Braunfels castle - Marburg

Route: Frankfurt - Braunfels castle - Marburg - Frankfurt
Duration: 8 h
Firstly we will visit the Castle Braunfels which is located on a basalt rock and has been the seat of the Counts of Solms since the 13th century and is still owned by the counts of Oppersdorff and Solms-Braunfels.The palace’s appearance has changed much over the years, with new additions to the complex as well as the destruction of other parts. There you look to the most beautiful chambers of the vast castle grounds and its princely collection.The Castle Tour starts at the impressive courtyard with the paved lion in its centre. To the northwest the courtyard is bounded by a keep with a height of 48 meters, which offers a marvellous view over the “Taunus” and “Westerwald” hills. Leaving the courtyard the you reaches up to the romantical Knight’s Hall with its armaments, as well as its weaponry of tournament, war and hunting from the 13th to the 19th century. From the gallery of the Stairways Hall you receive their first impression of the castle’s courtliest chambers, the State Rooms. Paintings, gobelins, sculptures and contemporary furniture from the 15th to 19th century testify the eventful princely family history of the counts and princes of Solms-Braunfels as well as the numerous family ties to different houses of high nobility. Among the many sacral artefacts in the Altenberger Rooms, you can admire the shrine of the gothic “Altenberger Altar” from the early 14th century. Also on display in the chamber, is the legendary ring of Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia from the early 13th century. Afterwards the tour leads down to the Deikergalerie (gallery of Deiker). Hunting scenes of red deer and wild boars are shown in this gallery, named after Johannes Deiker, the acting court painter of Braunfels Castle in the mid 19th century. The Blue Parlor exhibits the busts of Queen Luise of Prussia and her sister Princess Friederike of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, married with Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Solms-Braunfels.oday’s unmistakable and magical silhouette was bestowed upon the castle by Prince Georg (1836-1891) and his wife Emanuela in the years after 1880. Portraits of both of them and further members of past generations of this princely house can be visited in the Rose Parlor. Crossing the Canon´s Place, with its heavy bronze canons from the 16th century  we finally reach the Paradeplatz. Next we will visit to the Marburg which is a University town, nestling in the Lahn valley. There you will find that it still retains its cobbled streets and the Hessian architecture of the 17-18th century that has been well-preserved, as the town luckily escaped the bombings of the Second World War. We will wander through the old town and get a feel of how Marburg was in the past. Listen out for the church bells and soak in the atmosphere. In the city is an Ancient University Philipps Universitat which was founded around 1527 making it one of the oldest Protestant universities in the Western world.  Also one of the major attractions in Marburg is the Gothic church dedicated to St. Elisabeth which is believed to have inspired the architects of the cathedral in Cologne. It is one of the few examples of ecclesiastical Gothic buildings in Germany. Construction of this church began in 1235, the year in which St Elisabeth of Hungary was canonized. The city castle was built in the 11th century as a fortress, and can be founded very easily as it overshadows the town because it is located at the top of Schlossberg (castle hill) close to St Elisabeth’s church. It is also known as the Landgrave Castle or Landgrafenschloss.  Also during our visit we will visit to the Weidenhausen is the old town but to get to it we have to cross the River Lahn after visiting the city hall and the ancient university building. After free time we return to Frankfurt.
Price: per person