Tulips and Pianos : Burg Eltz

June 18th-July 5th I was able to visit my favorite country in the world, Germany. During my stay with some really good friends I was able to visit a Castle. When I got home as a "You are officialy finished your German class project" my mom made me write a paper on the Castle. Here is what I wrote, hope you enjoy. Pictures of my visit at the bottom.

"Eltz castle is simply what a castle should be. Its solitude and the beauty of its situation stimulate the imagination." -Georg Dehio

Burg Eltz is a medieval, well-maintained, privately owned castle situated in the hills of Rhineland-Palatinate, in the city of Wierschem, above the Mosel River. The Castle has been owned by two families for over 800 years, Edlen Herren und Grafen (Lords and Counts). The current owner Dr. Karl Graf von und zu Eltz represents the 33rd generation of the House of Eltz. He has undertaken the task of maintaining this national monument for the public, to preserve its structure, and follow family tradition so he will be able to pass it on to the 34th generation.

The castle contains a large treasury full of swords, battle axes, crossbows, artwork, and porcelain from Vienna and Hoechst from the 18th century. All items belong to members of the Eltz family and are open for the public to see.

On my visit I was able to take the English tour through the public part of the Castle. Burg Eltz is pretty up to date for its time, with fireplaces in nearly every room to keep the completely stone rooms warm; it also has toilets in the house, but they only worked when it was raining outside. Furthermore, during my stay I was able to bring to life some of the stories the tour guide was telling us, Paul 5, and Tommy, 3 and me. The story they liked the most was about the suit of armor and how when a man put on the heavy clothing, he had to be lifted by crane onto his horse. If he happened to fall off during the battle, there was no way to re-mount the horse. All in all, the castle was beautiful, well-fortified and a great place to visit during my trip to Germany.