04-02-2023 Visiting the Marksburg Castle

Deb's dreams of cruising the Rhine were filled with thoughts of visiting the magical castles along the river.  She made sure that she purchased the optional excursion for both of us, visiting Medieval Marksburg Castle.  She was worried about me, worried that it would be too much for me, with warnings in the description of the tour that it was "demanding", and that those with mobility concerns should seriously consider their abilities before embarking on this particular excursion.  I said not to worry, I could do what I could, and if I couldn't do the entire thing I could sit somewhere on the grounds while she toured the castle.  

When we awoke this morning near dawn, Deb's first vision was of the magnificent Stolzenfels Castle glowing pale in the dim morning light.  She told me the other day that this first view of this castle was among her favorite memories of our cruise.  

The Rhine is wide between Stozenfels and Braubach where we would be docking for our visit to the Marksburg Castle.  In the early morning light, with street and house lights still on, the lights reflected on the water, making everything seem even more romantic and magical.  

We were both excited about the day ahead, with our anticipated visit to the Marksburg Castle scheduled to depart at 8:45 AM.  After an early breakfast in the dining room, we dressed for the chill weather and were ready and waiting for the notification that it was time to depart the ship for our waiting tour bus.

I knew that I wouldn't be able to take the walker through the castle, imagining the narrow, winding towers that I have climbed in castles in the past.  I did, however, want it for getting to and from the castle on the hill sitting high above the river.  Without a moment's hesitation, the tour guide and the bus driver were kind and willing to load my walker into the basement area of the bus.  The tour guide said I could do as much as I was able and I told her I was willing to wait outside the castle, or anywhere that I couldn't manage well on my own.

After a short walk to the bus, we took a short ride through the town of Braubach as we ascended the hilltop toward the castle.  Deb was enthralled with the German half-timbered buildings. I laughed because it reminded me so much of the German section of Epcot at Disney in Florida.  

As you can see in the photos from the bus, the day was still very wet and the rain came and went but never was an actual downpour, so we were lucky in that respect. Once we exited the bus, the walk up the hill wasn't terribly steep and I managed just fine with the walker.  I was feeling a bit nervous inside though, wondering just how hard it was going to be for me to keep up with the group.

When Deb took this photo, I was NOT the very last person in line, but I was toward the back of the bunch for sure.

Marksburg is one of the principal sites of the Rhine Gorge UNESCO World Heritage Site.  It was used for protection rather than as an actual residence.  It is an interesting example of a "bergfreid", the tall defensive towers typically found in medieval castles in German-influenced countries.  This bergfreid was designed as a butter churn tower, a two-part defensive tower where the upper section has a smaller width than the lower section. 

Of the 40 castles on the Middle Rhine between Bingen am Rhein and Koblenz, the Marksburg was one of only two which had never been destroyed, and the only one that has never fallen into disrepair.  This made it the perfect castle to tour in depth as we traveled the Rhine.

Marksburg Castle is first mentioned in the year 1231.  Over the next few hundred years, the castle repeatedly changed ownership.  In the late 1400s, the castle passed to the Landgraves of Hesse, who ramped up its fortifications by adding artillery batteries and ramparts.  

We visited the ramparts, which overlooked the Rhine from a different perspective.  From this vantage point, we could clearly see Gersemi docked below along the banks of the river. Although initially established as a fort, during the late 1800s, the castle became a home for invalids, a prison, and a barracks for the Prussian Army.

We entered the castle through a great gate, fit for dreams and fairy tales, which led us to the interior through a long stone tunnel.

Our guide was helpful and showed me a place where I could leave my walker at the base of the stairs and said I was welcome to walk as much as I was able in the upper reaches of the castle.  

Passing through the tunnel to the protected area of the fortress, we entered a lovely courtyard with early spring flowers just beginning to bloom.  I loved seeing the plants and herbs in the kitchen garden.  

The courtyard was edged with a wall with a breathtaking view of the river valley below with our ship docked in the distance.  The wind was cold.  If you look closely, you will see that I have only one glove on.  I had forgotten gloves, but Deborah shared with me and we each wore one to help with the chill.  

We left the courtyard to walk the inner pathways leading to the main part of the castle.  It was here that I was treated to the best of kindness, as a strong man offered his arm to help me navigate the wet, slippery, rough stone pathway.

Marksburg Castle is the only fort in the Rhine River Valley that looks much as it did in the 13th to 15th centuries.  Marksburg escaped the bombs of World War I and II that destroyed so many other structures in Europe.  Many of the rooms, including the great hall, the chapel, the kitchen, and the armory are well-preserved slices of medieval life.

I don't quite understand the fascination with dungeons and objects of torture that are often part of Medieval tours, no matter the country.  But here is the dungeon. Surprising that it has windows, and makes me wonder if they just moved all the stuff to a different room.  I usually leave during the torture discussions, being a wuss when it comes to thinking about that sort of thing. The inner rooms of the castle are quite dark and difficult to photograph.  Deb and I both took lots of photos that I keep in my SmugMug files, but many of them are fuzzy or poorly lit because of the dark conditions inside the fort.

We did manage a photo of the amazing kitchen that felt as though we had stepped back in time.

As the group walked into even darker and steeper recesses of the castle, the German guide who was helping  our ship tour guide interpret what we saw in the castle said he would take me to another area where I could more easily navigate some of the inclines.  

In the interim, as we waited, he told me about his city life in Frankfurt, his beautiful wife which he adored, and how he had decided to leave city life behind and live a more relaxed rural life in this part of Germany. He loved that he had more time to play, hike and ski in between his tour guide assignments.

Well-preserved medieval tapestries and musical instruments in the rooms of the castle

The group ascended stairways and rooms that I wasn't able to view, but we met everyone in the upstairs armory toward the end of the tour.

Even though I didn't see everything, I saw enough to enjoy the experience of visiting the castle and didn't miss much.  Deb took a lot of photos of the rooms that I missed and told me about what she had seen.

At the end of the tour, we returned to the courtyard where there was a small cafe with outdoor tables overlooking the river.  As part of the tour, we were all given shots of Schnapps to help ward off the chill.  

As chilly as it was, the view was so nice that most of us preferred to sit outside on the terrace.  It was here that we found ourselves sitting next to my knight in shining armor who had helped me walk up the rough rocks at the beginning of the tour.

We all walked back down through the myriad stairways and paths toward the bus.  Within minutes we were at the boat, and back on board thinking we had time for a bit of lunch.  It was a great surprise to discover that right at noon, Gersemi was to cast off leaving Braubach for Rudesheim.  

Our ship departed Braebach in the rain. During the next three hours, we would travel the Middle Rhine viewing the castles that were in the UNESCO World Heritage Site.