Stefan sent me this card showing this imposing castle
on the Rhine. Finished in 1259, Stolzenfels was used to protect the toll station at the Rhine, where the ships, back then
were the main transport for goods, had to stop and pay toll. Over the years it
was extended several times, occupied by French and Swedish troops in the Thirty
Years' War and finally, in 1689, destroyed
by the French during the Nine Years' War. For 150 years the ruins decayed,
until in 1815 they were given as a present to Frederick William IV of
Prussia by the city of Koblenz. Following the romantic traditions, the
prince started to completely rebuild the castle after 1826 as a summer
residence. Supported by famous neoclassic architect Karl Friedrich
Schinkel, the castle was completely remodeled in the then fashionable neo-Gothic style, aiming to create a
romantic place representing the idea of medieval knighthood - the architects
even created a tournament site.
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