Wolfstein, Rhineland-Palatinate
Wolfstein was founded in 1275 on Habsburg King Rudolph I's orders, which called for a “fortified and free” town near his castle, “Woluisstein”, now known as the "Alt-Wolfstein" (“Old Wolfstein”) ruin. Rudolph forthwith granted the new town the same town rights and freedoms as the town of Speyer. As an “everlasting marketplace”, it was to be a sanctuary for commerce, trade and dealing. The first townsmen and -women came from the surrounding, much older villages.
New Wolfstein Castle
Not much is known about the origins of the castle. It was probably built by Rudolph of Habsburg between 1275 and 1324 in connexion with the founding of the town of Wolfstein, as part of the town's defences. It is first recorded in 1324 as "Hus zu Wolvenstein".