CASTLE MARKSBURG
The Rhine’s Best Surviving original Knight’s Castle
Marksburg
is the only castle along the middle Rhine River to have survived completely
intact
since its medieval knight past. The other castles along the
Rhine
have been destroyed by sieges to some extent through the many wars, with
the ones remaining that are more than ruins have been rebuilt
over time especially in the revivalist 1700s to 1800s. (See Burg
Reichenstein). Because of its position
high on a promontory difficult to attack from any side Castle Marksburg
has survived in much of its original form although with some later additions
from
700 years
of occupants. Located
above the Rhine town of Braubach about half-way between Mainz and Koblenz
on the east shore of the river, the castle is
reached by
a five minute walk from the car parking
area with a bit of a climb or 25 minutes walk from the center of town with a serious climb. Between Easter and
the 15th of October an entertainment shuttle service in the form of
a rideable
train runs from the Braubach Old Town
up to the castle.
First
built in the 13th Century as a holding of the Palatinate, the property
passed to the Landgraves
of Hesse in the 1400’s. Phillip II of Hesse-Rheinfels built a second
residence in town, Castle Philippsburg where the European Castle Institute
is now located with 25,000 volumes on castles of Europe located almost
directly below Marksburg (see Castle
Institute Philippsburg).
Marksburg Castle which gets its name from the St. Mark’s Chapel
(Markuskapelle) in the first floor of the chapel tower, one of the earliest
constructions
of the castle. There are
four gates approaching the castle starting with the drawbridge gate then
passing through a
25 meter tunnel fortified with seven guns.
Continuing across a wooden bridge which could be withdrawn there was
a pit fall, then a staircase carved in the stone abutement leading to
the battery yard, then finally through an iron gate into the inner castle
yard.
Once
serving as a fortress for enforcing tax levies along the Rhein River
lands as Rheinstein was
lower down (see Burg
Rheinstein), Castle Marksburg later served as a prison
under the Hesse Landgraves, evidenced by the barred windows. Since
the middle
ages prisoners were thrown into
the dungeon through the “Angstloch” the Hole of Fear. Today
the German Castle Association maintains a display of medieval torture
instruments in the torture chamber cellar. The Gothic Hall has an impressive
open fireplace big enough to walk in. The castle also displays an exhibition
of armor and armament over the ages and has a small restaurant above
the drawbridge gate (Burgschänke)
with terrace views of the meandering Rhein. © Bargain
Travel Europe
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SEE ALSO:
BOPPARD
ON THE RHINE
Wine Touring Town on the Middle-Rhine
BURG
RÖTTELN
Castle in Autumn Baden-Wurttemburg
ART
AND AUGUSTINER
Castle Art Museum in the Bavarian Alps
LUFTWAFFE
MEMORIES
Deutsches Museum and A Stroll Down Heinkel Lane
FAVORITE CASTLES BOOKS WINGED LION
