Burg Lichtenberg Battern Family Travels Lichtenberg Castle |
I recently e-mailed my homeschooling group for help in choosing a castle to take my mother-in-law to during her visit. Thank you to all who replied with their suggestions. Honorable mentions go to the following: Burg Rheinstein, combined with a Rhine cruise, the castle ruins near St. Goar, and Satzvey castle with its markets and festivals (www.burgsatzvey.de). Burg Eltz, Cochem Castle and Marksburg were all praised as well, but are opened seasonally. Be sure to check if they are open. Of these three, Cochem is recommended as being favored by children over Burg Eltz, and Marksburg is listed as a favorite of Rick Steves. Information for all of these castles was readily available online by using a search engine. Heidelberg's castle was recommended 4 times. A tour of the castle's interior is available, which highlights its development from the Gothic-Renaissance period through to the Renaissance-Baroque period. You can also visit the German Pharmaceutical Museum for a fee. Be sure to descend to the basement to view the Great Vat, a colossal wine cask that holds 48,780 gallons! Above the castle you can take a funicular ride to the top of the hill for a great view of the town. The town of Heidelberg itself has several other sights worth visiting. Because of its proximity, we choose to visit another castle that had several recommendations, Burg Lichtenberg. Although it lacks a restored interior, it has so much more offer. We throughly enjoyed our morning there! Burg Lichtenberg is only a short drive from Ramstein. It lies a few kilometers east of A62 and north of Kusel. A visit to Burg Lichtenberg could easily be combined with a visit to Idar-Oberstein to make a perfect day! Take A-62 north. You'll see the brown Burg Lichtenberg sign shortly before exit 7 for Kusel, but you don't want to take this exit. Go to the next exit, Exit 6, Reichweiler. Once you are off of the autobahn, you will see signs directing you to Burg Lichtenberg, which can be seen cresting a hill down the valley to east. The castle's ruins date from the 11th century and cover the entire hilltop, spanning 425 meters. Several walls still exist and with the help of the map available in the museum, it is easy to imagine the castle as it must have been. We didn't climb the tower, but I understand that the view is well worth the 150-step climb. In more recent times, a restaurant and youth hostel have been built on the site. An old barn has been converted to a museum with one room dedicated to local nature and another to the history of regional musical bands (Bohemian). The nature area features birds, including a variety of cranes and smaller birds, and a couple of owls and birds of prey. There is also a display of sedimentary layers. The music floor has several dioramas of how music contributed to life in the late 1800s, with the opportunity to listen to music through headphones. Along with a church on site, a new museum has been built to house an incredible display of fossils and stones. At a table downstairs, kids can look at a few fossil samples through magnifying stereoscopes. Mine had a great time checking out their fingernails too! Entrance tickets for the Nature/Music Museum are 2,10 for adults, 1,50 for children, or 5,10 for the family. Entrance tickets for the Fossil Museum are 2,60 , 2,10 and 6,10 , respectively. A combined ticket is 3,60 , 2,80 and 9,20 , respectively. Hours of operation are: 01 April to 31 October, daily 10 am - 5 pm, 01 November to 31 March, daily 10 am to 12 pm and 2 to 5 pm. "Regular castle guidance from April to October at sunning and holidays at 3 pm" (Regelmaessige Burgfuehrungen von ... an Sonn- und Feiertagen um 15.00 Uhr). Cost is 2,10 for Adults and 1,50 for kids. Castle and museum tours are also available with advance arrangements. For more information, call 06281-8429. |
