On Day 3 the weather changed. We did though visit two castles before the arrival of the rains. The castle dates from around 1200 and was home to Counts of the Hanau Lichtenberg family. As such it was part of the Holy Roman Empire. Along with most of Alsace this was taken by France in the 1630s. It was to remain French until the Franco-Prussian war (1870-1) saw it transferred to the newly formed German Empire. Sadly during that conflict much of the castle was destroyed or badly damaged. It once again found itself on the French side of the border when Germany was defeated in WW1. The castle was only restored in the 1990s and today welcomes visitors to explore its fortifications and to admire the wonderful views of the region. Falkenstein Castle is a little older than Lichtenberg and like its neighbour has suffered much over the years. After several changes of hands and joint ownerships it became the sole property of the Falkenstein family 1515. The family then embarked on a modernisation of the castle but in 1564 it was sold to the Hanau Lichtenberg family (who were owners of Lichtenberg Castle). Shortly after it was ravaged by a destructive fire and abandoned. The ruins were out of bounds until 2013 when it was made safe for visitors to access. The castle was built into and on top of a sandstone spur. Caves feature on the lower levels and other rooms would have been on the top of this narrow finger of rock. It is an airy climb to and walk along the upper part of the castle.
#france #alsace #falkenstein #worlswarone #hanaulichtenberg #francoprussianwar #lichtenbergcastle #falkensteincastle #holyromanempire #roadtrip #chateaudelichtenberg #chateaudefalkenstein
Негізгі бет Lichtenberg Castle (Château de Lichtenberg) - Falkenstein Castle (Château de Falkenstein) France 🇫🇷
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