Castles on the Rhine

Have you ever dreamed of living in a castle? We have. And our dream came true....well, for one night at least. We spent the night in Stahleck Castle which overlooks the Rhine River and rises majestically above the medieval village of Bacharach, known for over a thousand years for its wine industry. 

The enchanting road leading into Bacharach...

In the center of the village you will find this old house built in 1368. Just the kind of thing you would expect to see in a medieval city, isn't it? 

Love the detail on this door...also, the blessing by the priest on the house recorded on the chalk paint on the upper right hand side. The village priests bless every home, whether the occupants are Catholic or not...

A stroll around the village. Notice the lovely gardens and the vinyards on the hillside. We wondered how anyone could work in the vineyards without rolling down the very steep grade, but discovered that there are iron loops to anchor ropes to. We can only hope they use them!

View of the Rhine from the castle courtyard...

The castle truly "rises from the rocks". You can see how the steps are worn smooth from centuries of foot traffic.

Stahleck Castle was built around 1100. One of the most interesting facts about this castle is the tale of a secret marriage between Agnes, daughter of Konrad von Staufen and the son of Heinrich dem Löwen. The marriage was secret because the two families were feuding...well, apparently not everyone was feuding!

Schönburg Castle...

Rising like a centenal above the town of Oberwesel, Schönburg Castle dates back to sometime between 966 and 1141. It has seen many a battle, has risen and fallen especially during the Thirty Years War.

Inside the Shield Wall. You can see the archer's slits in the arched openings of the walls.

View of Oberwesel from the castle keep...

 Looking back up at the castle from the garden below. Now notice the archer slits from the outside...lots of room inside for the archer to move around, but a very small target from the enemy outside.

View from the castle's north side...

Pfalzgrafenstein Castle situated on a small island in the middle of the Rhine was built beginning in 1327, primarily for the collecting of tolls.

This is Gutenfels Castle, built after 1200. It can be seen across the Rhine from the Schloßweg (castle way) road. We didn't visit any castles on the other side of the Rhine. There are over 20 castles along this stretch of the river...we only toured five...

 
 This is Sooneck Castle a beautifully built castle with the distinction of being a "robber knight" castle. It was built as a protective castle in the 11th century, but by the mid 1200's the Lords von Hohenfels became robbers enriching themselves by robbing travelors and collecting heavy tolls.

View of the courtyard...

A bit threadbare now, but elegant furniture for the time....

I had to take a picture of the lighting!

Original crossbow

                                                          View from the top...

This is Reichenstein Castle, also belonging to a robber knight. We decided not to tour it because it is so massive it would take the better part of a day to go through it. Hopefully we will be able to go back...

                                              Entrance to Reichenstein...

Rheinstein Castle, as you can see, sits atop a crag of rock, breathtaking as if from a fairytale. This is a Princes castle built early in the 1300's. It had fallen into ruins, but was bought by Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig of Prussia and was restored by Claudius von Lassaulx and Wilhelm Kuhn from 1825-29 (hmmm, I wonder...). It was his favorite residence, and he and his Princess Louise Wilhelmine lived here until his death. It remained in their family, falling again into ruins until 1975 when it was purchased by German opera singer Hermann Hecher, who began the renovations.

View of the castle from below...

Taking a rest along the way. It was a long, steep hike! Great for defense. The enemy would be too pooped to fight by the time they got to the top.

   Above the main entrance is this crest of the Hohenzollern (a royal family) a Prussian Eagle with Helmet and King's Crown. The gothic letters read "Gott mit uns" (God with us).

Doesn't every little boy dream of being a knight sometimes? These suits of armor are parade armor. The armor height averaged about 5' 4". With all the constant wars going on in Europe, there had to be a lot of "little man syndrome" going around.

This is the Knights Hall. The stained glass windows date from the 17th century.

This is the courtyard. The vine you see here is approximately 500 years old and still produces grapes which the owner says are delicious!

                                                         View from castle ramparts...

I loved this picture of the sink in the castle kitchen!

The bedchamber of the Princess. The bed is Gothic from the late 16th century.

During our little excursion on the Rhine, we took almost 300 pictures. It is an area rich in the history of knights, princes, kings and wars. Each castle presents itself as a hallmark of times past, and as we rambled the halls and climbed the stairs we were reminded that we were walking where kings have walked.