So, yesterday I told you about the first of the two castles of Kaub, Castle or Burg Gutenfels. Today I am going to show you its partner, Castle Pfalzgrafenstein.
Like I said yesterday, this little castle in the middle of the Rhine just kind of crept up on us while we were gushing over Castle Gutenfels.
It is built on a tiny little island in the middle of the river. And it has been here since around 1326 on Pfalz Island.
Such a tiny castle on a tiny island.
There is a ferry from Kaub that visitors can take to explore the castle. There were several visitors on the beach as we sailed by.
The castle started with just the tower in the middle or keep and later the defensive wall was built. The way the wall was built, the castle resembles a boat or ship. Which is kind of ironic since it sits in the middle of a large river.
The castle is famous for its picturesque placement in such a romantic area of the Rhine.
Below you can see Gutenfels looking down on Pfalzgrafenstein. And just look at those clouds!
The purpose of the castle was to collect tolls on travelers that were paid in turn to Castle Gutenfels. It also served as a protective barrier for the village of Kaub.
I loved the little turreted windows on top of the castle. And the beautiful slate roof! Kaub was long known for slate mines.
Can you imagine coming down the Rhine hundreds of years ago and seeing this? It really does look like another ship sitting in the middle of the river.
And with another castle on the hill behind it, there really was not any way to get around paying the tolls.
There was even a chain placed across the river that forced the ships to stop and pay the toll.
And if you chose not to pay the toll? Well the castle had a dungeon where prisoners were kept until a ransom was collected. I think you were just better off to pay the toll. I would hate to have not known about something like that and gotten thrown in the dungeon.
And since this part of the Rhine Gorge was known for castles in every town that collected tolls you would have to be ill prepared to not have them ready. I think this one is just probably the cutest little castle of them all.
This is one of the few castles along the Rhine that was never destroyed or conquered. It doesn’t have lavish interiors, it was mainly a defensive castle and so small that no one really ever wanted it when Gutenfels on the hill was the prize of Kaub.
The only thing this little castle has to worry about are the elements: floods, harsh weather, etc. And now it is a World Heritage Site and museum, preserving the baroque period when it was constructed.
It was time to say good bye to Kaub and its two castles. We were on to our next little town, Bacharach.
Auf Wiedersehen Gutenfels!
This is not a sponsored post. This is my experience from my trip with Viking River Cruises. Email me to find out how you can save $100 when you book your first cruise with Viking through their referral program.
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