One of the places I visited on my recent (delayed by 3 years!) 50th wedding anniversary trip was to Marksburg Castle, set on a crag high above the Rhine River in Germany. If you see an ad for Viking River Cruises on television (north America only, I'm afraid!), you will see this as the last castle in the advertisement, with its yellow walls and large square crenelated tower, topped with a narrower round tower.
It is the only castle in the area that was never destroyed; Napoleon and his army were only the last band of destructive idiots to mess up the area. His army destroyed just about every castle on the Middle Rhine around 1782-86, very much a scorched earth policy. The height of this castle, along with the pitch of the cliff, made it virtually impregnable. So this is the real thing and not a later romanticised rebuild of the original building. It was a must on my trip!
For lovers of all things medieval, this place was wonderful. A few of the rooms have been left as they were when the original inhabitants lived in it, with excellent and true-to-life reproductions along with original antiques.Wood, pewter and brass, along with pottery, make up the majority of the furnishings, and they are, everywhere in the castle, sparse by modern standards. Do enlarge the photo to see the wonderful array of medieval kitchen equipment!
To help me with my eventual Apothecary Garden, I bough a book there, Der Krautergarten auf der Marksburg (The Herb Garden of the Marksburg), as a guide for what apothecaries as well as castle communities used for medicinal and culinary purposes.
I'll post the occasional photo of what I saw there, as well as some of the medieval neighbourhoods in towns and cities along the Rhine that we were able to explore. Did I have a good time? A huge resounding YES, although the weather was damp and chill. We did have two days of nice weather, but I'm so glad we went on this trip! No less than 3 ancient cathedrals ( Strasbourg, Koblenz, and Cologne), more preserved timbered buildings than I ever saw in one place, a real feast for the eyes and the imagination of someone like me who loves to make minis of the medieval! Hope you enjoy them in the days and weeks to come....
I am glad you were able to see that Castle! I rely on ancient illuminated manuscripts for my "realistic" information about how people lived that long ago! The kitchen equipment you show is very impressive. We just don't understand how valuable "simple" implements were! I look forward to seeing more Medieval posts!
ReplyDeleteIf you Google Marksburg, you'll find a thousand and more photos of the castle, public rooms and the herb garden; the kitchen has a walk-in fireplace hearth!
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