Lichtenstein Castle
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Lichtenstein Castle is a fairy-tale styled castle located near Honau in the Swabian Alb, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Its self-descriptive name in English means "light (colored) stone."
Historically there has been a castle on the site since around 1200. It was twice destroyed, once in the Reichskriegs war of 1311 and again by the city state of Reutlingen in 1381. The castle was not reconstructed and subsequently fell to ruin.
In 1802 the land came into the hands of King Frederick I of Württemberg, who built a hunting lodge there. By 1837 the land had passed to his nephew Duke Wilhelm of Urach, Count of Württemberg, who, inspired by Wilhelm Hauff's novel Lichtenstein [1], added the current castle in 1840–42. The romantic Neo-Gothic design of the castle was created by the architect Carl Alexander Heideloff.
Today the castle is still owned by the Dukes of Urach, but is opened to visitors during weekends in the winter.
[edit] Other similar castles
A modern replica of the current castle, also called Lichtenstein Castle, has been constructed at Hout Bay in South Africa and is run as a guest house [2].
Castle Liechtenstein in Lower Austria has a similar name, but is otherwise unrelated.
[edit] See also
- Fog Cave (Nebelhöhle) the nearby show caves are associated with the castle and also described in Hauff's novel Lichtenstein.
- Castle Liechtenstein in Lower Austria
- Neuschwanstein
[edit] References
