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16-480: While much of the castle is a ruin, some of the outer buildings are now a luxury hotel, wellness centre, and restaurant. There is also a museum within some of the better preserved structures. The main entrance to the castle complex is a tall square clock or gate tower (~1300 AD) opposite the hotel. A connecting path joins the clock tower to the remains of the living quarters of the landgraves of Hesse-Darmstadt (the so-called Darmstadt Building). The Darmstadt building

32-471: A 200,000 litres (53,000 US gal) wine barrel was constructed for storage. The cellar was renovated in 1997 and restored to its original condition and now serves as a meeting place for concerts, theater performances, and other shows. Next to the Darmstadt building once stood a 54 metres (177 ft) tall tower. It had a diameter of 10.5 metres (34 ft) with walls 3.5 metres (11 ft) thick at

48-483: A twin tower on both sides of a gate system. Gate towers are also used symbolically as the main entrance in the design of modern building complexes. The Kasselburg in Rhineland-Palatinate has a double tower gate tower, which was also used as a residential tower. This architectural element –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Kasselburg The Kasselburg

64-633: Is a ruined hill castle on a 490-metre-high basalt massif in Pelm near Gerolstein in the county of Vulkaneifel in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate . The symbol of the Kasselburg is its 37-metre-high, double tower, which functioned as a gate tower and tower house , whose origins are not precisely clear. Hitherto it had been assumed that the lords of Blankenheim had built it shortly after 1335, but structural investigations have shown that

80-408: Is a tower built over or next to a major gateway . Usually it is part of a medieval fortification . This may be a town or city wall , fortress , castle or castle chapel . The gate tower may be built as a twin tower on either side of an entranceway. Even in the design of modern building complexes, gate towers may be constructed symbolically as a main entrance. The gate tower can also stand as

96-420: Is not a bergfried (fighting tower). The latter, built around 1200, is smaller and stands in the eastern part of the inner bailey . It has a square ground plan and was turned into a tower house in the 14th century. Also part of the inner ward is the almost 33-metre-long palas , which dates to the 14th century. The castle was built in the 12th century. Its owners may have been the lords of Castel, but this

112-595: Is not entirely certain. The castle was first mentioned in 1291 as the Castilburg . In 1314, it is called Castelberch . According to the current state of research, it is not clear who the owner of the castle was before 1335. However, it is certain that Gerhard V of Blankenheim became its owner following a division of inheritance in that year and thus founded the Blankenheim-Kasselburg line. In 1406, this line of Blankenheims, which had been elevated to

128-471: The bottom. In the 14th century, a narrow round tower was added to the top, making it the highest butter-churn tower in Germany. The castle museum is located in the former castle chapel which is the only finished room of the original castle. It is accessed through an internal gate and up the path. The museum contains a model reconstruction of the castle before its destruction giving one a sense of how big

144-418: The castle used to be. The medieval castle courtyard is found beyond the castle museum building (slightly uphill). This was the centre of the medieval castle which contained a bakery, pharmacy, garden, brewery, well, and livestock — which would have allowed it to withstand an extended siege. During peacetime, 300-600 people lived in the castle complex. During a siege, that number could swell to 4,500. Remnants of

160-541: The countship, died out with Count Gerhard VII. The castle then passed by marriage to William I of Loen and thus to Heinsberg . Other owners followed, including the counts of the Mark , dukes of Arenberg and prince-electors of Trier . Many interest groups have claimed the Kasselburg for themselves throughout history, so that in 1674 the Imperial Chamber Court of Wetzlar was called upon to put an end to

176-471: The original 13th-century plaster which was painted white can still be found on some walls. In June 2019, a claim made by Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia , that Rheinfels Castle be returned to the Hohenzollern family was dismissed by a court. In 1924, the ruined Castle had been given by the state of Rhineland-Palatinate to the town of St Goar, under the proviso it was not sold. In 1998 the town leased

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192-545: The property disputes. When the judges awarded the castle to the dukes of Arenberg, the buildings soon served as barracks for the Duke of Arenberg's artillery . This marked the beginning of the decline of the castle: in the 18th century it was still temporarily the seat of an Arenberg forester, but by 1744 it was described as dilapidated. After France seized the castle in 1794, it went to the Prussia in 1815. An impulse to rescue

208-568: The ruin came unexpectedly from King Frederick William IV in 1838. After a visit he initiated repair work, and after the completion of the railway line from Cologne to Trier , the railway company donated 1,000 talers to open up the then already famous double tower in order to "offer its passengers something". At the beginning of the 20th century, the state historic preservation authorities carried out further restoration . The Castle Administration of Rhineland-Palatinate, who took over Kasselburg in 1946, also had conservation measures carried out. In

224-1044: The ruins to a nearby hotel. His case made the claim that this constituted a breach of the bequest. In January 2020, the Prince of Prussia reached an out-of-court settlement with the city. In the future, St. Goar will work closely with the non-profit Princess Kira of Prussia Foundation, which supports socially disadvantaged young people. Castle, Alan (1999). Walking the River Rhine trail, Germany . Mountain Walking Series (illustrated ed.). Cicerone Press Limited. pp.  100 , 101. ISBN   978-1-85284-276-5 . Steves, Rick (2003). Rick Steves' Germany, Austria and Switzerland 2003 . Emeryville, CA, USA: Avalon Travel Publishing. pp. 181–187. ISBN   1-56691-461-2 . 50°09′15″N 7°42′16″E  /  50.15417°N 7.70444°E  / 50.15417; 7.70444 Gate tower A gate tower

240-409: The tower underwent several phases of construction and cannot just be the work of one architect . The gate probably lost its guarding function with the expansion of the castle from 1452. It is from that period that the large outer bailey , with its burgmann houses and domestic buildings, dates. The double tower is open to the public and has a good view of the surrounding area but, despite its size,

256-617: Was designed in Tudor style with pointed gables. The connecting path was the site of the former moat of the main castle buildings; part of which is now the large cellar or basement. This large cellar was arched over in 1587–89 in two visible phases. It is the largest self-supporting vaulted cellar in Europe and has a length of 24 metres (79 ft), a width and height of approximately 16 metres (52 ft) and can accommodate up to 400 people. The walls are up to 4 metres (13 ft) thick. Previously

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