We actually discovered Burg Berwartstein when rounding a curve in the road coming home from Wissembourg. It was just beautiful, with the sun glinting off the windows in the tower. We had to come back and investigate. We did not find an English tour, so we had to take one in Deutsche in order to see the castle inside. We understood about 5% of the talk, so had to buy a book in the gift shop/bookstore/restaurant found in the original Knight's Hall. That was the only drawback to the whole day, but made it more of an adventure. Afterwards, we ate in the restaurant while we read our new book about what we had just seen. The menu here is somewhat limited, but it's a neat place to stop and eat - how many thousands of times did knights sit on that same window seat for a meal? (Note: we got fleischknoudel (sp?) which is meatballs with a horseradish sauce. I would NOT recommend it.) They also sell strawberry, blackberry and johannisbeere (I can't translate that one into English) wine. It's very sweet, but a good dessert liquor on ice cream, maybe. Here's the Knight's Hall with our cozy seat and the main entrance to the castle.
This castle dates from the 700s (1157 was the first recorded reference) and was used as Imperial Castle by Emperor Barbarossa. It is classified as a "cliff castle" because the essential chambers and well are carved into the rock. This castle was never defeated by direct attack, only once through the help of a traitor or "inside man." The original castle only had one entrance, through a rock tunnel. It was only possible to enter via a rope or wooden ladder, which was raised in time of attack. The castle entrance could be defended by one man with hot oil or sap. Later as the castle was expanded, other entrances were added.
Here are pictures of other weapons and defenses, and a refurbished knight's sleeping chamber.
This castle, though in ruins at the time, was used as sanctuary by the villagers of Erlenbach. Though their town was destroyed in World War II, they escaped harm, safe in the cliff fortress. There are large catacombs carved under the castle rooms, and there used to be tunnels going from the castle to Erlenbach (in pic below), and across the valley to the Tower of Little France (built by Hans von Trapp - more about him below). We were able to see one of the catacombs, reaching it through a tunnel lighted only by candles! Really neat!
It was recognized as a very powerful holding and was coveted and fought over by Emperors, Popes, knights, and robber barons. One of its most colorful residents was Hans von Trapp. He lived in this castle in the 1400s. He terrorized the valleys surrounding his burg. He was a very powerful robber knight. Because of his considerable wealth and influence, his activities were largely overlooked by the Crown. He was actually a favorite of an Elector of the Palatinate, and was sent to the Court of France, where he was named Chevalier d'Or (Knight of the Golden Fleece). He died undefeated after devastating Wissembourg and demanding large sums of money from villagers. He was also known as Hans Beougle (again sp?) pronounced like "bogey" in bogey man. Ever wonder where that term came from? This is the answer. The legend of Hans Trapp is still used today to discipline unruly Alsace-Lorraine children. "If you're not good, the bogey man will get you!" Here are some pictures of the torture chambers in the castle with the rack and an implement I had never seen before. It is a "seat" where the unfortunate victim has weights tied to his feet to put lots of pressure on his crotch area astride the sharp upper edge. Ouch!
The castle has been owned by the Wadle family since 1955. They have restored large parts of it, replacing roof, wood, and furnishings destroyed in WWII. It is now a wonderful place to experience history!
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(Beginning 7/1/99)