Plassenburg Castle, Kulmbach, Germany

Plassenburg is one of the most impressive castles in Germany and a symbol of the Kulmbach. It was first mentioned in 1135. The Plassenberg family were ministerial of the counts of Andechs (later the dukes of Andechs-Meranien) and used as their seat the Plassenburg. The House of Guttenberg, a prominent Franconian noble family, traces its origins back to 1149 with a Gundeloh v. Plassenberg. The name Guttenberg is derived from Guttenberg and was adopted by a Heinrich von Blassenberg around 1310. From 1340, the Hohenzollerns governed from Plassenburg castle their territories in Franconia till 1604. The Plassenburg was fortress and residence for the Hohenzollerns.

The castle was destroyed in 1554 at the end of the second Margravian war (1552–1554) of margrave Albert Alcibiades. The Plassenburg was later rebuilt by the architect Caspar Vischer as an impressive stronghold and as a huge palace. In 1792, Margrave Alexander sold the Plassenburg to his cousin, the King of Prussia. A combined Bavarian and French army under the command of Jérôme Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon, besieged the Plassenburg in 1806. In 1810, Kulmbach became Bavarian and the castle was used as a prison and as a military hospital. During the second world war, the Organisation Todt used the Plassenburg as a training camp and recreation home. Today, it is a museum and a venue for cultural events.

It contains a significant collection of Prussian military artifacts and portraits.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Petkol (2 months ago)
Nice place. Interesting museum. Beautiful view

Aastha Lall (4 months ago)
The castle can be reached with a city bus or on foot (in about 30-40 minutes) through narrow and picturesque streets and alleyways from main train station. Once at the top, you can have a nice view of pretty little town of Kulmbach. There's museum, a souvenir shop and a restaurant in the courtyard. Also, you get public WiFi.

Daniel S (6 months ago)
Great place for a sight seeing visit. Beautiful big castle, great view. Also there are two different museums inside and we enjoyed both - Also with children. History and miniature museum.

David Gray (13 months ago)
Don't try to drive up to the castle - there is no parking at the top. Nice stone carving in the Italianate inner courtyard. Three museums to choose from. But it is a long walk up!!

Chris Blacknall (16 months ago)
This Castle is amazing. The views are awesome and museums inside the Castle are small but very inexpensive and we'll put together.

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