castles that we climbed up to on our first walk.