Lichtenstein Castle can be found rising up from a crag in
the Swabian Jura, a low mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The
castle which stands was built in the 1840s by King Frederick I of Württemberg’s
nephew, Duke Wilhelm of Urach. The Duke was so taken by the patriotic novel of
the same name (written by Wilhelm Hauff) that he built the spectacular
Neo-Gothic castle we see today. Lichtenstein Castle has further inspired
others, including Reynier Fritz who built a luxury replica in Hout Bay, South
Africa.
Perched on a forested crag in the foothills of the Alps,
Lichtenstein Castle is the archetypal fairy-tale keep. It was built between
1840-42 by Count Wilhelm of Württemberg, then an independent kingdom in
southern Germany. Wilhelm was inspired by a novel popular at the time called
Lichtenstein, a romantic portrayal of the region's chivalric warriors in the
Middle Ages. His neo-gothic citadel was erected on the supposed foundations of
an earlier stronghold of the noble knights of Lichtenstein — not to be confused
with the Principality of Liechtenstein — whose lineage faded by the 17th
century. The castle's keep and outer buildings are linked by a narrow causeway;
its broad crenellated stone walls meld into a cliff face that drops down into
the Echaz Valley below. But its seeming impregnability ought not deter visitors
— nowadays, the castle is a popular spot for weddings.
.jpg)
