Location: Oberwesel, Rhineland- Palatine Map
Constructed: 12th century
Official site of hotel
Schönburg Burg or Schönburg Castle stands on the Western, right
side of the river in Oberwesel, Rhineland-Palatine in Germany. In
German the name literally means “beautiful mountain”. Without a
doubt this castle deserves this name. Although it was rebuild and
renovated several times it still kept its charm and romantic aura.
It houses a restaurant and a hotel. It is probably one of the best
hotels along the Rhine river that keeps the medieval structure with
modern accommodations. First mentioned in the 12th century Schönburg
Castle switched many hands and was rebuild several times. Its
construction began in the 12th century either by the Archbishop of
Magdeburg or as an imperial residence. In 1149 the owner of the
castle Hermann von Stahleck probably ordered the murder of his rival
Otto II of Rheineck. The dukes of Schönburg had rights to gather
taxes from the bypassing merchant ships. This tradition was not much
different from open robbery. However the family that owned the
castle seems very happy. It is one of the few examples where all
sons chose to live under the same roof although the oldest was the
owner of the castle. In the 14th century the castle housed over 250
people from 24 families.
The most famous owner of the castle
was Friedrich of Schönburg who held the proud title of Marshal of
France. He also played a prominent role serving under William III
Prince of Orange until he died while crossing River Boyne. After his
death the lineage became instinct and the French (who else) burned
the castle in 1689 during the Palatinate Heritage war. In the late
nineteenth century German- American Mr. Rhinelander bought the
castle and restored it. His family apparently was originally from
the Middle Rhineland region of Germany. In the 1950 the castle was
bought back from the son of Mr. Rhinelander. And in 1957 the Huttle
family leased the castle and converted the castle into a hotel and a
restaurant.
The castle is located in the UNESCO World Heritage Upper Middle Rhine
Valley. The ascent from Oberwesel from the west side of the Burgberg in
serpentines takes about 30 minutes and is very steep. A first vantage
point, Elfenley, allows a view north down the Rhine to Oberwesel, south
up the Rhine to Kaub and the Schönburg high on the slate rock. A second
vantage point, Flaggenwiese, is on a terrace just before the castle and
offers a view of Oberwesel from a higher perspective.
A journey
by vehicle is also possible from Oberwesel. Parking is in front of the
shield wall.
Construction of the castle began in the first half of the 12th
century, whether by the Archbishop of Magdeburg or as an imperial castle
is not certain. In 1149 it appears in the sources as a fief of Hermann
von Stahleck, who had his rival for the county palatine near the Rhine,
Otto II von Rheineck, murdered at this castle. In the 14th century the
castle came to Electoral Trier.
The Knights of Schonenberg, as
administrative officials (Reichsministeriale), got along well with all
their changing feudal lords (the Archbishop of Magdeburg, the Emperor
and later the Archbishop of Trier). From the middle of the 13th century,
this family branch had branched out into different lines, all of which
lived in the castle at the same time, since ownership passed through
joint inheritance over the generations. By the 14th century at the
latest, the Ganerbenburg complex had been expanded with three separate
living quarters and three bergfrieds - a division that is still clearly
recognizable in today's complex, despite the major changes. A list of
names from 1340 lists 95 co-owners of the castle. However, not all of
those named lived in the castle. The conclusion of the expansion was the
Hohe Mantel, a shield wall from the first half of the 14th century,
probably built under Balduin von Trier.
Like most castles in the
Upper Middle Rhine Valley, the Schönburg was destroyed by the French in
the Palatinate War of Succession in 1689. The last Schönburger died in
1719; the ruins fell back to Electoral Trier.
Victor Hugo wrote
on his Rhine trip in 1840: "Like almost all Rhine towns, Oberwesel also
has a castle in ruins on its mountain, the Schönberg, one of the most
admirable rubble works in Europe".
Only the German-American T. I.
Oakley Rhinelander, after buying the castle in the years 1885 to 1901,
began with a partial reconstruction. As the name suggests, Rhinelander
came from the Rhineland, more precisely from a community that was on the
hill opposite the town of Oberwesel. His ancestors had emigrated to the
United States in the late 1800s and made a fortune through real estate
dealings on the East Coast of the United States. Among other things,
they owned the land on which Wall Street in New York is now located.
Rhinelander died in 1947. In 1950 the town of Oberwesel acquired the
castle from his heirs. From 1951 to 1953 the northern part was expanded
as a youth castle of the Kolping Society. The southern part has been
used as a hotel since 1957; here the ruins were rebuilt in close
cooperation with the state monument protection.
Since April 2011,
the 25 meter high gate tower of the Schönburg has housed a museum on the
subject of castle building, monument protection and castles during war.
There is a steel viewing platform on the top floor, which offers
wonderful views of the Rhine Valley.
The mighty shield wall (Hoher Mantel) with round arch frieze is
unique in this form. The building is first mentioned in 1357. The wall
breaks three times at an obtuse angle, covering most of the castle from
the attacking side. Along this wall you enter the inner courtyard of the
castle complex. On the inside of the shield wall are two blind arcade
zones with loopholes.
On the one hand, this inner courtyard leads
to the southern residential complex (southern Palas), converted into a
hotel in an architecturally heterogeneous ensemble. The building
received new window openings in the Gothic style. The red plaster with
the painted joints corresponds to historical findings. The hotel has a
half-timbered building and one of the keep, called the Barbarossa Tower,
because Friedrich Barbarossa visited the castle several times. The
interiors, decorated with tapestries and other antiques, are only
accessible to hotel guests. The castle restaurant is open to the public
with an outdoor terrace in summer and a view of the Rhine upstream to
Kaub and Gutenfels Castle.
On the other hand, the path leads past
various half-timbered outbuildings through a mighty square, 25 meter
high gate tower to the second residential complex in the north with its
own keep, which houses the Kolping House. The compact Palas - two wings
that cannot be visited - is essentially the reconstruction work from
1953 with extensions in 1962 and conversions in the 1970s and 1980s. The
castle chapel was restored in 1983 in the Gothic style.
The third
keep has not been rebuilt.
viticulture
The 72-hectare Schloss
Schönburg site is part of the Middle Rhine. White grape varieties such
as Riesling, Müller-Thurgau, Kerner and others are grown on the steep
slope, as well as a small proportion of the Schönburger variety, to
which the castle gave its name. The winegrowers achieve wines of
different quality levels.