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Founded: 13th centuryCategory: Castles and fortifications in Germany
Historical period: Habsburg Dynasty (Germany)
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The first mention of Wernberg Castle dates to 1280 when Konrad of Paulsdorfer bought the building. By the following year, Burg Wernberg was the family seat of the noble Notthafft family under the Landgrave of Leuchtenberg. By 1647 Wernberg came into the possession of the Electorate of Bavaria. During the Austrian War of Succession, the castle was used as a military camp.
In the 19th century, the castle was used for not-so-glamorous purposes. In 1804, it served as a prison, in 1861 as a rescue institution for fallen women and neglected girls. By 1873, serious consideration was given into just demolishing the building, but that idea never went anywhere.
The town of Wernberg acquired the castle in 1992 and rented it to the Conrad family for a term of 99 years. By 1998, the castle opened its doors as a hotel, becoming one of the top 100 best hotels in Germany in the same year.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.