Details
Founded: 1515Category: Castles and fortifications in Germany
Historical period: Habsburg Dynasty (Germany)
User Reviews
Marienburg is located high above on the mountain ridge at which the Mosel bight of the Zell Hamm narrows to less than 300 metres. From here, visitors have a fantastic view of the wine-growing towns and villages of the Zell region and the almost 14 km long Mosel bight.
Over 1000 years ago there was already a castle where the Marienburg now stands. In 1146 an Augustinian convent was founded at the same location. This convent was dissolved in 1515 and a fortress was built in its place, which was destroyed in 1650 by French auxiliaries. The Marienburg was rebuilt in the Baroque period; some stretches of wall on the edge of the large car park date from the former Marienburg Farm, which supplied the Marienburg in the Middle Ages. The late Gothic choir is all that remains of the old convent church, which was rebuilt in 1957.
The Marienburg is therefore not only a location of natural beauty and historical memorability, it is also a building of art-historical interest and shows three building styles: the nave dates from the 12th century, the late Gothic choir dates from the second half of the 15th century and the elevated choir stonework with oval windows from the 18th century. Today, the building is home to the Marienburg youth education centre, with a guest house and conference centre.
References:Střekov Castle (Schreckenstein) is perched atop a cliff above the River Elbe, near the city of Ústí nad Labem. It was built in 1316 for John of Luxembourg, the father of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, to guard an important trade route to Germany. After changing hands several times, the castle was acquired by the Lobkowicz family in 1563. Its strategic importance led to occupations by Imperial Habsburg, Saxon, and Swedish forces during the Thirty Years' War, as well as successive sieges by Austrian and Prussian armies during the Seven Years' War.
Although Střekov Castle was heavily damaged during those conflicts and abandoned as a military installation by the end of the 18th century, the 1800s saw many poets and artists visiting the castle, drawn by a new trend of interest in romantic ruins.