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Name: Meersburg Castle
Location: Mersburg
Country: Germany
Review
this castle
| Greg Vocks, 45, from Illinois, USA wrote: |
We visited Meersburg castle in November,
2000, and we were truly impressed! This is not a royal palace, (the
"new" palace next door is very impressive, too,) but is a
fortress built (beginning in the 7th century) to protect and shelter its
occupants from their enemies. Its location on the north shore of Lake
Constance (Bodensee) offers commanding views as well as a strategic
advantage. From the drawbridge, which is now permanently lowered, one can
enjoy the view of the lake and the Swiss Alps in the distance. I
understand in the summer the town can be very busy with tourists, but when
we were there, it seemed almost deserted.
The castle itself is well worth exploring, and explore
, you may. There is no tour, per se, but rather a pamphlet that explains
where you are in the castle, and what you are seeing. Among the more
interesting sights inside are the armour room, with suits of armour,
battle axes, and swords so large it is incredible that anyone could swing
them, and the knight's hall, where the knights gathered around the large
table that still dominates the room. Also, the castle was home to the poetess Annette von
Droste Hulshoff (1797-1848), and her rooms are preserved as they were when
she lived and died there. The poetess and the castle (along with a few
other buildings in Meersburg,) are featured on the 20 Deutsche mark note. Inside the castle is a small cafe that is well worth
visiting, also. The proximity to the Bodensee keeps the weather
amazingly warm (I picked fresh blackberries on 12 November), so visiting
off-season is seldom unpleasant. Ferries run across the lake regularly to
Konstanz, and the island of Mainau. The odd climate allows the gardens in
Mainau to contain plants that are not expected in Germany, including
palms, bamboo, hibiscus, and others. The butterfly house in Mainau is well
worth a visit, also. |
| Carl Evans, 33, Corpus Christi, Texas, wrote: |
| Meersburg Castle was fairly easy to reach. You have a
series of stairs to climb which takes you to an entranceway where you pass
a tower to your left. You continue and find stairs leading up (all you
need are more stairs, right?) You climb up more steps and to your left up
a flight of steps, is a Zeppelin Museum-which is worth the time to visit.
If you just continue straight up, to your right, you will pass a wooden
waterway with water seeping onto a wooden wheel (I cannot think of the
proper name for it), and you get a nice view of the wooden foot bridge
that takes you to the castle. However, just before you get to the wooden
bridge, you see another flight of steps which takes you to a large
building with large gardens. From there, you have excellent views of
Meersburg town, castle, and of Lake Konstanz. When you go through the
gateway to the castle, you first go to the right. You wind up in several
rooms, then you come back to where you start, and enter a doorway to your
left, which takes you to more rooms with creaky wooden floors that sound
if it will collapse under your feet. You finally end up in a tourist shop,
and then you leave the way you came in. |
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