Page 38 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Germany

36  INTRODUCING GERM AN Y A POR TR AIT OF GERM AN Y  37

Castles in Germany The Great Knights’ 19th-Century Castles
Hall, where knights
ate, drank and
In a number of German regions, medieval castles are The entertained, was a In the 19th century, many ruined
15th-century
among the most characteristic features of the landscape. Michaels- feature of every castle. castles in Germany were rebuilt in a
wave of nostalgia for the Middle Ages.
Some have survived only in the form of picturesque kapelle A number of completely new castles
ruins, but many others, refurbished and modernized were built, which were modelled on
over the years, continue to be the main residence for medieval designs.
the families for whom they were built. The most
impressive grouping of great fortresses is
to be found along the banks of the
Mosel and the central Rhine, while, in
the Münster area, you will see the Raesfeld is one of the most
most beautiful moated castles to beautiful castles in Münster-
have survived in the lowlands. land, a region of Westphalia Lichtenstein castle owes
that is renowned for its fame to the novel
its historic moated castles. Lichtenstein by Wilhelm
The castle was extended The Schwerin castle, originally built Hauff, and its beauty to
in the mid-17th century in the 16th century, was exten sively the Romantic style of a
for Alexandra II von Velen reconstructed in 1843–57 – work new castle built in 1840–41
(see p392). inspired by French castles along the on the grounds of a pre-
river Loire (see p474). existing one (see p319).

Evangelical The main entrance
Chapel to the castle leads
through a gate
house – here in the
form of a tower.
Schloß Neuschwan
stein, built for
Ludwig II, and an
Marburg Castle is one of the best-preserved inspira tion for
fortresses in Hesse. At its core is a 12th-century Disney land’s
building, but the castle’s current appearance is Sleeping Beauty
the result of work carried out between the 14th Castle, is one of the
and 16th centuries (see p373). The Royal Room best-known and
was an apartment most-visited castles in
specially designated Germany, receiving
for the use of some 1.4 million
important guests. visitors a year
(see p286–7).
The Wartburg in Eisenach
is one of the most impor-
tant monuments in
Thuringia, not only because
of its excellently preserved
architecture but also for its
association with Martin
Luther (see pp190–91).

Heidelberg Castle has Burg Hohenzollern
survived as a picturesque Gardens were laid
out in the 19th
ruin. A Gothic-Renaissance century in an area The family seat of the Hohenzollern family, Burg
structure of imposing between the Hohenzollern in Hechingen, is set on a clifftop in the
proportions, it continues to castle walls and Swabian Jura. The first building was established here
captivate with its the site of the in the 13th century and rebuilt many times over the Burg Eltz, set high above the Mosel, is one of
commanding position and farm buildings. years. The current medieval appearance is the result the most beautiful castles in Germany. Built
fascinating architecture of work that was carried out in 1850–67 in the spirit between the 12th and 16th centuries, it has
(see pp302–3). of romantic historicism (see p318). survived with very few alterations (see p349).

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