The Trutzeltz siege fortress was built by archbishop and elector Baldwinpurposely to conquer the Eltz castle in the 1330s. The inhabitants of thecastle were protesting against the elector’s territorial policy, and the latterdecided to punish them. There were cannons and catapults in Trutzeltz to bombardthe Eltz castle with stone balls. The castle almost did not suffer during thesiege, but its inhabitants preferred to surrender two years after.
A so-called “Castle Peace Deed” was concluded on January 9, 1336. King Charles IV gavepossession over the Eltz castle to Archbishop Baldwin. Burg Trutzeltz was left as unnecessaryand gradually turned into ruins. Only a few fragments of walls, overgrown withshrubs, have survived to these days.