Explore the historic highlights of Pavia
Pavia, Italy
1488
Pavia, Italy
1773
Pavia, Italy
1360
Pavia, Italy
1374-1461
Pavia, Italy
11th century
Pavia, Italy
1500-1507
Pavia, Italy
1132
Pavia, Italy
8th century AD
Pavia, Italy
12th century
Pavia, Italy
11th century
Pavia, Italy
1325
Ehrenbreitstein Fortress was built as the backbone of the regional fortification system, Festung Koblenz, by Prussia between 1817 and 1832 and guarded the middle Rhine region, an area that had been invaded by French troops repeatedly before. The fortress was never attacked.
Early fortifications at the site can be dated back to about 1000 BC. At about AD 1000 Ehrenbert erected a castle. The Archbishops of Trier expanded it with a supporting castle Burg Helferstein and guarded the Holy Tunic in it from 1657 to 1794. Successive Archbishops used the castle's strategic importance to barter between contending powers; thus in 1672 at the outset of war between France and Germany the Archbishop refused requests both from the envoys of Louis XIV and from Brandenburg's Ambassador, Christoph Caspar von Blumenthal, to permit the passage of troops across the Rhine.