Hello dear friends. Once again we hit the road this weekend. It was raining, but that didn't scare us. A castle was visible in the mountains. We headed towards this castle. The weather wasn't nice and neither were we. So, everything matched and we set off towards this castle called Kastelburg.
We reached our parking spot and the lovely, charming town of Waldkirch greeted us with overcast skies. We walked a bit further to reach the starting point, where a sign with Ritter marked the path leading to the castle. We continued our climb towards the castle.
We approached a knight. He was standing on a pedestal but was quite small. There was a plaque about the knight, stating that with all his equipment, including the helmet, sword, shield and even the horse, he was worth 45 cows. With this interesting information, we climbed higher.
We encountered benches along our path. If the weather had been nice, we would have sat, had something to eat and rested, but since it was raining, we continued on our way.
Finally we reached the castle. It was still raining. But we were lucky as the castle was empty. We could see how fortified this castle once was. Behind the ruined wall, there was a second wall and it was clear that it was reinforced. Such structures were used in the past to protect against attacks.
A plaque stated that construction began in 1250 and was completed in 1260. So, the castle was built in 10 years. On March 14 1634, it was burned and destroyed by Austrian forces. In 1970 the castle became part of the town of Waldkirch. It was restored in 2002, which is why we can see it in this condition now. An engraving showed how the castle used to look.
The view of the small, charming town of Waldkirch is wonderful. On our previous trip we were on the other side of the mountain and had seen this castle.
Walking around here is delightful. The interesting corridors, the stones and concrete used are striking. The tower is located in the courtyard of the castle and was built in 1260. It's fascinating to see the materials used, permanent concrete was employed.
There are even flowers growing on the walls. The windows of the castle are quite large, which could have been weak points in terms of defense. The walls are about two or three meters thick.
It's time to climb the tower. In one room there are stairs leading up, steps going along the wall. We climbed the wooden steps, with about five meters between each floor. Climbing these stairs, you feel like a knight. People of that era worked here, cooked and went about their daily lives. It's interesting to think about how high the tower was when they built it. I wonder how they brought these stones to the top of the mountain.
There is a hearth here and a recess in the wall. The restoration work done here is wonderful. One of the windows has been sealed. The height of this tower is truly impressive. There was a window and we looked out for a while. It was very interesting and I liked it a lot. We climbed a bit higher. Despite the bad weather, there were tourists here. People think this place has a captivating charm. There was probably a cannon here at some point, now the hole is sealed. Finally we emerged into daylight.
This place has been restored and is used for events. The view from the height of the castle is beautiful. I would love to live in such beauty. From here we could see the entire castle. Perhaps this place was once known as a multi-story structure.
The weather favored us. I was very impressed by the atmosphere here. The dim light inside, the stone walls and the silence gave me peace. The interior of this castle was truly charming. We went down and enjoyed the time we spent here. I wonder how they transported the weapons and cannons up here in those days. People were strong; despite their short stature, they could accomplish such great feats. Lifting these stones up in the X century is truly incredible.
We exited the tower and came to this beautiful courtyard. Thanks to the remaining structures, we could imagine what the castle used to be like.
The rooms are very large and so are the windows. You can feel how magnificent the structure is. There was even a bench to sit and look at the opposite mountains.
We saw that some windows were sealed. The architecture is interesting; the wall ends and a window begins immediately. Maybe the windows extended to the floor. I think every castle must have had a well in ancient times. Perhaps this protrusion indicates a well. The upper floor is brighter with larger windows.
The windows are so large that we were amazed by their size. This terrace, with its semi-circular shape, looks very nice. The city and mountain view is magnificent. I wonder how this view looked in ancient times. The small windows are also quite interesting; it's not clear what exactly they were for. Also there is a large stone here and the wall seems to be built on top of it. This stone was already here and the wall was built over it. Another window right next to the wall has very interesting ironwork.
This was probably the castle gate. It was burned and destroyed by Austrian soldiers, yet it has managed to remain standing until today. Walking through these ruins and imagining what it was like in the past is very interesting. The windows fascinate me. How was this height constructed? Making such large windows at this height is really strange.
There was a hole made specifically for defense, where a cannon and ammunition were placed. Everything is very interesting and we moved on to another place.
Thank you, castle, for welcoming us and showing us everything. We started descending towards our car. We walked through these ruins, feeling very happy and satisfied. We enjoyed thinking about how people lived here, what they did and how life passed by. Large windows were for the richer and small windows for the poorer. It started raining, but we were lucky not to get caught in the rain inside the castle.
On the way we came across benches and tables where we could sit and rest. There is a sign providing information about the tallest tree in our region. There is a 125 year old tree here, 66 meters tall, with a circumference of almost 4 meters.
There is a rest area and a grilling spot here, with two beautiful tables and benches and a cabin. It's a nice place to take shelter from the rain. We could even climb to the attic with a ladder.
Two mushrooms intertwined like they are hugging. How sweet.
This is where our walk ends. I wish you all a good day and a peaceful sky.
