JodockWorldTravel

May 11, 2024

High on a hill overlooking the town of Braubach sits Marksburg Castle, one of only two in Germany that has never been destroyed, and the only one that has never fallen into disrepair.

It was originally built for the protection of the townspeople and never intended as a primary residence, though it was occasionally visited by the families who owned it and regularly occupied by the 20-25 servants who worked for them. From the time it was built in the mid-1200s until the 19th century, the castle was privately owned. It appears to have changed hands at least three times over the course of its life until Napolean abolished the Roman Empire, gaining possession of the Castle and its lands and giving it to his ally, the Duke of Nassau. The Duke used it as a prison and home for disabled soldiers until he was booted out by the Prussians.

The Prussians could not afford to maintain the castle, so in 1900 it was sold to the German Castle Association for what would be eight to ten thousand Euros in today’s money. It has been the home of the head office ever since. Today, the CEO of the Association calls the top floor home.

A short windy climb up a steep hill or set of stairs takes you to the castle entrance.

The main entrance was originally built to accommodate soldiers riding atop their horses and offered a smooth grade to the front door. Today the opening is a bit smaller and a somewhat treacherous to navigate.

With no electricity, kitchen staff relied on natural light to help them see what they were doing. Kitchens were built with little alcoves with big “sky lights”. This is where they would do all of their chopping and food prep. During winter months all of the staff would sleep around the fireplace because it was the warmest room in the house.

During the middle-ages diets consisted mostly of fruits, vegetables and grains. Fish and meat were reserved for special occasions when they were more likely to be completely consumed. There were no methods to preserve left-overs, and food was too precious to waste. Salt was considered a luxury of the very wealthy. It was kept in a small lockbox. Only the master of the house had the key and special permission had to be granted to use the salt.

The master bedroom was the place to be. Not only did it have its own source of heat; it was situated just above the kitchen fireplace so even the floors were heated!

We often think the beds were so much shorter then because the people are shorter. There is some truth to this but there is also another explanation – people slept sitting up. Why? Partly because in an age where superstition ruled, people believed lying flat on your back was the position of death. If you laid that way, death would come and steal your breath in the night. It is also true that health conditions affecting the lungs were more common during this time period. To make it easier to breathe, people would sleep partially sitting up. With all of this going on you didn’t need as much leg room.

The main living/dining area was located just past the bedroom and was the main room for entertaining. That little grey alcove where the man in the blue shirt is standing is an indoor toilet. There was no door so no need to miss any important pieces of conversation while you took care of your business!

Doorways were much lower back in the day, and staircases were built with defense in mind. Their narrow passageway made it possible for the defenders wearing armor to get down, but attackers could not fit in to make their way up!

The room now used to house figures wearing armor from back in the day and display weapons is where the knights would have slept. The long spear-shaped things had only one purpose: to knock the enemy knight off his horse so you could actually fight him. Only the king’s soldiers were equipped with armors and swords. The items were way too expensive for the average citizen. They were more likely to have pitchforks and axes, and if they were really lucky they would own one of these long sticks with a ball filled with nails hanging from the end of a chain.

Europeans love their dogs. We see them walking down the street, joining their owner at the Reijksmuseum, visiting the castles.

It just makes us miss our Sophie girl all the more. 😢😢😢