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Burg Eltz is a medieval castle sitting in the hills above the Mosselle River about an hour away from us here in Wiesbaden. It is still owned by a branch of the same family that lived there in the 12th century, 33 generations ago. The Rübenach and Rodendorf families' homes in the castle are open to the public, while the Kempenich branch of the family uses the other third of the castle. It is one of the only castles on this rive that has never been destroyed.
There were three families that bonded together to build this castle, which was common in this area and at this time. Most Lords could not afford to build an entire castle by themselves. The castle has over 100 rooms, it's eight stories high, and has three separate buildings to house the three families. From 1965 to 1992, an engraving of Burg Eltz was used on the German 500 Deutsche Mark note.
We went on an english tour inside the castle, which showed us weaponry rooms, bedrooms, and the old kitchen. The beds in the bedrooms were small and had a canopy over top. I always thought it was just for decoration, but the tour guide explained that it was to protect the person sleeping from bugs, worms, and other debris that would fall from the wood beams in the ceiling. Gross.
After the tour we relaxed with some ice cream and cappuccino, then walked through the forrest back to the parking lot.
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