 The village of Ruthweiler at the foot of the castle, though, was likely already standing at the time when work on the castle began.At the first documentary mention of Lichtenberg as "Castrum Lichtenberg" in 1214, only Lichtenberg Castle is mentioned, and no village named Lichtenberg.When the Counts of Veldenz were given their jobs as "Vögte" over the so-called "Remigiusland" as far back as the early 12th century, they began, unlawfully, to build a castle in this domain that belonged to the Abbey of Saint-Remi in Reims, against which misdeed the abbot fought back by registering a protest with Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II.