There are some brilliant folks in Waldkirch (pop. ~21,000, ~16 km northeast of Freiburg). As if large and well-preserved fortress ruins aren't incentive enough to get a kid to hike several switchbacks up a steep hill, the local Ruins' Restoration Initiative has added carved wooden knights, and signs with historical tidbits, at regularly spaced intervals along the path, ensuring that kids will outpace their parents the entire way.
Rather than hiking several hours to feed our newest habit, today Elias and I took it easy and drove. Our first destination: the
Ruinen Kastelburg, overlooking Waldkirch. According to the wooden knights, the Burg was built by lords of the Eschenbach, Schnabelburg, and Schwarzenberg clans in the early 13th century as a show of might. At the same time, they founded Waldkirch in the valley below so there would be a town to protect. (You'd think they might have done it the other way around--founded the city first, and then built the castle to protect it--but the sign says what the sign says). Martin Malterer (knighted in 1361) purchased the Burg and the city in 1354 for 2,140 silver pieces. He owned a complete suit of armor that cost him 45 cows. As a knight, he had to keep his word; protect the citizens of Waldkirch; assist the defenseless; fight evil-doers; judge wisely; be generous to the poor; and obey the faith and the commandments.
No knights trail would be complete with just a good guy. Thus enters the cruel Count Hermann von Sulz, who arrived at Kastlelburg in 1396. He wreaked havoc wherever he went and took all he could from the citizens of Waldkirch, down to their very last drops of blood. He fought with cunning, and he waylaid rich merchants, throwing them in prison until they paid a ransom. He and his warriors marauded the entire Elz valley, taking all they could obtain. ["This sign sponsored by the Consortium against Vandalism, 2004." I'm not kidding.] His chain mail had 40,000 tiny iron rings and weighed 14 kg.
At this point in the story, the wooden knights end and the ruins begin, so we must turn to other documents--like our little
Badische Zeitung pocket hiking guide--to know what happened next. That the fortress is now in ruins makes clear, of course, that someone eventually lost, big time. During the Thirty Years' War, the protestant Hachbergers conquered the Burg from the Habsburgers; taking it back in 1634, the Habsburgers pillaged and destroyed it, so there.
One of the most impressive parts of the Kastelburg ruins is a tall, square lookout tower. My fear of heights kept me from climbing all the way to the top of the wooden staircase (the railings of which are well polished by years of people holding on for dear life). While I sat in a window one flight up, keeping my knees from shaking by practicing how I might say over my cell-phone, in German, "Hello, I'm at Kastelburg, my one and only beloved child just tumbled from the top of the tower over the cliff, please send help!", Elias strode boldly upward and took lots of photographs from the very top so I'd know what I missed.
There are some brilliant folks in Waldkirch (pop. ~21,000, ~16 km northeast of Freiburg). As if large and well-preserved fortress ruins aren't incentive enough to get a kid to hike several switchbacks up a steep hill, the local Ruins' Restoration Initiative has added carved wooden knights, and signs with historical tidbits, at regularly spaced intervals along the path, ensuring that kids will outpace their parents the entire way.
Rather than hiking several hours to feed our newest habit, today Elias and I took it easy and drove. Our first destination: the Ruinen Kastelburg, overlooking Waldkirch. According to the wooden knights, the Burg was built by lords of the Eschenbach, Schnabelburg, and Schwarzenberg clans in the early 13th century as a show of might. At the same time, they founded Waldkirch in the valley below so there would be a town to protect. (You'd think they might have done it the other way around--founded the city first, and then built the castle to protect it--but the sign says what the sign says). Martin Malterer (knighted in 1361) purchased the Burg and the city in 1354 for 2,140 silver pieces. He owned a complete suit of armor that cost him 45 cows. As a knight, he had to keep his word; protect the citizens of Waldkirch; assist the defenseless; fight evil-doers; judge wisely; be generous to the poor; and obey the faith and the commandments.
No knights trail would be complete with just a good guy. Thus enters the cruel Count Hermann von Sulz, who arrived at Kastlelburg in 1396. He wreaked havoc wherever he went and took all he could from the citizens of Waldkirch, down to their very last drops of blood. He fought with cunning, and he waylaid rich merchants, throwing them in prison until they paid a ransom. He and his warriors marauded the entire Elz valley, taking all they could obtain. ["This sign sponsored by the Consortium against Vandalism, 2004." I'm not kidding.] His chain mail had 40,000 tiny iron rings and weighed 14 kg.
At this point in the story, the wooden knights end and the ruins begin, so we must turn to other documents--like our little Badische Zeitung pocket hiking guide--to know what happened next. That the fortress is now in ruins makes clear, of course, that someone eventually lost, big time. During the Thirty Years' War, the protestant Hachbergers conquered the Burg from the Habsburgers; taking it back in 1634, the Habsburgers pillaged and destroyed it, so there.
One of the most impressive parts of the Kastelburg ruins is a tall, square lookout tower. My fear of heights kept me from climbing all the way to the top of the wooden staircase (the railings of which are well polished by years of people holding on for dear life). While I sat in a window one flight up, keeping my knees from shaking by practicing how I might say over my cell-phone, in German, "Hello, I'm at Kastelburg, my one and only beloved child just tumbled from the top of the tower over the cliff, please send help!", Elias strode boldly upward and took lots of photographs from the very top so I'd know what I missed.
Yay, Elias! Good job, kiddo.
ReplyDelete1. I could NEVER climb those stairs!!
ReplyDelete2. Germany hs as many ruins as Italy does.