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Neuschwanstein Castle, shown in the OP's picture, is brand new, in the context of castles.
If you were stationed at Hahn Airbase, Germany, you had a local castle that was arguably just as dramatic; Cochem Castle, on the Mosel River. Cochem Castle was almost 900 years old when Neuschwanstein was built! Ray |
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Ludwig II also built this one, it's where he died. He actually drowned in the lake, some think it was murder... http://www.wata.net/_uploads/offers/16/herrenchiemsee2_800x600.jpg View Quote That's really a palace, not a castle. My favorite Bavarian palace is Ludwig's dad's place, Schloss Linderhof. A Palace is a residence, a castle is a fortification that can also serve as a residence. And as for the guy commenting on stories at Neuschwanstein - it's the late 19th century equivalent of a rich Saudi prince building a mock-up of the Millennium Falcon to live in. He was building something intentionally as a "fantasy" object to live in, to live out his fascination with historical stories and especially Wagnerian operas. He lived there maybe ten years before it become a tourist attraction it is today. |
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I'd love to spend a week or so exploring the dungeons, basements, hidden passages and attics of a castle like this. http://i.imgur.com/OgP39jJ.jpg View Quote That's some Beauty and The Beast shit right there |
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That's really a palace, not a castle. My favorite Bavarian palace is Ludwig's dad's place, Schloss Linderhof. A Palace is a residence, a castle is a fortification that can also serve as a residence. And as for the guy commenting on stories at Neuschwanstein - it's the late 19th century equivalent of a rich Saudi prince building a mock-up of the Millennium Falcon to live in. He was building something intentionally as a "fantasy" object to live in, to live out his fascination with historical stories and especially Wagnerian operas. He lived there maybe ten years before it become a tourist attraction it is today. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Ludwig II also built this one, it's where he died. He actually drowned in the lake, some think it was murder... http://www.wata.net/_uploads/offers/16/herrenchiemsee2_800x600.jpg That's really a palace, not a castle. My favorite Bavarian palace is Ludwig's dad's place, Schloss Linderhof. A Palace is a residence, a castle is a fortification that can also serve as a residence. And as for the guy commenting on stories at Neuschwanstein - it's the late 19th century equivalent of a rich Saudi prince building a mock-up of the Millennium Falcon to live in. He was building something intentionally as a "fantasy" object to live in, to live out his fascination with historical stories and especially Wagnerian operas. He lived there maybe ten years before it become a tourist attraction it is today. Yeah, but he sure had one helluva shitter in his bedroom, flush toilet and all. |
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http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee225/rwkelly/Burg_Colmberg_2.jpg Up until January of this year, we lived pretty much at the base of this Burg Colmberg, in Colmberg Bavaria. It's not nearly as ornate as many of the others, but it's very old. The earliest documents they have mention it in the 11th century, but the exact date of construction is unknown. Now, it's a hotel and restaurant. We've stayed a couple nights and it was awesome. http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee225/rwkelly/lichtenstein-castle.jpg Schloss Lichtenstein is one of my favorites that we've toured. They have an amazing collection of arms and armor. After it's days as a manor house it was used as a hunting lodge for the family that owned it. They also have an old mirror, that has a hole in it from an allied tank shell in WWII. http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee225/rwkelly/2672004392_0411f1c8b7_z.jpg burg Harburg is an interesting tour too. Unlike many of the decorative manor houses (like Neuschwanstein) it was a no-shit siege ready castle. The tour takes you through and on top of the walls, complete with arrow slits, channels for boiling oil and these neat little wooden ball turrets where they had fortress guns mounted. it's also the only tour I've been on so far that actually takes you through the dungeon and prison cells. We've moved to a much less castle-laden part of Bavaria, but I'm confident we'll find something around here. (all pics shamelessly ripped from the web. I've got better ones, including interior shots, on my comp at home if anyone is interested.) View Quote Cool stuff and good morning to all I for one would be interested in seeing your pictures. Please share! |
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Quoted: Was Edinburgh for a couple of days for Christmas and Hogmanay this place was awesome and well used, it must have many secrets: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Edinburgh_Castle_from_the_North.JPG We also went to Stirling Castle while we there was awesome as well. The Argyle Museum is there as well, insane amounts of military history. Edinburgh Castle https://gibsonsgoglobal.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/stirling-castle.jpg The tower in the background is the William Wallace monument. The Suffolk and Argyll Regimental museum was there as well, you guys would have complete geeked out. My wife had to drag my son and I out of there. http://www.suffolkregiment.org/SRM_Gen_Goodwin_Case.jpg The guys fought everyone and everything including Zulus and Nazis View Quote Looks like some real beautiful country side too. I can see why our distant ancestors lived there. |
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So, Germany is very easy to visit as a non-German speaker, right? My grandfather's neighbor when I was growing up was a very kindly old German lady who had lived there during ww2. I wish she was still alive, her stories didn't make much sense when I was 4 or 5, but I still have pictures and keepsakes she gave me of "the old country". It would be cool to hear what it was like then from her.
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Some people know how to build a house! I admittedly know little about German Castles or Castles in general, but it seems to me that compared to other European castles German castles seem more like a wealthy persons house than a defensive fort. This is what I consider a wealthy persons house. http://i.imgur.com/NqmqXSy.jpg Fair enough, but many of those German castles don't appear have any functional defenses. At least to my untrained eye. |
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Heidelberg! They have two ginormous wine vats (several stories high) that are just incredible to see in person. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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You can't swing a dead cat in Germany without hitting a castle, one of my favorites... https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Heidelberg-Schlo%C3%9F.JPG Heidelberg! They have two ginormous wine vats (several stories high) that are just incredible to see in person. I loved that castle, went there a few times. Those vats are impressive. So big there's a dance floor on top of one of them. I liked the footprint in the stone. You can wander to quite a few areas all by yourself. The most impressive was the cannon firing slits that looked down on the roman bridge. |
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A couple of castles lived in by my patricarchal great grandfather's many times removed on my father's side. This is Laugharne castle in Wales, lived in by my ancestors in the 1200s through around the 1400s. It had been under seige numerous times, including in 1257, when it was sacked by the Welsh, who took my forefather prisoner, eventually ransoming him. His son improved the defenses, and I don't think it was sacked again. His son became a distinguished soldier who fought at the battle of Crecy and was made a knight. http://www.castlewales.com/laugh1.jpg http://www.castlewales.com/laugh8.jpg http://www.castlewales.com/laugh7.jpg Here are the remnants of the outer ramparts of another castle they owned. Also in Wales. It has some association to the legend of King Arthur. http://www.castlewales.com/rampclse.jpg This is how it may have looked. It was originally built in the Iron Age by Norman invaders. It had a 20 foot deep moat. http://www.castlewales.com/WalwSkch.jpg View Quote It boggles my mind...the skill to stack stones like that. Truly fascinating Thanks for sharing |
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I'd love to spend a week or so exploring the dungeons, basements, hidden passages and attics of a castle like this. http://i.imgur.com/OgP39jJ.jpg View Quote I've been there. Fantastic place but it's not the Disneyland you think it is. The guy who built it only lived there for a short while so it has been a museum and storage attic for most of its existence. |
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The "Mad King" Ludwig II even had a dining table built that would lower between courses, so he wouldn't have to see his servants... https://legacyhunting.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/100_2832.jpg View Quote That's what all the so called "secret passages" those old houses had were for- concealed doors hiding passages from the kitchen would open up allowing servants to set tables without the upper crust moneyed bastards seeing them. They were almost literally forced to move around houses inside the walls like rats. Even on the Titanic the lower classes had their own dining halls and parlors, and they were locked out from the upper stations where the rich- and the lifeboats- were. The upper crust taking a dump on the lower classes was a fashion that lasted all through the Edwardian age up until the depression. Guess why it went out of fashion. |
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Fair enough, but many of those German castles don't appear have any functional defenses. At least to my untrained eye. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Some people know how to build a house! I admittedly know little about German Castles or Castles in general, but it seems to me that compared to other European castles German castles seem more like a wealthy persons house than a defensive fort. This is what I consider a wealthy persons house. http://i.imgur.com/NqmqXSy.jpg Fair enough, but many of those German castles don't appear have any functional defenses. At least to my untrained eye. After cannon became commonplace, the traditional castle became obsolete. When you see a castle ruin, it was most likely pounded to dust and not rebuilt, either by an aggressor or a lord testing his own hardware. Traditional castles were modified to look more like homes and less like fortifications. "Gentlemanly discourse" replaced "Molon Labe" when the other guy had the ability to breach your walls in a matter of hours or just pound the place until it fell in on top of you. The palace-style "castles" were built for show and comfort. Kings and nobles lived in castles so they were called castles. |
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For a good background on castles, read E. Viollet-le-Duc's Annals of a Fortress (if you can find a copy). Viollet-le-Duc was an architect and military engineer. The book follows a fictional French fortified city from pre-Roman times up to the Franco-Prussian War. It explains the evolution of fortifications over all that time span. The fortifications made sense in terms of the weapons available in each period.
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Quoted: For a good background on castles, read E. Viollet-le-Duc's Annals of a Fortress (if you can find a copy). Viollet-le-Duc was an architect and military engineer. The book follows a fictional French fortified city from pre-Roman times up to the Franco-Prussian War. It explains the evolution of fortifications over all that time span. The fortifications made sense in terms of the weapons available in each period. View Quote |
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If it's a German castle you want but don't want to have to deal with the unwashed immigrants, Malbork Castle in Poland is your thing. And, it's also the largest of them all. http://www.searchmap.eu/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/gdansk_solidarity_and_the_baltic.jpg View Quote Malbork is huge! I just looked up the numbers. It's more than twice the size of Prague Castle, and three times Buda Castle! Wow. |
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A couple of castles lived in by my patricarchal great grandfather's many times removed on my father's side. This is Laugharne castle in Wales, lived in by my ancestors in the 1200s through around the 1400s. It had been under seige numerous times, including in 1257, when it was sacked by the Welsh, who took my forefather prisoner, eventually ransoming him. His son improved the defenses, and I don't think it was sacked again. His son became a distinguished soldier who fought at the battle of Crecy and was made a knight. http://www.castlewales.com/laugh1.jpg http://www.castlewales.com/laugh8.jpg http://www.castlewales.com/laugh7.jpg Here are the remnants of the outer ramparts of another castle they owned. Also in Wales. It has some association to the legend of King Arthur. http://www.castlewales.com/rampclse.jpg This is how it may have looked. It was originally built in the Iron Age by Norman invaders. It had a 20 foot deep moat. http://www.castlewales.com/WalwSkch.jpg View Quote That's pretty cool! |
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My Father was US Army stationed in Germany early 50s and we lived in Munich. some locals took us to a closed off castle that would have been near Munich. It had taken a wartime beating and access was very limited. We soon found out why as there was unexploded ordinance here and there. What I remember was an old red fire truck that was in a room that was not a garage. I've enjoyed everyone's great pictures! Regards
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Awesome thread, keep the pics coming! Id love to get over there to check some of these out. Id also really like to go see some of the WW2 locations. Someday....
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I went there last September. Edit: Can't seem to find any of the pics I took at the castle, but found one of the castle. http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t261/modnar58/IMG_20150914_182210262_zpsptgvazik.jpg~original View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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You can't swing a dead cat in Germany without hitting a castle, one of my favorites... https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Heidelberg-Schlo%C3%9F.JPG I went there last September. Edit: Can't seem to find any of the pics I took at the castle, but found one of the castle. http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t261/modnar58/IMG_20150914_182210262_zpsptgvazik.jpg~original Had my high school prom in Schloss Heidelberg. That was my stomping grounds for about 10 of my formative years. Good memories. |
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I think this one's the coolest. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Aq5GSwNJxA4/Tn3B7R31piI/AAAAAAAANHk/wKxrlfMO92M/s640/bannermans+castle+pollepel+island+6.jpg ETA: Not German. View Quote Bannerman's? Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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Quoted: A couple of castles lived in by my patricarchal great grandfather's many times removed on my father's side. This is Laugharne castle in Wales, lived in by my ancestors in the 1200s through around the 1400s. It had been under seige numerous times, including in 1257, when it was sacked by the Welsh, who took my forefather prisoner, eventually ransoming him. His son improved the defenses, and I don't think it was sacked again. His son became a distinguished soldier who fought at the battle of Crecy and was made a knight. http://www.castlewales.com/laugh1.jpg http://www.castlewales.com/laugh8.jpg http://www.castlewales.com/laugh7.jpg Here are the remnants of the outer ramparts of another castle they owned. Also in Wales. It has some association to the legend of King Arthur. http://www.castlewales.com/rampclse.jpg This is how it may have looked. It was originally built in the Iron Age by Norman invaders. It had a 20 foot deep moat. http://www.castlewales.com/WalwSkch.jpg View Quote |
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Our little castle,built in the 1300s by the Germans during the Baltic Crusade to convince us Oeselians to give up our piratey pagan ways http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/mossie500/2016-02-08%2000.43.55.png View Quote Built by the Teutonic Order? |
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Quoted: Rothenburg o.d. Tauber is a medieval city still surrounded by a wall. Cool place to visit about 90 miles from Frankfurt. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I'd love to spend a week or so exploring the dungeons, basements, hidden passages and attics of a castle like this. http://i.imgur.com/OgP39jJ.jpg Got to go there while in th army back in the 80s . Just beautiful . Don't remember it being that far, but perhaps that was it. This was back in 2003, so my memory is pretty faded. But while stationed there, I did 2 weeks at the Armorers course in Vilseck. Beautiful place, and I thought unique with the medieval city walls and the moat surrounding. I do wish I had taken more pictures. |
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View Quote Pedo castle !!! |
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When I was stationed in Germany, our work schedule allowed for 4 day breaks every month.
Some of the guys in my platoon would get together and rent a car. We'd drive to one of the local castles, or hilltops and spot another castle, then we'd figure out how to get there. Then we'd drive to that one and spot out another and do it again, rinse and repeat. The Rheinland-Pfalz is littered with castles. Most are ruins, but stabilized. Some are restored. It really gives you a feeling of history. I wish I had pictures. I saw some really neat places and vistas. |
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Quoted: Told ya, there it is. After all, it is a Small World. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Told ya, there it is. After all, it is a Small World. Isn't the Disney castle based off a castle in Austria? |
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Quoted: Some silly trivia, below is LANDGRAFENSCHLOSS, Butzbach. It is where the Hessian Mercenaries trained that fought for the British during our (United States) revolution. Some 200 years later I would be trained there, the US Army used it for PLDC (WLC now), it has since been turned back over to the Germans. http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/10195191.jpg And a few miles away is Schloss Munzenburg, which is built on top of the ruins of Roman fortifications. http://static.panoramio.com/photos/large/73082375.jpg View Quote |
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I went to PLDC at Kransberg castle (outside Frankfurt)...
The place was cool - so old and dusty the instructors gave up on cleaning standards... |
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I'm not sure where it is but it's called Neuschwanstein Castle. I was just searching for images of German castles View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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The stories that places like that have.. Where exactly is that one? I'm not sure where it is but it's called Neuschwanstein Castle. I was just searching for images of German castles It's near Fussen. It's southern Germany (Bavaria) at the foothillls for the Alps. Very nice little town at the bottom of the hill from what I remember. We took the train from Munich to Fussen, then a bus to the town. Take the horse drawn carriage from the town to the castle. You'll thank me. The air is thin. The road is steep and long. We were there in winter so the snow made it seem like we were in a fairy tale. |
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http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj149/halpark/extrait_where-eagles-dare_12_zpszc5ylhuz.jpg View Quote Looking at the Schloss Adler? They should see the Schloss Hohenwerfen. |
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They're all over Europe. You could pick a random spot on a map of Europe, and odds are there's a castle in the vicinity. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Dont forget, there are also magnificent castles in France. They're all over Europe. You could pick a random spot on a map of Europe, and odds are there's a castle in the vicinity. I toured 5 or 8 castles in Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Ukraine back in 2001. Spent 3 weeks or so at a very small one in the Black Forest, but unfortunately no hidden rooms or dungeons. Just lots of trees and beer...and hot German women folk. I always found it neat to think of the history as I touched the walls. That's something we simply don't have here in the U.S.. One of them I toured (I think it was Poland) was built in the 1300's. The cathedrals are equally awesome. |
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a guy I used to work with, bought this one http://www.burgerbe.de/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Burg-Rheineck.jpg View Quote Wow, where is that |
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