Hello friends. Today we've arrived at an extraordinary place. Lichtenstein castle one of Germany's most romantic castles, is located near the city of Stuttgart. At the entrance, we were greeted by a knight. It was very lovely here.
A small but amazing castle. Visiting the courtyard alone costs 4 euros, but to visit both the courtyard and the castle, it's 12 euros for adults and 6 euros for children. We bought our tickets. There's a ticket booth here, selling some small souvenirs that you can purchase as a memory of your visit to the castle. And there's a wonderful view here where beautiful roses grow. They don't smell, though they look beautiful. Interesting dog kennels are made here and the knights here are very cute, actually a man and a woman, probably a duke and a duchess.
And we continued our journey. We saw a bench here. Ah look at those elderly men, carrying the bench on their shoulders. What a magnificent sight.
It says 1899 here. The tower is white and quite tall. Unfortunately, the weather isn't making us happy, but at least it's not hot; the weather was cloudy, no sun but not hot.
We got our tickets and took a guided tour. The castle is very beautiful, built on top of a cliff. I loved fairy tales when I was a child and I still do. When I see castles like this, I believe in fairy tales even more. I can't get enough of looking at them.
The castle is situated in a small area. There's a prayer area here and some chairs. There's a small church, unfortunately closed. Not much can be seen through the windows. It's a really pleasant place, very enjoyable to explore.
The wind picked up and it started raining on us, but we're not afraid. We're exploring, looking around, happy to be here. Being here in the rain makes it more special because we're almost alone. Normally when the weather is nice, this place is always crowded. Today tourists were from four different countries and the tour was conducted in English and German.
We had a wonderful walk and enjoyed life to the fullest. Then we stopped under a magnificent old tree. The linden trees are blooming, their scent is amazing. They've placed benches underneath, beautifully crafted in a semicircular shape. Walking in the rain is delightful. Friends, no matter the weather, go out for a walk because sitting at home is very boring.
They provided us with some information about the owners of this castle. A duke and a duchess. The duke is an engineer. The duchess owns her own hotel. They don't live here. They live in another city. They come here once a month to check if everything is alright. Their salaries aren't enough to maintain this castle. Thanks to tourists the castle stays standing. There are many tourists because the castle is very interesting and beautiful, with an unusual architecture.
The walking paths are well-maintained and clean. We saw many benches where you can sit under the trees and enjoy the view.
We continue walking, observing the surroundings, savoring this magnificent view. We examined the systems made here to prevent water from accumulating. I've wanted to visit this castle for a long time. Some castles make you want to come back again and again. Lichtenstein castle is one of those. Many people come here repeatedly to see this marvel. This time, we came here and enjoyed this moment. I recommend everyone to visit this wonderful fairytale castle at least once.
Unfortunately photography was not allowed during the tour. It's definitely worth coming here and going inside to look around because everything was very interesting.
We toured Lichtenstein castle. This is a historical monument dating back to the 10th century, built in the neogothic style. It sits at an elevation of 817 meters above sea level on the slopes of the Swabian Alps. Details about the existence of the first Lichtenstein castle are unknown. There are two versions: according to one, the original castle was where the current one stands and was built before the beginning of the 10th century. According to the other version, the castle was located 500 meters southeast and was the continuous residence of Lichtenstein from 1200 onwards. Historically there has been a castle at this location since the 1200s and was destroyed twice in 1311 and 1381. The castle was not rebuilt and gradually turned into ruins.
In 1802 the land was owned by Württemberg King Friedrich, who built a hunting lodge there. Until 1837 the land passed to Kont Wilhelm Urach, who was inspired by the novel "Lichtenstein" and built the current castle in 1842. The castle was built in two years in a romantic neogothic design by architect Karl Alexander Heideloff. The castle houses medieval weapons acquired by the founder during many of his travels.
Looking down we could see that the castle was almost placed in the surrounding landscape. The foundation is natural, not artificial. The views from the castle are very impressive.
The name Lichtenstein comes from the white stone found in one of the castle's rooms dating back to the Jurassic period. In German, "Licht" means light or brightness and "Stein" means stone. Therefore, Lichtenstein translates to "bright stone."
The castle is surrounded by various buildings, Gerobau building, a chapel and a large palace park. We walked in the romantic inner courtyard and then moved on to the restored halls decorated in late romantic style. Lichtenstein castle is also called the fairytale castle of Württemberg because its architectural style and atmosphere take us back to the Romantic era.
The castle belongs to the Urach family. The names of the residents are Wilhelm Albert Urach, Count of Württemberg and his wife Karen. They have three children and live permanently in Stuttgart. Wilhelm is the grandson of the person who built the castle. In the summer months the whole family comes to the castle to enjoy the beauties offered here. This fairytale castle is a wonderful reminder of the Middle Ages.
I want to emphasize how beautiful the White Tower looks. They specifically made it in light shades to contrast with the castle's gray color. This tower consists of six floors crowned with golden domes. There is a chimney in the shape of a horse's head and beautiful fireplaces inside. We walked and enjoyed these beauties.
It started raining. Here we literally saw a cave. It had carved windows with iron grilles. This was probably a checkpoint, iron grilles were placed on the windows. There is a door here that says "Knock knock, who's there?" This was a checkpoint and it's hard for two people to pass here. Very narrow.
We came out of the damp dungeon, the rain had stopped. The architect designed the castle in an interesting way. The castle has armories, ballrooms, dining rooms. We saw great paths to walk around the castle, we wanted to explore a little bit.
The road led us to a restaurant, called Forest restaurant. A waiter came out and said they had the most delicious cakes. Since it started raining, we entered the restaurant and there was a very interesting atmosphere here. The furniture, crystal chandeliers, everything was made in an old style. In winter the fireplace is lit and creates a very pleasant atmosphere. We saw photos from the 10th century when the castle was built.
A wonderful panoramic view opened up. We decided to have a cup of coffee and the waiter said the most delicious cakes were here.
They brought us coffee and cakes. We drank our coffee and enjoyed the view. We had such a beautiful day today.
