Name: Eltz Castle
Item: Eltz Castle
Author: germanadmin

Eltz Castle is different. It remained unscathed by wars. Its architecture has no comparison and many of the original furnishings of the past eight centuries still remain in place. There is a Treasury and Armoury boasting world-class artworks in gold and silver. It towers high on a large rock, but is still in a valley. The Eltz Forest, a nature reserve of serene beauty, full of rare fauna and flora, surrounds it. It is in the center of an attractive hiking region with the award-winning dream hike “Eltz Castle Panorama” and other walks for any level of fitness.
The architecture is the castle’s main attraction: its eight towers, soaring up to 35 metres high, its oriels, roofs, timber frame structures and turrets make it the “knights castle par excellence” (Georg Dehio), a picture book castle.

The castle is located in a unique setting: Hidden in a side valley of the Moselle, erected on a 70 m high rock, surrounded on three sides by the Eltzbach and set in the midst of a natural paradise, it is the only castle to evoke a true medieval vision. Surrounded by forests, far from any roads or modern buildings, Eltz Castle epitomises the fantasy of the untouched, unpopulated Middle Ages like no other historic building. The Berlin art professor Hermann Wiesler summarised the magical effect of this place with the words: “The good Germany turned into stone”.

The inner courtyard reflects, at a glance, 500 years of building activity, telling a colourful and often complicated story of the co-habitation of three branches of the Eltz family in a very confined space.

The family and the castle are named after the stream Eltzbach. The word probably originates in the old German “Els” or “Else”, both names for the black alder, a tree commonly found along rivers. The Romans named the stream “Alisontia”, a reference to the probably old Celtic word for the same tree.

From 1961 to 1995 the German 500 DM banknote showed a view of Eltz Castle.

Architectural styles: Late Gothic Revival, Medieval architecture, Romanesque architecture, Baroque architecture

Eltz Castle has been in possession of the Eltz family for more than 800 years. The present owner of the castle, Dr. Karl Graf von und zu Eltz-Kempenich, alias Faust von Stromberg, lives in Frankfurt am Main.

With the help of the German Stimulus Program II and the German Foundation for the Protection of Monuments the castle could be extensively restored between 2009 and 2012. These measures included structural repairs, repairs to the roof and the timber-frame constructions as well as the renewal of the technical equipment in the Rodendorf and Kempenich Houses. The roof of Platt Eltz also had to be reconstructed.

Entrance Fees for the Guided Tour and the Treasury:
Adults € 10.00
Adults in a group of more than 20 people* each € 9.00
Students and disabled visitors € 6.50
Students in school classes** each € 6.00
Family Ticket (2 adults, 2 children) € 28.00

The tour guide and the bus driver can enter free of charge
** A teacher and the bus driver can enter free of charge

Pets are not allowed indoors at Eltz Castle.

Opening Times:
Eltz Castle will be open daily from 20th March 2016 until
1st Nov. 2016 from 9.30 to 17.30

You can reach the car park at Eltz Castle by car, motorbike or bus from Münstermaifeld and Wierschem. On weekends and public holidays the new ÖPNB “Burgenbus” (Castle Bus) from the Moselle also stops here.

Parking Fees
for cars / motorbikes € 2,00
for cars with trailers / camper vans € 4,00
for busses free of charge

Routes accessible for busses from the Mosel Road B 416 to Eltz Castle
From Coblenz: L 113 from Hatzenport to Münstermaifeld
From Cochem: L 110 from Karden to Münstermaifeld

How to get to Eltz Castle from the Car Park
On Foot
There is a footpath from the lower car park (1.3 km, approx. 15 minutes)
There is also a tarred road for the shuttle bus (800 m, approx. 10 minutes)
By Shuttle Bus
The bus stop is at the barrier next to the Antonius Chapel
Price per person and trip: € 2,00

The Bus takes you and your bicycle from the Moselle to Eltz Castle and back. Weekends and holidays only.
The “Burgenbus” (Castle Bus) 330 runs four times a day from May to October, only on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
Route: From Treis-Karden via Pyrmont Castle, Eltz Castle to Hatzenport and back.

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