CASTLES by the CASTLE

 Hello ladies and gents this is the CASTLE telling you that today we are talking about 

WARTBURG CASTLE

The Wartburg is a castle originally built in the Middle Ages. It is situated on a precipice of 410 meters (1,350 ft) to the southwest of and overlooking the town of Eisenach, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. In 1999, UNESCO added Wartburg Castle to the World Heritage List. 

It was the home of St. Elisabeth of Hungary, the place where Martin Luther translated the New Testament of the Bible into German, the site of the Wartburg festival of 1817 and the supposed setting for the possibly legendary Sängerkrieg. It was an important inspiration for Ludwig II when he decided to build Neuschwanstein Castle. Wartburg is the most-visited tourist attraction in Thuringia after Weimar. Although the castle today still contains substantial original structures from the 12th through 15th centuries, much of the interior dates back only to the 19th century.

Palas

The largest structure of the Wartburg is the Palas, originally built in late Romanesque style between 1157 and 1170. It is considered the best-preserved non-ecclesial Romanesque building north of the Alps.

The Palas features rooms like the Rittersaal and the Speisesaal which have been reconstructed as closely as possible to the original Romanesque style and which contain original structures (pillars or roof elements). However, many of the rooms mostly reflect the tastes of the 19th and 20th centuries and the image of the Middle Ages prevalent at the time: the Elisabeth-Kemenate was fitted with mosaics showing the life of St. Elisabeth (created in 1902-06) on behalf of Kaiser Wilhelm II, the Sängersaal (with frescoes of the Sängerkrieg by Moritz von Schwind) and the Festssaal on the top floor. The latter also features frescoes by Schwind (on the triumph of Christianity) and served as the inspiration for the Sängerhalle at Neuschwanstein Castle.The Wartburg's Sängersaal is the setting for Act II of Tannhäuser. None of the wallpaintings, including those in the Landgrafenzimmer or the Elisabethengalerie, are actually medieval in origin, but were created in the 19th century.

Other structures

• The drawbridge and barbican offer the only access to the castle and have been largely unchanged since medieval times.
• Vorburg is the area immediately inside the first gate. It dates to the 14th/15th century and is made up of several half-timbered buildings: the Elisabethengang (covered walkway), the Vogtei (Bailiff's lodge), the Margarethengang (covered walkway) and the Ritterhaus (Knights' House).
• The Lutherstube in the Vogtei, where Martin Luther stayed when he was in the castle, also features paintings by Lucas Cranach.
• The Bergfried (donjon) was completed in 1859 and sits on the foundations of a medieval keep. It is topped by a landmark three-meter-tall cross.
• The Neue Kemenate (New Bower, 1853–1860) today exhibits the art treasures of the Wartburgsammlung, including paintings by Lucas Cranach the Elder and sculptures from the workshop of Tilman Riemenschneider.
• The Romanesque Südturm or South Tower was built in 1318. Together with the Palas it is the oldest part of the castle. A dungeon is located below.

In 1999, UNESCO added Wartburg Castle to the World Heritage List as an "Outstanding Monument of the Feudal Period in Central Europe", citing its "Cultural Values of Universal Significance".

For a while, the status of Wartburg as a World Heritage site was endangered by plans to build very tall wind turbines on Milmesberg near Marksuhl. However, in November 2013, the investor agreed not to build the turbines and a regional planning update has banned such structures within sight of Wartburg in the future.

And as always have a chilled day from the Castle.