House of Leiningen
The lords of the House of Leiningen ruled over the northeastern Palatine Forest; the significant buildings there of this aristocratic family were the castles of Altleiningen and Neuleiningen near Grünstadt and the castle of Hardenburg near Bad Dürkheim. Other castles in the region that belonged to the Leiningens were Gräfenstein near Merzalben in the western part of the range and Erfenstein in the Elmstein valley.