On my second hiking day, I saw more castles and fortifications. When I reached the town of Niederheimbach, I stumbled upon Burg Sooneck, a castle that has been mentioned at least since 1271. Like the neighbouring Burg Reichenstein, which I encountered in my previous hiking day, it was managed by the lords of Hohenfels.
This castle was also besieged by King Rudolph I in 1282. After destroying the castle, he forbid anyone from rebuilding it, and this ban was restated in 1290. The history of the castle afterwards was a rather colourful one, going from noble families arguing over inheritance, to disrepair due to the fact that the families became extinct. Eventually, after World War I, aristocratic properties were nationalised, and after World War II, this castle was passed over to the state of Rheinland-Pfalz. Nowadays, it can be visited by the public, which is what I have done.
As usual, I started by exploring the exterior. It has some sweeping views and interesting vistas, not to mention rather interesting architecture that is typical of castles. After exploring the exterior grounds, I slowly explored the interior.
The interior is more modest, and unlike other castles I have seen, the interior doesn't quite give the opulent feeling that I was expecting. It was also rather small, just consisting of a few rooms.
Eventually, I went back out again, and explored the rest of the exterior area. I found the exterior area way more interesting than the interior, to be honest.
And then I slowly made my way to the exit. I continued my hike, and headed further.
