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BY DONNA SADDLER, Editor at everycastle.com

Built on a massive rocky crag surrounded by the Elzbach River, a tributary of the Moselle River near Koblenz, and nestling amid high, forested hills, Burg Eltz was built in the 12th century on a medieval trade route and has remained, remarkably, in the possession of the same noble German family for the past 850 years.

Burg Eltz
Burg Eltz lies between Cochem and Koblenz. PHOTO: Robert Müller

During that time three branches of the Eltz family over 33 generations have built their homes in the imposing castle complex and today it is owned by Count Karl zu Eltz, whose family still lives there for part of the year. There’s a bigger concentration of medieval castles along the Rhine and Moselle rivers than anywhere else in the world. The Upper Middle Rhine Valley is listed as a World Heritage site for its significance in history and legend over the past two millennia.

With its fairytale setting reminiscent of the more widely known (but not nearly as old) Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Eltz Castle looks as if it has leapt from the pages of a children’s storybook. For Germans, though, Eltz is a familiar sight because in pre-euro days it was featured on the 500-Deutsche-Mark note. The castle was also featured in a castle series of German postage stamps in 1977. (See photo below.)

Burg Eltz stamp
Burg Eltz on a German postage stamp.
Tours at Eltz are conducted in German and English and there’s even a special tour for children. A favorite stop for kids is naturally the armory, with its suits of mail and helmets dating from the 15th century. Among the ancient firearms, there’s a collection of arrow-like bolts that were wrapped with flax and tar, set on fire and shot over the castle walls during the siege of 1331-1336.

Moving into the mural-covered master bedroom the ensuite bathroom has a flushable toilet, one of 20 in the castle that are flushed by rainwater collected from the roof (impressive, considering even the Palace at Versailles didn’t have such a luxury). In the same room, a small chapel is set into a protruding bay window to ensure that no one considered themselves “above God.”

The Eltz family used its political clout to keep the castle intact through the ages, surviving even the 17th-century Thirty Years War, when the French went on a castle rampage. In the Great Hall, important family matters were discussed and the fool’s mask under the massive cross-beam signified that free speech was permitted to everyone inside. But a rose carved above the door was the symbol of silence, a reminder nothing said in council should be repeated outside the room.

More about Burg Eltz below...

Burg Eltz
Burg Eltz sits atop a rocky crag in the forested hills of the Moselle Eifel region. The stream is called the Elzbach. PHOTO: Holger Weinandt (Wikimedia Commons)

Burg Eltz • Home for 800 years

For more than 800 years, the majestic Burg Eltz has been in the hands of the Eltz family. It was Rudolf zu Eltz, the first noted member of the family, who started construction in 1157. Parts of the original structure, especially the Romanesque residential houses, are not only preserved but still in use. The architects took into account the contours of its rocky base, incorporating them into the floor plans of many of the oddly-shaped ground floor rooms.

Three generations later, brothers Wilhelm, Elias and Theodre zu Eltz formed separate clans and divided the castle and property equally. Burg Eltz became a Ganerbenburg (castle of joint heirs), in which the lines of the Eltz family lived together sharing their wealth and resources.

This arrangement eventually saw the establishment of the Rubenach, Rodendorf and Kempnich houses. By 1661, the castle was complete, ending its 500-year construction period.

The castle consists of closely grouped residential towers encircling the inner courtyard. Burg Eltz was not conceived as a fortress and served as one only once in 1336 when the Eltz lords combined to repulse the ambitions of the Elector of Trier who wanted the castle as part of his diocese.

The only other time the castle was threatened was when French King Louis XIV (“The Sun King”) invaded Germany in 1689. Hans Anton zu Eltz-Uttingen betrayed his homeland to serve in the upper ranks of the opposing French army to protect the castle from destruction.

Location:
Burg Eltz is located in the Moselle Eifel region between Cochem and Koblenz in the state of Rheinland-Pfalz in Germany’s west, not far from the confluence of the Rhine and the Moselle rivers.

Getting There:
By road, the easiest access is from the town of Münstermaifeld off the Trier-Koblenz (A48) autobahn. By foot, take the scenic one hour hike from the town of Moselkern on the banks of the Mosel (Moselle) River.

  • burg-eltz.de is the official Burg Eltz website, in English and German (see more links below)

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