![]() ![]() On the tour of the Marksburg, the visitor can see the great hall set up as it might have been for a feast for those wealthy earls from 900 years ago and medicinal plants growing in the “Witch’s Garden” on the side of the castle overlooking the Rhine. Marksburg Castle kitchen photographed by Frances Dilworth However, despite the many wars and attacks through the years, Marksburg never fell and to this day retains its medieval architectural qualities and features. It was later used as a prison and fell into disrepair for several centuries. The Marksburg was occupied by a series of very wealthy lords and earls, from the Eppsteins in the mid 13th century, to the Counts of Katzenelnbogen from 1283-1479, to the Landgraves of Hesse in the late 15th century. Marksburg contains a great hall, kitchen, chapel tower, defensive walkways and walls, a dungeon, great and small batteries, a “hexengarten” (witch’s garden), and several bedrooms. Marksburg Castle exterior view of the Rhine River photographed by Frances Dilworth The castle was built during the Late Romanesque period (1225-1250), with architectural additions as late as the 18th century. This was done for two reasons: to make use of the water’s natural resources and control and distribute those resources politically to the layfolk via taxation. This castle is one of the dozens that are built strategically on this river. It stands on a hill next to the Rhine river, which flows through northwest Germany. Marksburg Castle, located in Braubach, Germany, is the most well preserved medieval castle in Germany. Marksburg Castle Marksburg Castle exterior, Braubach, via Marksburg Castle Gallery Both inside and outside, the castle provided stunning aesthetic views for its powerful owners and would impress guests who came to call. Aside from defensive purposes, castles functioned as a home for the royalty, military elite, and aristocrats who lived in them. There is a reason we have so many well preserved medieval castles still standing today: from spiral staircases built to give those going down the upper hand in battle in case of an attack to the crenelated walls which gave access to archers to shoot at the lower ground, to complex and maze-like moats, walls, and passageways meant to confuse the enemy, the architecture of each castle was built specifically to sustain all kinds of attacks. Internationally, castles were usually built for two main purposes: to defend and to impress. In one bedroom, where Charles I stayed briefly, there is red wallpaper, original dark wood paneling, and matching floorboards.Medieval Castles: An Introduction Engraving of Marksburg Castle, 1844, via Marksburg Castle Gallery The cozy study, meanwhile, is thought to be its oldest part, with its low ceilings, elm beams, and mullioned windows. Its newer parts include a Georgian drawing room with window shutters, Victorian wood paneling, and a 1930s sitting room. The home, which abuts the village common, has been remodeled many times over its history, which has left an array of rare original features, including molded beams, four-centered Tudor fireplaces, a dining room with 17th-century wainscotting with ionic columns and dentiles (projecting rectangular blocks), which looks atmospheric in candlelight, and wattle and daub walls. details … create a rich and beautiful home,” said selling agent Georgia Grunfeld. “Harlington Manor not only offers a large amount of space and the potential to run what has already been a very successful bed and breakfast business, but it also has origins in the late 14th century and many layers of history upon that. More: Modern Mansion Among Kensington’s Georgian Townhouses Lists for £44 Million This rich red bedroom is where Charles I is believed to have stayed over in. Bunyan was latterly sent to prison in Bedford where over the next 12 years he wrote his famous Christian allegory “The Pilgrim’s Progress.” Charles II is believed to have stayed at the house, possibly as a guest of Francis Wingate. More famously, though, the house was where Bunyan, the Puritan and English theologian, was interrogated by Sir Francis Wingate for seditious preaching and then briefly imprisoned. It belonged to the Wingate family from the 17th to the 19th centuries, first owned by mathematician Edmund Wingate, who tutored Queen Henrietta Maria, the wife of Charles I. Harlington Manor, which is set in a walled garden in the village of Harlington, was enlarged in the 1590s from an older medieval house, has rare features from the Tudor and Jacobean periods, and five reception rooms. This history-packed Tudor manor house in Bedfordshire, England, has an impressive architectural pedigree along with links to royalty and the famous Puritan John Bunyan. Location: Harlington, Bedfordshire, England
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