Do you know that Germany is the country with the highest number of castles?  

Imagine this. It is a lovely day, and you have just returned to your castle from the garden. Yes, castle, not home. Now, you’d definitely agree that living in a castle is fantastic, isn’t it? You may be aware of the fact India has been the house of royalty for ages. No wonder that our country is home to numerous palaces. But do you know which nation boasts of the maximum number of castles? With more than 25,000 castles, the winner is Germany! But why so many castles?  

There isn’t just one reason why Germany has so many castles. The country’s history might explain this. Long before Germany become a single nation, it housed several tribes. Records from 3,500 BCE suggest that these tribes conflicted with one another. Along with this, invaders from other regions also posed a continual threat to them. To defend themselves, Germanic tribes constructed castles. 

But Germany was not the only one. Castles also began to spring up throughout Europe to keep both Vikings (Scandinavian pirates) and Roman invaders at bay. These can still be seen in France, Spain and the United Kingdom. Nonetheless, no other country built as many castles as Germany. Today, let’s take you through the most famous castles in Germany. Knowing about German castles is an excellent way to learn about its history and architecture after all!  

Wartburg Castle 
The Wartburg Castle, located in the Thuringian Forest, soars a magnificent 400 metres above a rock plateau that overlooks the town of Eisenach. It was built in 1067 by Ludwig der Springer, a count in Thuringia. Wartburg Castle beautifully blends with its forest surroundings and is often considered ‘the ideal castle’. 

In addition to being a fortress, this castle has also housed several literary scholars. In the past, this castle was known to draw well-known poets and even host an annual poetry competition. You’d be surprised to know that Martin Luther, a German priest, lived in Wartburg Castle after leaving the Catholic Church in 1521. It was in this castle that he translated the Bible into German in 10 weeks! Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the most well-known author in Germany, spent five weeks at the Wartburg Castle in 1777, during which he created various sketches of the castle. You can see these sketches as they are available in the public domain (internet).  

Lichtenstein Castle 
The Lichtenstein Castle is often praised as the castle from a fairy tale! The castle is actually inspired from the novel Lichtenstein written by Wilhelm Hauff, German poet and novelist. Lichtenstein Castle is a neo-Gothic castle located on an 800-meter-high cliff on the border of the Swabian Alps in Germany. The Lichtenstein, an aristocratic family, held a large portion of the land around the beginning of the 12th century. However, the fortress was reduced to rubble during the civil wars of 1311 and 1377. But it was rebuilt to what we see today! And this reconstruction of Lichtenstein Castle began in 1840 at the request of the castle’s owner, Duke Wilhelm of Urach, Count of Württemberg.  

Fun fact: The meaning of the name Lichtenstein is ‘shining stone’.  

Neuschwanstein Castle  
In 1868, King Louis II of Bavaria ordered the construction of Neuschwanstein Castle on a rock cliff overlooking the Pöllat Gorge in the Bavarian Alps close to Füssen, Germany. However, the construction was never completed because Louis drowned himself in 1886. Neuschwanstein Castle is called a paradoxical castle. Why? It was built at a time when castles were no longer necessary. Offering an ancient appeal, the castle is equipped with all the modern technology. Running water, flush toilets, hot water in bathroom and central heating system, the castle has it all! The magnificent building features a walled courtyard, an interior garden, towers, arches and an artificial cave. But what is it that makes this castle so special? It served as the inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty Castle we can see in Disneyland.