Rhine River CastlesBy, we had reached the middle region of the Rhine River! Most days we disembarked into town early for a tour and sightseeing but today we were able to sleep in, grab a late breakfast and head to the roof deck for some spectacular views.The Middle Rhine is known for its many scattered German castles. I think most would be better called castle fortresses to Americans since they're not quite the Disney-esque German palaces that I had envisioned. Don't get me wrong! They're still beautiful and I especially liked the juxtaposition of the stone walled castles above and the colorful little villages below.On our Viking cruise in mid May, it was still a tad bit chilly and unfortunately on that particular day it chose to rain. Luckily, Viking river ships are beautifully built Nordic masterpieces of light and we were able to dart down to the Aquavit terrace and still benefit from spectacular open views while shielded from the downpour. History of the Rhine River's CastlesDespite notions of Romantic Rhineland, life in the Middle Ages was “nasty, brutish and short' as Thomas Hobbes once remarked. It's little wonder then that these German castles on the Rhine were thick-walled fortifications, tricked out with tight winding staircases, slit windows and uneven cobblestone floors.

Perhaps it's just Americans raised on Disney fairy tales who have their history warped.In the Roman Ages, the Rhine River was the rightmost border of the empire and the Romans constructed a long paved valley road along the left bank of the river. During the Medieval Ages, the Rhine River continued to form a vital route for transportation and most of the castles were built throughout the 12th and 14th centuries to serve as customs control over trade.By the middle of the 14th century, firearms and cannons rendered many castles useless and most were abandoned or began a descent of slow decline. Passing troops during the Thirty Years War destroyed many of the fortresses while King Louis' armies finished the rest off during the War of Palatine Succession. Best Castles in GermanyOnly three castles remain relatively intact in the upper valley and most travelers visit one of these, making them the most famous castles in Germany along the Rhine River.Marksburg Castle is the last original castle on the Rhineland and the interiors are viewable via guided German tour. For an English tour, Viking hooked us up!

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More details and photos on our visit below.Burg Rheinfels Castle is an expansive, gutted shell.Burg Eltz Castle is located on the Mosel River and quite popular. Many people love this one for its interior! Cruising Through the Rhine River ValleyWe sailed Viking's Rhine Getaway river cruise and had a wonderful, relaxing morning spotting each of the castles along the left and right banks. The Middle Rhine is quite a unique section of the river, formed low by erosian while simultaneously lifted to create high cliffs.As we cruised through, Viking provided us with a Rhine River map that listed all the castles along the rhine while our program director pointed out distinctive castles along the way.It was quite unique to see the constant sprinkling of village settlements in the low valley dominated by castle topped cliffs from overhead.

This entry was posted on December 1, 2017, in Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS and tagged Braubach Germany, Cindy Barton, Cindy Barton LCSW, Exterior Photos Marksburg Castle, Marksburg Castle Interior Photos, Rhine Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site, Schloss Marksburg, Schloss Marksburg Interior Photos. 147 Comments. Find the perfect marksburg castle stock photo. Huge collection, amazing choice, 100+ million high quality, affordable RF and RM images. No need to register, buy now!

Meanwhile, the hills in between are quite perfect for growing grapes and so we noticed lots and lots of vineyards.From the middle of the river it was nice to get a lifted view but if you want to see the miniature castle details – the flags, windows and turrets – I'd recommend bringing binoculars. I had my massive camera zoom lens and was able to see them through that!

Marksburg Castle TourMarksburg Castle holds the unique distinction of being the only castle in the Rhineland, between Bingen am Rhein and Koblenz, which was never destroyed. We took a guided tour of the fortress interior during our.

The entire visit to Marksburg took just under an hour and explored the ramparts, outer walls and interior bedroom, kitchen, etc.The fortress is a protective, military-style castle and not a comfort residence so right inside the large double doors we found a cobblestone ramp. The protective accouterments only increased as we explored more. From stairs designed to go up and down to confuse potential enemies to tight corridors and arrow slits, Marksburg is a unique stone keep representative of the Middle Ages.There's a great view of the two rivers below and overall, we enjoyed the history and detailed tour! Marksburg Castle is located closest to the city of Koblenz and makes for a great morning or afternoon daytrip.

The Marksburg is a castle above the town of Braubach in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is one of the principal sites of the Rhine GorgeUNESCO World Heritage Site. The fortress was used for protection rather than as a residence for royal families. It has a striking example of a bergfried designed as a butter-churn tower. Of the 40 hill castles between Bingen am Rhein and Koblenz the Marksburg was one of only two which had never been destroyed (the other being Maus Castle) and at least the only one that had never fallen into disrepair.^[1]

History[edit]

Middle Ages[edit]

A stone keep was built on the spot in 1100 by the Eppstein family and expanded into a castle around 1117 to protect the town of Braubach and to reinforce the customs facilities. It was first mentioned in documents in 1231. The Eppsteins were a powerful family in the region, with several members becoming archbishops in Mainz and Trier.^[2] In 1283, Count Eberhard of Katzenelnbogen bought it and throughout the 14th and 15th century the high noble counts rebuilt the castle constantly.^[3]In 1429 the male line of the Counts of Katzenelnbogen became extinct, and the territories went to the Count of Hesse, who expanded the castle to accommodate artillery and added the round towers of the outer curtain wall.^[4]

19th century[edit]

The French emperor Napoleon seized then abolished the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. He gave the Marksburg to his ally the Duke of Nassau for his service. He used the castle as a prison and as a home for disabled soldiers. After the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 the Duchy of Nassau became a territory of Prussia, which took ownership of the Marksburg.^[5]

Modern era[edit]

Finally, it was sold in 1900 for a symbolic price of 1,000 Goldmarks to the German Castles Association (Deutschen Burgenvereinigung),^[6] which had been founded a year earlier as a private initiative to preserve castles in Germany. The Marksburg has been the head office of this organisation since 1931.

In March 1945, the castle was badly damaged by American artillery fired from across the Rhine.

In the 1990s, a copy of the Marksburg was created for the Ueno German Culture Village in Japan, after the owner of the castle denied to demolish the original and rebuild it in Japan.

Notes[edit]

1. ^'Die Marksburg – ein einzigartiges Baudenkmal' (in German). February 6, 2015. Archived from the original on February 10, 2015.
2. ^de Fabianis, p. 131.
3. ^Marksburg, The History of the County of Katzenelnbogen and the First Riesling of the World
4. ^de Fabianis, p. 131.
5. ^de Fabianis, p. 131
6. ^MS-visucom.de

Sources[edit]

• de Fabianis, Valeria, ed. (2013). Castles of the World. New York: Metro Books.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)ISBN978-1-4351-4845-1

External links[edit]

Coordinates: 50°16′18.50″N7°38′57.00″E / 50.2718056°N 7.6491667°E