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Enemy Brothers (feindlichen Brüder)
The castles
Sterrenberg and Liebenstein, perched above the pilgrimage town of
Bornhofen, are often referred to as the “enemy
brothers.”
The tale of how
they got that name dates back to the
Crusades. Actually, there are several variant stories explaining how
the two brothers came to hate each other, but the legends more or less
agree that there was
no love lost between them.
The gist of it is
that one of the brothers went off to fight in the Middle East while
the other brother remained behind. It is suggested that they became
enemies over
the relationship that formed between the brother who remained at home
and the other’s fiancée. Following the
warrior’s return, they are said to have shot at each other
across the saddle in the ridge until they finally resolved their
differences. They even went hunting together... until one met his death
in a mysterious accident.
Steerenberg
is the older of the two castles, and as early as the 12th-century
belonged to a family by the name of Bolanden. Later it was the property
of the Counts of Sponheim. Liebenstein was constructed toward the end
of the 13th century and for a period during its history was the
property of the Dukes of Nassau-Saarbrücken. The ruins of both
are open to the public year round, and the town of Bornhofen is
interesting as well.
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Enemy
Brothers
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