Wonderful Grand Castles of the World

Burghausen Castle OF GERMANY

2015-09-21T03:48:00.000-07:00

Burghausen Castle The oldest mention of Burghausen is documented in the year 1025 as Imperial real property. Emperor Conrad II would later appoint the Counts of Burghausen as the financial administrators of the locality. But, as latest excavations have shown, the area around the main court of Burghausen's castle has at least been inhabited since the Bronze Age. With Archaeologists finding as well remnants of the Iron Age, Celtic and Roman Times, it is hard to pinpoint a "founding" date. The town has obviously developed over thousands of years, but it is not possible to say if there has been a permanent settlement.

In 1164, Duke Henry the Lion took possession of the castle. The Wittelsbachs took possession of the castle in 1180 and the surrounding valley settlements in 1229. The conferral of town status was presumed at some point, but is not supported by sources. Starting in 1255, after the first division of Bavaria, Burghausen gained political and economic prominence as the second residence of the Lower Bavarian dukes.
Burghausen's main source of income was the trade in salt from Hallein, (modern-day Austria). The salt was brought ashore in Burghausen and transported further overland. The landing spot was at the Mautner castle, which now houses the city's education and cultural centre, hosting adult education classes in photography and jazz as well as crafts and jazz events.

In 1307, the pre-existing local law was codified as municipal law, and in the first half of the 14th century, Emperor Louis IV granted the town further important privileges. By the end of the 14th century, Burghausen had become an administrative center as the site of the area's revenue office.

Under the last three Lower Bavarian dukes, Henry XVI the Rich (1393–1450), Louis IX the Rich (1450–1479) and George the Rich, (1479–1503), Burghausen experienced an expansion and golden age as the second capital of the duchy Bavaria-Landshut. In 1505, after the Landshut War of Succession, Burghausen was one of the four revenue offices in

Castle Festival Burghausen in Bavaria

Eltz Castle in Germany

2012-07-01T21:01:00.004-07:00

Eltz Castle in Germany Though older sources mentioned one Eberhard zu Eltz, a Frankish citizen of Trier in the late 7th century, the first recorded instance of the name occurred in 1157, when Rudolph zu Eltz was mentioned as witness to the donation of a property deed by Emperor Fredrick Barbarossa. At that time, Eltz lived in a small manor on the banks of the River Elz, a tributary of the Moselle, in what is now the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The family members had been ministeriales and loyal supporters of the Imperial Hohenstaufen dynasty. In the early 14th century they inherited the Vogtei over Rübenach near Koblenz, a possession of Imperial Abbey of St Maximin at Trier.

From 1331 until 1336 the Eltz were stuck in a fierce feud with mighty Baldwin of Luxembourg, then Elector and Prince-Archbishop of Trier enforcing his acknowledgement as their suzerain, whereafter the Eltz family remained vassals of the Trier archbishops. In 1324 Pope John XXII had appointed Canon Arnold von Eltz Prince-Bishop of Cammin in Pomerania against the resistance of King Louis IV. Robin von Eltz served as Master of the Livonian Order from 1385 until 1389. Canon Jakob zu Eltz was elected Prince-Archbishop of Trier in 1567; he was one of the strongest champions of the Counter-Reformation and allied himself with the Jesuits in opposing Lutheran and Calvinist influence in the region.

In 1624, Hans Jakob zu Eltz was given the hereditary office of Field Marshal for the Electorate of Trier. This made him the supreme military commander of the region in time of war, including leader of the vassals on this important region of the Holy Roman Empire. The Eltz family, Imperial Knights since 1729, reached their greatest influence with Philipp Karl von Eltz-Kempenich, from 1732 Prince Elector and Archbishop of Mainz and German Archchancellor, making him the most noble and one of the most powerful Catholic princes north of the Alps. As a result of their service throughout the troubles of the Reformation and during the wars against the Ottoman Empire, the elder line of Eltz were awarded the title of Reichsgrafen (Counts of the Empire) by the Habsburg Emperor Charles VI in 1733 in Vienna. The additional "Great Palatinate" privilege entitled the Eltz lords to knight others in the name of the Emperor, select notaries public, legitimate illegitimate children, confer coats of arms and crests, appoint judges and clerks, and release serfs from service.

Mespelbrunn water castles in Germany

2012-07-01T00:50:00.009-07:00

Mespelbrunn Castle is a medieval moated castle on the territory of the town of Mespelbrunn, between Frankfurt and Würzburg, built in a remote tributary valley of the Elsava valley, within the Spessart forest. One of the most visited water castles in Germany, it is frequently featured in tourist books. The first precursor of Mespelbrunn Castle was a simple house. The owner was Hamann Echter, vizedom of Aschaffenburg, a title which means that he was the representative of the ruler the prince elector archbishop of Mainz Johann II of Nassau at the castle and town of Aschaffenburg. On May 1, 1412, Johann gave the site, a forest clearing next to a lake, to Echter, a knight, who constructed a house without fortifications. It was a reward for Echter's services against the Czechs. The Echter family originates from the Odenwald region. Their name presumably means "der die Acht vollstreckt", the executor of the ostracism. In the 15th century the Spessart was a wild and unexploited virgin forest, used for hideout by bandits and Hussites, who despoiled the regions nearby. Therefore in 1427 Hamann Echter, the son of the first owner, began to rebuild his father's house to a fortified castle with walls, towers, and a moat using the nearby

Lichtenstein Castle Of Germany

2012-06-27T18:35:00.008-07:00

Lichtenstein Castle Of Germany Historically there has been a castle on the site since around 1200. It was twice destroyed, once in the Reichskriegs war of 1311 and again by the city-state of Reutlingen in 1381. The castle was not reconstructed and subsequently fell to ruin.

In 1802 the land came into the hands of King Frederick I of Württemberg, who built a hunting lodge there. By 1837 the land had passed to his nephew Duke Wilhelm of Urach, Count of Württemberg, who, inspired by Wilhelm Hauff's novel Lichtenstein , added the current castle in 1840–42. The romantic Neo-Gothic design of the castle was created by the architect Carl Alexander Heideloff.

Today the castle is still owned by the Dukes of Urach, but is open to visitors. The castle contains a large collection of historic weapons and armour. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lichtenstein_Castle

HEIDELBERG CASTLE OF GERMANY

2012-06-26T19:06:00.011-07:00

HEIDELBERG CASTLE OF GERMANY Heidelberg German is a city in south-west Germany. The fifth-largest city in the State of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim, Karlsruhe and Freiburg im Breisgau, Heidelberg is part of the densely populated Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region. In 2009, over 145,000 people lived in the city. Heidelberg lies on the River Neckar in a steep valley in the Odenwald.

A former residence of the Electorate of the Palatinate, Heidelberg is the location of the University of Heidelberg, well-known far beyond Germany's borders. Heidelberg is a popular tourist destination due to its romantic and picturesque cityscape, including Heidelberg Castle and the baroque style Old Town

Heidelberg is in the Rhine Rift Valley, on the left bank of the lower part of the River Neckar, bordered by the Königsstuhl (568 m) and the Gaisberg (375 m) mountains. The River Neckar here flows in an east-west direction. On the right bank of the river, the Heiligenberg mountain (445 m) rises. The River Neckar leads to the River Rhine approximately 22 kilometres north-west in Mannheim. Villages incorporated during the 20th century reach from the Neckar Valley along the Bergstraße, a road situated along the Odenwald hills.

Flora and fauna Since Heidelberg is among the warmest regions of Germany, plants atypical of the central-European climate flourish there, including almond and fig trees; there is also an olive tree in Gaisbergstraße. Alongside the Philosophenweg (Philosophers' Walk) on the opposite side of the Old Town, winegrowing was restarted in 2000.

There is a wild population of African rose-ringed parakeets, and a wild population of Siberian swan geese, which can be mainly seen on the islands in the River Neckar near Bergheim, a district of Heidelberg. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidelberg

Neuschwanstein Castle

2012-06-23T08:51:00.017-07:00

Neuschwanstein Castle Neuschwanstein Castle (German: Schloss Neuschwanstein, pronounced ː is a 19th of the Century neo-Romanesque palace on a steep hillside above the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. The palace was commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and as homage to Richard Wagner in order. Contrary to popular belief [citation needed, paid for the palace of Louis from his personal wealth and extensive borrowing, not to Bavarian public funds (see below).

The palace was withdrawn as a personal retreat designed for those living king, but it was opened to the paying public immediately after his death in 1886. Since then, more than 60 million people have visited the Neuschwanstein Castle more than 1.3 million people visit each year with up to 6,000 per day in summer, the palace has appeared prominently in several films and was the inspiration for Disneyland Sleeping Beauty Castle, and later, similar structures . Neuschwanstein Castle (German: Schloss Neuschwanstein, pronounced is a 19th-century Romanesque Revival palace on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. The palace was commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and as a homage to Richard Wagner. Contrary to common totaled [citation needed, Ludwig paid for out of the palace his personal fortune and extensive borrowing, not with Bavarian public funds (see below).

The palace was intended as a personal refuge for the reclusive king, but it was opened to the paying public immediately after his death in 1886. Since then over 60 million people have visited Neuschwanstein Castle More than 1.3 million people visit annually, with up to 6,000 per day in the summer The palace has appeared prominently in several movies and was the inspiration for Disney land's Sleeping Beauty Castle and later, similar structures.