Rieneck Castle, Rieneck, Germany

Rieneck Castle is a hill castle located in the town of Rieneck, Bavaria. In 1150 Ludwig I, Count of Loon and Rieneck, ordered the building of the castrum Rinecke on the northeastern boundary of his territory, with the aim of safeguarding the lands of this aristocratic family against the neighbouring lordships of Mainz, Würzburg and Fulda. The little hill in the Sinn valley offered excellent conditions: there was only one direction where the castle required additional protection by a defensive ditch, and offered as narrow a front as possible to attack. The latter can be clearly seen in the ground plan of the keep, the 19-metre high 'Thick Tower', which is outwardly an irregular, seven-sided polygon, whose tip points towards the nearby hill.

The castle complex initially consisted simply of a courtyard surrounded by defensive walls, and the keep, with its 4 to 8-metre thick walls. Inside the walls half-timbered buildings were constructed as living quarters, store rooms, and stables. Of these only what we now know as the 'arched cellar' survives.

The castle today serves as a scouting facility and is owned by the German Christian Guide and Scout Association VCP.

References:

Wikipedia

Church of St Donatus

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.

AMR (2 months ago)
It was a great experience, highly recommended

Amelia Lancaster (4 months ago)
Good and Homely owned by a scouting association and I went this month!!!

Monica E (8 months ago)
We only visited the castle grounds, so this isn't a review of the accommodation/food. Beautiful castle, but at the time we visited it seemed almost abandoned, not much to do/visit. Beautiful view of the village.

Desi (10 months ago)
Favourite vacation spot

Arek Michalski (10 months ago)
Super ??

Rieneck Castle

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Church of St Donatus