Wartburg Castle
High above the town of Eisenach sits almost 1,000 years old Wartburg Castle. One of the best-preserved medieval German fortresses, enlisted as UNESCO World Heritage site. This castle is not only beautiful and properly medieval, its walls are thick with German history and legend. Let's have a closer look!
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There is a vast parking lot at the base of the castle available for the price of 5 Euros. From there visitors take a short uphill walk. In summer time, children can ride a donkey up to the castle.
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The drawbridge and barbican offer the only access to the castle and have been largely unchanged since medieval times. According to legend, Wartburg was founded in 1067 by Ludwig der Springer (Ludwig the Jumper). With him began the unprecedented development of the "Ludovinger" family, who ruled for more than 200 years the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.
There are three main historical events associated with the castle: the legendary Minnesingers' Contest, Saint Elizabeth was the mistress of the castle from 1211 to 1228, and Martin Luther hid from the Inquisition here for a year during 1521-1522.
The legendary Minnesingers' Contest or "Singers' War" dates back to 1206. Although it was only a legend, this courtly and knightly epic vividly depicts the rule of landgrave Hermann I and the Thuringian court as its centre. The Count was a patron of the arts and declared a grisly competition of the best minnesingers of Germany (the Meistersingers). The loser was to be put to death.
The little Hungarian princess who would later become Saint Elizabeth was only four years old when she arrived in Wartburg. Later at the age of 14 she was married to the Count. After six years of marriage (and four children!), she was a widow at 20 and devoted the rest of her short life to helping the poor. She was canonized by Pope Gregor IX only four years after her early death in 1231.
Martin Luther, who was excommunicated by the pope and outlawed by the emperor, sought refuge in the bailiff's lodge at the Wartburg. Luther grew a beard and called himself Jünker Jorg (Squire George) living incognito under the protection of one of the German princesses. During the months of his protective custody, he lived and worked in a sparsely furnished room, today known as the Luther Room. In only 10 weeks he translated the New Testament from the original Greek texts into German.
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The largest structure of the Wartburg is the Palas, originally built in late Romanesque style between 1157 and 1170. It is a perfect example of late-Romanesque architecture – still bears traces of the Wartburg's former glory.
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Just in case you feel lack of medieval legends there's an iron dragon in the inner courtyard above the former well.
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The Romanesque Südturm or South Tower was built in 1318. Together with the Palas it is the oldest part of the castle. A dungeon is located below. The entrance ticket also includes a climb up the external wooden stairs of the tower, from which there's an excellent view over the castle and the Thuringian Forest.
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Vorburg is the area immediately inside the first gate. It dates to the 14th-15th century and is made up of several half-timbered buildings which are very common in the region: the Elisabethengang (covered walkway), the Vogtei (Bailiff's lodge, where Martin Luther was hiding from the inquisition), the Margarethengang (covered walkway) and the Ritterhaus (Knights' House).
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