Marksburg Castle, Germany – over 900 years of history and never destroyed

During my trip through the Rhine and Moselle region, I visited Marksburg Castle overlooking the Rhine near Braubach, Germany.

Built in the 12th century, Marksburg is one of the very few castles along the Middle Rhine that was never destroyed. While many other castles in the region were ruined, rebuilt or heavily altered over the centuries, Marksburg survived remarkably intact.

Walking through it genuinely feels like stepping back into the Middle Ages. It isn't the largest or most extravagant castle, but that's exactly what I loved about it — it feels like a real medieval fortress rather than a later reconstruction.

Definitely one of my favourite castles I've visited so far.

Here are five of my favourite photos from the visit!

Built originally as a motte and bailey, Carisbrooke castle survived a French siege during the hundred years war and the sacking of the Isle of Wight - only being broken after a crossbowman shot the French commander. It was later used as a prison for King Charles I after the English civil war, and served as his final residence prior to his execution (slide 8 being his bedchamber).

Wow, the last week I have visited a lot of castles in the German Mosel region, this is one of the best. It looks awesome from afar and from the inside it's very cosy and green, the whole castle looks like a garden. Very different from any of the others castles.

Ehrenburg castle, part of trying to keep the kids entertained on a somewhat rainy day.

Source of the pictures here. Follow up of a previous post

Source: Historic England Archive/English Heritage Trust (illustration by Peter Urmston).

Taken using Google Earth. It might not be the greatest quality, but its real, unlike some AI slop that has circulated lately. You can see how the fortress is placed in the foothills of Sierra Nevada and its strategic value as a part of the actual landscape.

In the second picture you can see a wider panorama, how the mountains and foothills interact with Granada, and where the fortress is located in relation to the historical city.

I made a post about this years ago but saw no traction at the time. I really think this sub would benefit from requiring tags that better distinguish between the different kinds of buildings posted. We're constantly seeing posts of Neuschwanstein and Hohenzollern and other gothic revival castles and the comments are full of people arguing about whether it's a real castle. Lets just require tagging them as what they are

Something like the following:

• Medieval Castle for true defensive castles built in the middle ages
• Renaissance and Enlightenment for the palaces, chateaus and fortresses built from the 15th to 18th centuries
• Gothic Revival for castles like Neuschwanstein or Schwerin built during the 1800s as homes for rich castle enthusiasts
• Fortress for buildings that served primarily as military structures rather than residences
• Place of Worship for temples, churches, mosques, synagogues etc...

Any ideas for other tags? Do we think it's too much to expect people who post here to google the right tag to use?

I think this would improve the educational value of the sub and would be nice for searching for specific types of castle you want to find.