In April/May 2018, Debra and I cruised the Rhine River for eight days on the Viking Mani. We sailed from Basel, Switzerland to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, with port stops in Germany, France and the Netherlands. Click HERE to read a short introduction about this fantastic cruise.
This story, which is part of a series, is about our tour of Marksburg Castle.
This story, which is part of a series, is about our tour of Marksburg Castle.
Braubach, Germany (May 1, 2018) Debra and I went on an enchanting tour this morning – a three-hour scenic cruise through the Upper Middle Rhine Valley. We saw quaint towns, hillside vineyards, beautiful countryside, and lots and lots of castles. Click HERE to read about this tour.
The Mani docked in Koblenz (pop. 100,000) around noon. Established as a military post by the Romans in 8 B.C., the city’s name was derived from the Latin ad confluentes (in English, at the confluence), as this was where the Moselle River, which originates in the Vosges Mountains in France, flowed into the Rhine.
After lunch in the ship's dining room, we joined a group of passengers on a short bus ride to the medieval town of Braubach. There we explored the 700-year-old Marksburg Castle.
After lunch in the ship's dining room, we joined a group of passengers on a short bus ride to the medieval town of Braubach. There we explored the 700-year-old Marksburg Castle.
Of the 40 or so castles on the Middle Rhine, Marksburg was the only one never destroyed – not burned, not blasted, and not razed. (The castle was slightly damaged when the Allies bombed Koblenz near the end of World War Two.) How was this possible? The answer was “location, location, location.” Marksburg Castle, you see, was built high atop a steep, isolated hill at a bend on the right bank of the Rhine. The castle’s defenders had commanding views of the Rhine Valley, like the one in the photo below, and enemies simply had no way to scale the hill and attack the castle.
Marksburg Castle, which was originally called Braubach, changed hands many times over the centuries. Each owner – typically a noble family – made additions to the castle, always maintaining its medieval character. Along the way, the castle was renamed Marksburg in honor of St. Mark the Apostle. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the castle was used as a prison. Since 1900, Marksburg Castle has been home to the Association of the Preservation of German Castles.
On the ride to Braubach, I scanned a brochure, The Marksburg Adventure, which I was handed when we boarded the bus. Fortified gates, a keep that towers over a great hall, living quarters for servants and noblemen, narrow passages and stairways, period furniture, and batteries and battlements – Marksburg Castle had all of this and more, and was easily accessible on a one-hour guided tour. It sounded absolutely fascinating, and Debra and I were stoked!
On the ride to Braubach, I scanned a brochure, The Marksburg Adventure, which I was handed when we boarded the bus. Fortified gates, a keep that towers over a great hall, living quarters for servants and noblemen, narrow passages and stairways, period furniture, and batteries and battlements – Marksburg Castle had all of this and more, and was easily accessible on a one-hour guided tour. It sounded absolutely fascinating, and Debra and I were stoked!
For a man’s house is his castle.
This is the cliched version of a famous decision (1604) by English judge Sir Edward Coke – a decision about a person’s right to privacy, rather than which sex “ruled the roost.” But, if truth be known, Debra was prepared to argue the latter soon after we arrived at the castle. You see, it was love at first sight, and Debra declared “Dieses schloss gehort mir!” Ok…you got me...she doesn’t speak German. Instead, what Debra said was, “This castle is mine!” And thus the title of this story, Mein Ehefrau’s Schloss – My Wife’s Castle.
We entered Marksburg through three gates. The first was the aptly named Drawbridge Gate (photo above). Originally, this gate was tall enough to allow the nobleman’s knights to ride through on their steeds. It didn’t take the nobleman long, though, to see the defect in this design – if his knights could gallop through, so could his enemies. Solution? Reduce the height of the gate. Brilliant!
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From the Drawbridge Gate, we walked up a winding stone path to Fuchstor (Fox Gate). which you can see in the background of this photo. By the way, each gate was progressively higher up on the hill, and the paths between the gates were sometimes steep, narrow, and uneven.
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We met our guide, Anna, at Fuchstor. More for show (I believe) than security, Anna produced a rather large iron key to open this gate. “Der schlussel zu meinem schloss!” proclaimed Debra (The key to my castle!), as she tried to persuade Anna to give the key to her. No dice, although Debra did get to hold it for about 10 seconds.
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Anna led us up a stone walkway to the third gate, Schartentor (Arrow Slit Gate). There, she pointed out an oriel – a projection from the wall above the gate, which you can see in the photo to the left. From the oriel, the castle’s defenders could pour boiling tar on or hurl stones and other objects at enemies who reached this gate. Of course, this defensive action was never required at Marksburg Castle.
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Through Schartentor, we climbed the Riders Stairway (left hand photo below), which was carved from the bedrock that the castle was built on. Anna told us that the design – rough and uneven – was purposeful, as horses (and riders) were less likely to slip on rainy days. By the way, if an enemy had breached Schartentor, defenders could still rain objects down on those attackers from the bridge over the walkway (right hand photo below).
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Debra and I were now inside the walls of the castle...
…and we soon reached the Small Battery, the first of two batteries that housed cannons. (A battery is an organized group of artillery pieces.) Built in 1711, the Small Battery housed the oldest (and smallest) cannon in the castle – a short-range Breech Loader from the mid-15th century. Nearby was the Great Battery, which was built during the 30-Years’ War (1618 – 1648). The larger cannons, which dated from the late 1600s, had a much longer range – over 3,000 feet. The Small and Great batteries were the primary defensive structures for the castle and town of Braubach, with their cannons aimed at the Rhine below.
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We followed Anna to the Upper Bailey – a courtyard enclosed by a defensive wall. There we had breathtaking views of the Rhine river and valley.
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We also saw something that seemed a bit incongruous – a beautiful medieval herb garden with more than 150 medicinal plants and spices known in Europe during the Middle Ages.
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As we continued around the Upper Baily, Anna called our attention to a structure that projected from the castle wall high above our heads, which you can see in the photo to the right. No, this wasn’t another oriel. Rather, it was a “garderobe” (garde-robe), a historic term for a room in medieval castles.
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This word has many meanings, and in this instance the garderobe was a privy. Yep – a medieval badezimmer (bathroom). No need to flush, as gravity disposed of any “waste.” Clearly, where we stood wasn’t the place to be when this facility was being used! “What did the inside of the garderobe look like?” you ask. Check out the photo to the left, which I took later on the tour. Pretty basic, huh?!
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We entered the castle proper from the Upper Bailey, and within a few steps found ourselves in the bedchamber reserved for the noble family of the castle. The first thing that Debra and I noticed was the head of the bed – it was elevated much like a Tempur-Pedic mattress. “Why was the head of the bed elevated?” Debra asked Anna. “To help the occupants breathe,” replied Anna, “especially when the bed drapes were drawn on cold winter nights. The drapes helped retain the heat from the fire but also trapped smoke.”
There was a lovely niche in the outer wall of the bedchamber – a place to sit and read, play chess, or gaze out the window.
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We stepped through a small doorway into the Great Hall. And when I say “a small doorway,” I mean small. As a reference point, it was the right height for Debra, who is all of four feet eleven inches. The Great Hall, perhaps the largest “residential” room in the castle, was where the noble family ate, lived, talked, and entertained. By the way, the door behind the table in the left-hand photo below? It led to the garderobe I mentioned earlier – the privy.
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Next, we visited the chapel. Built in the 14th century, the noble family used the chapel for daily prayers and services. The walls and ceiling were adorned with beautiful frescoes, the colors well-preserved. One of the niches held a statue the Virgin Mary, a copy of a 15th century Rhenish (Rhine) design.
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We climbed a narrow staircase to the armory, which showcased a private collection of 12 life-size figures of warriors and knights from 1880. These figures illustrated the armor and weapons – original pieces as well as replicas – that spanned more than 2,000 years, from ancient times to the early modern period. The photo in the middle is a display of halberds, two-handed pole weapons that were used during the 14th – 16th centuries.
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Down, down, down we went to the wine cellar, where we saw wine barrels, pitchers, and an 18th century wine press. Anna told us that wine, which was less alcoholic than today, was a traditional drink…and an essential drink because water was often impure. I'll drink to that!
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From the wine cellar we climbed a narrow stone staircase (bottom left photo above) to the kitchen, which dated from 1435. There was a large niche filled with pots and pans and a wall rack with plates. And take a look at the size of the fireplace – it’s big enough to roast a whole steer or ox!
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We were coming to the end of our tour, and as we made our way back to Fuchstor (did you remember that this was Fox Gate?), we made two more stops. The castle’s blacksmith workshop was in a small room built into the bedrock. There was a forge constructed of stone in the corner and many blacksmith tools on display. Nearby, in the former stables, was an exhibit of tools of another kind – the rack, an iron mask, thumbscrews, and other instruments of torture from the Middle Ages. Oh, those medieval nobles – did they know how to have fun or what?!
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We said “auf wiedersehen” to Anna, who was a great guide. She was quite personable and a fount of knowledge about the castle, which she seemed to enjoy sharing with us. Debra and I loved the tour!
On the ride back to Koblenz, I read in the brochure that Marksburg Castle is the most-visited castle along the Rhine. It was easy to see why. The German Castles Association has done an outstanding job maintaining and preserving this castle. Together with the period pieces, our tour of Marksburg Castle was like looking through a window into life in the late Middle Ages.
If you only have time to visit one castle on the Rhine, I recommend you visit Marksburg – you won’t be disappointed!
On the ride back to Koblenz, I read in the brochure that Marksburg Castle is the most-visited castle along the Rhine. It was easy to see why. The German Castles Association has done an outstanding job maintaining and preserving this castle. Together with the period pieces, our tour of Marksburg Castle was like looking through a window into life in the late Middle Ages.
If you only have time to visit one castle on the Rhine, I recommend you visit Marksburg – you won’t be disappointed!