You only see what you know (Goethe)
The castle above the mouth of the Paznaun in the Stanzer Valley dates back to the 13th century. Several of today’s structures result from a renovation at the beginning of the 20th century. In May 1945, parts of the German Wehrmacht surrendered to American troops after negotiations in this castle. [German]
On a train journey along the Rhine Valley from Mainz to Koblenz I took this photo of Burg Pfalzgrafenstein. The building situated on a tiny island served as toll station until 1866. Since 2002 it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Upper Middle Rhine Valley.
In the fairy tale garden of Ludwigsburg, this tower refers to Rapunzel’s Tower. The building is part of a small castle named Emichsburg, which saw its construction from 1798-1802. The garden is part of a Baroque park on the grounds of Ludwigsburg Residential Palace. [German]
Niederfalkenstein Castle (Burg Niederfalkenstein) stands high over the municipality Obervellach in the Austrian state of Carinthia. This photo was taken from a train while passing the railway bridge Falkensteinbrücke.
The Tucher Mansion (Tucherschloss) dates back to 1544. It served as a summer residence for the Tucher, a patrician family in Nuremberg. The museum inside shows how such a family lived in those times.
The former moated castle is considered one of the best-preserved castles in the Rhineland. Its origins date back to the 12th century. Today, the walls of Satzey Castle (Burg Satzvey) serve as a venue for knight games and medieval festivals. [German]
Moyland Castle (Schloss Moyland) in the Lower Rhine region houses a museum for contemporary art and an archive with works by the German artist Joseph Beuys. A noted library of art literature completes the offer.
Giebichenstein Castle (Burg Giebichenstein) is a member of the Romanesque Road (Straße der Romanik). It served as a royal residence of Otto I for many years. Today, parts of the castle house a campus of the Kunsthochschule Halle.
The Counts of Gorizia built Bruck Castle (Schloss Bruck) in the 13th century. The creator of the frescoes in the worth-seeing chapel was the late Gothic artist Simon von Taisten. At the museum, you find monumental paintings by Albin Egger-Lienz. [German]
Favorite Mansion (Schloss Favorite) is a Baroque maison de plaisance and hunting lodge near the much bigger Ludwigburg Residential Palace (Residenzschloss Ludwigsburg). The former animal park is a landscape garden now. [German]
The castle in Wels is generally known as the Castle (Die Burg) or the Wels Castle (Die Welser Burg). It was first mentioned in 776. At that time, the site was just a wooden building with palisades. The construction in stone took place in the 12th or 13th century. [German]
On a sunny spring day, I took this photo of Bratislava Castle (Bratislavský hrad) on board a hydrofoil craft cruising the Danube River. Several companies are passing the castle by boat. One of them is the modern Twin City Liner serving the line Vienna – Bratislava.