- Type
- Fortress
- Origins
- 1225 · 13th century per Wikidata: founding, first mention or construction
- Style
- Romanesque architecture
- Architect
- Bodo Ebhardt
- Coordinates
- 50.2639°, 10.9814°
History
The hill above Coburg was first mentioned in 1056 in a charter of Richeza, a former queen of Poland, and the castle itself appears in records in the 13th century. In 1353 it passed to the Wettins, who enlarged it into a sprawling fortress with several rings of walls. From April to October 1530, during the Diet of Augsburg, Martin Luther, then under imperial ban, lived here. In the Thirty Years' War the fortress beat off Wallenstein's siege in 1632, but surrendered in 1635 after a long blockade. In the 19th and early 20th centuries the dukes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha remodelled it in a romantic spirit, and since 1919 it has belonged to a foundation that turned it into a museum.
What to see
Mighty walls with towers and gates enclose several courtyards on the hilltop, overlooking the town and the Franconian countryside. The art collections include paintings by Lucas Cranach, a rich print room, Venetian and German glass, armour and weapons, and some of the oldest surviving carriages. Visitors can also see the Luther room and the ducal apartments with their inlaid panelling.
Wikipedia article Official website Wikidata Q561923
Popularity: articles about this site in 20 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).