Altenburg Castle, Bamberg, Germany

Altenburg castle is perched on top of Bamberg's highest hill and is one of Bamberg's major landmarks. The castle was first mentioned in 1109 and was used at this time as a refuge. In the 14th and 15th centuries it served as a richly furnished residence for Bamberg's bishops, but was almost completely destroyed in 1553 by margrave Alfred Alcibiades von Brandenburg-Kulmbach in the second margrave war.

The only remains of the medieval construction are the 33 metre keep from the 13th century and parts of the surrounding wall. An iron basket hangs from the upper section of the tower which was used to send fire signals to Giechburg castle near Scheßlitz, 20km away.

In the Romance period, Altenburg was rebuilt. E.T.A. Hoffmann retreated to one of the wall towers in 1812, to which the 'Hoffmannsklause' restaurant in the new building of the former palace (1901/02) owes its name. The terrace commands a panoramic view of the episcopal town and the surrounding region.

The restaurant was formed after the takeover by the 'Altenburg club'. The premises were located as it is today in the cultivation of the gatehouse. The kitchen, a vaulted room was built in 1834. In the last quarter of the 19th Century the premises has been newly decorated. Lippel family took over the restaurant in 1972.

References:

Bamberg Info

User Reviews

Kazi Hossain (22 months ago)
Visited today. Only 1 restaurant, very sad, no variety on food. No easy way to go, must have personal vehicle or walk 1100 meters from the nearest bus stop. Not for unhealthy people to climb such mountainous zigzag path. Bus 908. Could have been a better tourist spot. (Feb 2019 review)

Hooligan Rob (22 months ago)
Beautiful castle to see. Had lunch at the restaurant and the food was amazing.

Leah Schenck (22 months ago)
So cool and amazing food!

Sadik Hannan (23 months ago)
It's one of the beautiful place I have visited in my life.

Oscar Gonzalez (2 years ago)
A well-preserved, if Spartan castle. The views are wonderful and there is a nice restaurant outdoors that's excellent for enjoying the view. There's lots of place to run around so it's also a good place to take kids. You can also climb up a tower there.

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The famous Italian Medici family have given two queens to France: Catherine, the spouse of Henry II, and Marie, widow of Henry IV, who built the current Luxembourg palace. Maria di Medici had never been happy at the Louvre, still semi-medieval, where the fickle king, did not hesitate to receive his mistresses. The death of Henry IV, assassinated in 1610, left the way open for Marie's project. When she became regent, she was able to give special attention to the construction of an imposing modern residence that would be reminiscent of the Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens in Florence, where she grew up. The development of the 25-hectare park, which was to serve as a jewel-case for the palace, began immediately.

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