Thallichtenberg

Lichtenberg Castle rises above the countryside near Kusel. First mentioned in 1214, it belonged to the counts of Veldenz, although its construction on land claimed by the monastery of Saint Remigius led to a legal dispute. After the counts died out in 1444, the castle passed to the dukes of Palatinate-Zweibrücken. It served as a residence, an administrative seat and the centre of a substantial agricultural estate.

In 1529 the reformers Zwingli, Oecolampadius, Bucer and Sturm stayed here on their way to the Marburg Colloquy. French troops occupied the castle in 1693, but it survived the wars that destroyed many other Palatine strongholds. A great fire in 1799 severely damaged it. The surrounding territory became the Principality of Lichtenberg in 1819 and was sold to Prussia in 1834.