The Castle Mill in Reifenthal
We hike for just under half an hour, then we approach Castle Reifenthal. A castle? Where could it be? We see a handful of houses, but nowhere is there anything resembling a stately castle building. Even inquiries in Reifenthal do not get us much further. But there must have been a castle here, as it is so deeply rooted in the consciousness of the old people that it cannot be based on mere imagination or just a legend. Then we find confirmation in old records from the archives and in specialist literature. The castle expert “Werner Bornheim called Schilling” tells us that Castle Reifenthal was a long-lost castle-like structure, of which only a few meager wall remnants remain on the eastern slope above the passing Hunsrück Heights Road. The construction of the lost castle is attributed to the Counts of der Layen. They also built the Castle Mill, which was colloquially known as the Count's Mill. In the State Main Archive in Koblenz, there are still lease contracts from the 17th and 18th centuries, with which the counts granted the milling rights to tenants. Johann Morschhäuser, an ancestor of the current owner Mathilde Escher, was a miller for the Layen gentlemen and later bought the Castle Mill from them for 300 thalers.
In Reifenthal, we must carefully cross a very busy road, the Hunsrück Heights Road (B 327), which was built at a rapid pace in 1937/38 for the military buildup against France in the terrible, senseless war. Today, the road has a peaceful character. It begins in Koblenz at the Rhine-Moselle corner and leads through the beautiful Hunsrück landscape to the Saarland. It also serves as an access road for hikers to the Baybachtal, with a parking lot established near Reifenthal. There, one can park their vehicle to quickly immerse themselves from the restless traffic into the tranquility and peace of the valley.
Excerpt from the book "From Mill to Mill" a hike through the Baybachtal, available for 9.00 euros in the Tourist Information Emmelshausen.
