Anebos Castle is a ruin of a mediaeval castle in the Palatinate Forest south of Anweiler in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The name of the castle probably origins from the German word "Amboss" (anvil).
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The remnants of this castle are located on top of a 300m high rocky low mountain range at an altitude of 480m. Anebos belongs to a group of castles together with the Trifels Castle and the Scharfenberg Castle located on rocky mountain tops. These type of castle is known as Rocca (Italian word for rock)
Today there are only a few remainders of the walls and the cistern. Until recent archaeological excavations the cistern was mistaken for a cellar. Additionally traces of stonemasonry can be seen on the rock.
Regarding architectural research the construction was dated to the beginning of the 12th century. The castle was the ancestral seat of the Herren von Anebos. They were ministerialis of highest administrative rank and reported directly to the imperator being responsible for the system of feudal tenure of the castle. Historic sources for the Herren von Anebos exist only from the last decade of the 12th century until the middle of the 13th century.
In the 1194 the roman holy emperor Henry VI was accompanied by the marshal Eberhard von Anebos during the campaign against Italy. His brother Heinrich replaced him in 1196. Historic records mention an Eliza von Anebos as a widow of a marshal in 1234, 1250 and 1252. By the middle of the 13th century the Herren von Anebos appear to be extinct as there are no further records containing their family name.
It is assumed that the feudal tenure of the castle was passed on to the family of a seneschal called Philipp I. von Falkenstein. His wife Isengard transferred the castle back to king Conrad IV of Germany. This is evidence for the expiration of the tenure due to the lack of a male successor, which has the return of a castle to the king as consequence. The last written record about the castle can be dated to 1266.
The excavations since 2000 supplied new evidence, that the castle was inhabited until the 14th century. It appears that the castle was peacefully abandoned as no traces of desctruction by military actions were found.