- Type
- Castle
- Location
- Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
- Style
- Romanesque architecture
- Visiting
- probably – Wikidata lists it as a museum or gives tickets, opening hours or visitor numbers; check before you go
- Coordinates
- 50.2050°, 7.3367°
History
The castle stands on a rocky spur above the Elzbach stream, a tributary of the Moselle, and the Eltz family is first recorded in the 12th century. In the 13th century the family split into three branches that shared the stronghold, each adding tall residential houses around the cramped courtyard. In the 14th century the lords of Eltz clashed with Archbishop Baldwin of Trier, who built the siege castle of Trutzeltz opposite and after several years forced them to submit. Thanks to diplomacy and its hidden location Eltz escaped destruction in later wars and survives in close to its original form. It still belongs to descendants of the family.
What to see
Walking down from the car park or along the forest trail, you suddenly see the many-storeyed pile of turrets, oriels and half-timbered gables rising from the valley. Guided tours cover the Rübenach and Rodendorf houses: painted chambers, a bedchamber with a canopy bed of 1520 and a painted Renaissance bed of 1525, the knights' hall where the three branches of the family met, an armoury and one of the old kitchens. The vaulted treasury displays goldsmiths' work, porcelain and arms, and the nearby ruins of Trutzeltz recall the old siege.
Wikipedia article Official website Wikidata Q153426
Popularity: articles about this site in 40 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).