Snapshots From The Road:

The Hohenecken Castle Ruins:
(below text taken from the "castle information" image below)

    The castle was built on the promontory of the Schlossberg from the middle of the 12^th Century onwards, and, like the castles of Beilstein and Wilenstein, served administration and security of the territory of the empire. The main period of construction was between 1150 and 1220. It is first mentioned in 1195.
    The Lords of Hohenecken, in possession of the castle up to 1665, were first mentioned as a dynasty of Ministeriales (administrative knights) in 1212.
    In 1525 the castle was devastated in the Peasants War and rebuilt shortly afterwards, to be altered and extended in 1560.
    The castle was taken in 1668 by Elector Karl Ludwig and demolished by the French in 1689.
    The castle complex in native red sandstone consists of the older upper castle rock plateau and the lower castle extending before it to the north-east. The central fortification, the upper castle of the Hohenstaufen period, is protected to the north-east by a curtain wall approx. 11m high and by the formerly five-sided keep.
    The castle ruin is counted among the most impressive architectural remains of the Hohenstaufen era and is recognized as a cultural monument under Article 1 of the Hague Convention. It became the property of the City of Kaiserslautern in 1987.