THURANT CASTLE
Guarding The Mosel Vineyards
Thurant
Castle (Burg Thurant) standing on a vine covered steep slope above the
Mosel (Moselle) River where it is flat and wide between Coblenz and
Cochem, above the town of Alken, has endured murder, the intrigues of
succession, division by a wall and allied bombs. The older parts of the
castle are ruins, but sections have remained and slowly recovered. The
first construction of the castle was begun in 1197 under the Palatine
Duke of Braunschweig. Castle Thurant gets its name from the fortified
town of Thuron in present Syria, unsuccessfully besieged by its builder in the
Crusades under German Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. Thurant resisted claims of the Hohenstaufens
(see Burg
Guttenberg on the Neckar) until being taken by the Archbishop
of Cologne, Engelbert in 1216. Englebert was murdered after only nine
years
in control.
Perhaps
the Burg Thurant castle’s most interesting history is after
its transfer to the Bavarian Wittelsbachs
(see Castle Eltz Mosel). Through parts of its
existence Castle
Thurant has been divided, unlike Solomon’s baby. After its fall
under a siege in 1248, following a two year war with the city of Trier
by its then occupant, the knight known as “Zorno”, the
ownership of the castle was actually divided between two Bishoprics.
One half of
Thurant was given to Coblenz and the other to Trier. The castle today
is
noted for its two towers at either
end.
When the castle was divided between the two
districts a wall was built between the
two halves so each owner would have a defense. The
towers are now called the Trier Tower and the Cologne Tower. Several
families had claim to the castle over the years, until it was abandoned
as a fortress in 1600s and remained a ruin until privately purchased
in 1911. It suffered further damage in 1945 at the end of the Second World War as the allies where advancing toward the Rhine.
The
current owners have been rebuilding and restoring the remaining features
of the castle since the 1920's. Noted elements of the structure
are its
two high towers, defensive walkways, a cannon postion in a turret overlooking the river, the current
rebuilt manor house, the dividing wall, a castle chapel with an ornate
Baroque
altar
and
a rebuilt hunting lodge with displays of armor and hunting trophies.
Visiting Thurant Castle Mosel
Thurant
Castle can clearly be seen from the river and the river route road
(B49) and is easily reached up a road from the village of Alken on
the south
bank of the Mosel. There is a car parking area just below the wooden
draw walkway to the castle gate with its spiked portcullis. Admission
is a few euro and there is a small refreshment bar inside. Castle Thurant
is just across the river from Castle Eltz (see Knights Castle Eltz), just out of sight, and about
20 minutes
from
Cochem (see Cochem
Imperial Castle). It
can also be reached via a shortcut from the Rhine River at Boppard
(see Rhine
Town Boppard) via the (narrow) country road through Pfaffenheck. © Bargain
Travel Europe
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See Also:
RHINE
CASTLES EHRENFELS AND SOONECK
GERMAN WINE ROAD - BAD DURKHEIM
SCHLOSS LUDWIGSECK - CASTLE BED & BREAKFAST
SAAR LOOP VIEWPOINT - SAARSHLIEFF
