If look into the picture below, you can see Ronneburg all tiny above my head. This is where we drove today.
Wikipedia, Take it away! The castle and the surrounding town were first mentioned in a historical context in the year 1258, and other sources may refer to it as early as 1231. The castle's earlier names, Raneburg, and also Roneburg, likely derive from the old High German word "Rone," which means a fallen tree. This is likely a reference to the castle's attached palisades.
At the end of the 13th century, the castle was acquired by the Barons of Ysenberg-Büdingen, who were affiliated with the Hohenlohe family. One of the members of the Hohenlohe family, Gottfried III of Hohenlohe-Brauneck, sold the castle in 1313, to the archbishop of Mainz. The castle was mortgaged to the knights of Rockenburg, under whose influence the castle was expanded. Then, from 1339 until 1356, the castle was again a possession of the archbishopric of Mainz. During this time, several buildings at the castle were expanded, and a few new buildings were built as well. The castle was mortgaged again in 1424, this time to the count of Hanau.
In 1476, the archbishop of Mainz, Diether von Ysenburg, signed possession of the castle over to his brother, count Ludwig II of Ysenburg-Büdingen. After Ludwig died in 1511, his three sons fought over the castle for six years, until 1517. In 1523, the castle came into possession of Philipp von Ysenburg-Büdingen, and he founded the Ysenberg-Büdingen-Ronneburg family, later called simply the Ysingen-Ronneburg family. Under their rule, the castle took on its present-day form and layout. After the death of Heinrich Ysingen-Büdingen, the Ysingen-Büdingen line went extinct, and Wolfgang Ernst I von Ysenburg-Büdingen violently assumed ownership of the castle. In 1621, large parts of the castle were destroyed by a fire, and thirteen years later, the castle suffered a major plundering at the hands of Croatian troops.
As the Ysenburg-Büdingen family were Calvinists, they allowed protestant exiles to stay at the castle, and for a while, the castle was a haven for many other types of religious refugees, such as Jews and Gypsies. In 1736 Nicolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf took over the castle, and made it into a place of pilgrimage for members of the Protestant Moravian Church. After two years, the castle could not accommodate the number of people who came to see it, and the pilgrims formed another site, Herrnhut, on top of a nearby hill.
In June 2004 the castle was sold by Prince Wolfgang Ernst II von Ysenburg-Büdingen to baron Joachim Benedikt von Herman auf Wain, a nephew of princess Leonille von Ysenburg-Büdingen. It hosts a restaurant, a gift shop, and regular medieval festivals. Visitors may tour the castle on a daily basis. The tower provides excellent views of the Frankfurt skyline.
The first thing we did when we got there was have coffee in the upstairs restaurant. It had such a beautiful view, even though it was kind of rainy.
This is the well inside of Ronneburg. It is an amazing 100 meters deep, and people walked in that giant wheel to pull up water.
The well. I dropped a button in and counted, and it took 6 seconds until you could hear it hit the water. It was creepy.
In the courtyard you can see some of the original walkways, even though the stairs are gone. If you look, you can see the peacock looking all proud. German castles always seem to have peacocks, no idea why.
Right.
Yay, a machine that rips people apart! ew.
The view from the top of the tower was absolutely beautiful.
Here is the courtyard from the tower.
Another view, with guest bird.
And this handsome lady is castle cat and she let me pet her a while and then tried to claw me. It was more like she was giving me a high five though.
An old catapult outside.
After Ronneburg, we drove to Glenhausen, a small and beautiful town on the hill.
The streets are all cobble stone and the houses are ancient.
Motorcycles Only.
Then we came to this church, but I can't remember the name.
The altar.
The stained glass was wonderful.
mom on an old pew
(?)
The ORGAN (only capitalized because it is MONSTROUSLY large (!!!))
Inside the door there was this chest asking for donations. My mother pointed out to me however that this was one of the original chests used by priests to collect indulgences.
This sign says "children play here"
And this, but I wasn't satisfied, so I jumped onto my bike and rode into the field...
Notice that there are two of them! it was wonderful.
And this, but I wasn't satisfied, so I jumped onto my bike and rode into the field...
Notice that there are two of them! it was wonderful.
