Bilstein Castle, Lennestadt, Germany

Bilstein castle is located on a spur which falls away steeply on three sides so that the castle's defences only needed to be oriented towards the hill to the northeast. The appearance of the castle is thus dominated by its two round towers, each with a diameter of about eight metres: the Chapel Tower in the northwest and the Hohnekamp Tower in the southeast. The towers are connected by a tunnel under the castle courtyard, above ground is a 20th century archway.

The castle was built between 1202-1225. The Electorate of Cologne conquered it after a siege in 1445. Later it has been used for administrative purposes.

The northwestern wing of the main ward and the central block in the southwest are historical structures. By contrast, the wing in the southeast was built in 1978 to expand the hostel. On the valley side of the central block is a portal terrace (Söller) on which a prominent lime tree is growing.

Today a brick bridge spans the moat between the inner and outer baileys. The moat has been partly filled-in and is about 15 metres wide. The outer bailey comprises three buildings, which are referred to as the gatehouse, timber-framed house and festival hall.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Linas Mama (2 years ago)
We spent a wonderful weekend with 2 of our children in the youth hostel at Bilstein Castle. The employees are very, very friendly, always have an open ear and sometimes had a moment to exchange ideas, the rooms are clean and the food was very good, the salad buffet for dinner and also the breakfast buffet rich with really a large selection ..... the whole atmosphere at the castle was excellent From the castle we drove to the Karl May Festival and we have to say that it was definitely the right decision to spend 2 nights in the youth hostel (over 2 hours drive to the Sauerland, ...to the venue). We were able to arrive so relaxed, slept well in a four-bed room and drove to Elspe strengthened from breakfast in the morning, and then started the return journey home just as relaxed on Sunday afternoon. ..... we will definitely come back next year Many thanks to all the good spirits of the castle for the wonderful stay with you

Maik Bruns (2 years ago)
Beautiful youth hostel with a great ambience and beautiful surroundings. Our children and we felt very comfortable here.

Melanie Donie - Uhlig (3 years ago)
Bilstein Castle is a youth hostel, so we could only see the facility from the outside and in the courtyard.

Börbi Berry (3 years ago)
From the outside quite wonderful, unfortunately it was closed at Easter. So I can't give any information about the courtyard or the interior.

Rob (4 years ago)
Nicely preserved castle, now a youth hostel, you can't tell. Courtyard with nice view, much remained authentic.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Klearchos Kapoutsis

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The Beckov castle stands on a steep 50 m tall rock in the village Beckov. The dominance of the rock and impression of invincibility it gaves, challenged our ancestors to make use of these assets. The result is a remarkable harmony between the natural setting and architecture.

The castle first mentioned in 1200 was originally owned by the King and later, at the end of the 13th century it fell in hands of Matúš Èák. Its owners alternated - at the end of the 14th century the family of Stibor of Stiborice bought it.

The next owners, the Bánffys who adapted the Gothic castle to the Renaissance residence, improved its fortifications preventing the Turks from conquering it at the end of the 16th century. When Bánffys died out, the castle was owned by several noble families. It fell in decay after fire in 1729.

The history of the castle is the subject of different legends.

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