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For centuries, Marksburg defended the Rhine at Braubach.
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Perched 90 meters above the water, virtually no activity on the river, escaped detection.
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The castle dates to 1231, a time when the German empire was split into small principalities, earldoms, and dominions.
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It was the high Middle Ages a period when nearly 25,000 castles were built in Germany.
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Everyone had to enclose his territory and secure it against neighbors who were perhaps not so friendly.
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Marksburg was no exception.
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Towering over the Rhine, it was an intimidating, utterly unassailable sentinel.
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Even now you can almost hear the echoes of well-trained soldiers and brave knights on horseback, relentlessly patrolling, ready to defend the castle's four gates.
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Time proved Marksburg impenetrable.
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With the castle's location and extreme defensive ramparts, its little wonder that after eight centuries, including an attack in World War II, Marksburg still stands as the only Rhine Castle never to have been conquered.
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The idea of attacking Marksburg was so daunting.
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Most armies quietly passed by, so the castle was usually defended by just 10 to 15 people during the Middle Ages.
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Those invited into Marksburg, discovered the castle was anything but opulent.
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Instead, life here was relatively spartan.
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The original owners were the powerful lords of Epstein.
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While characters, like John the belligerent and count Johan, the warlike, who was the last aristocrat to occupy Marksburg, played a large part in shaping the castle as it exists today.
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While there are no ghosts here, Marksburg does have an eerie tale.
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Legend has it, the first count's daughter was set to marry a knight.
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That is until Saint Mark appeared.
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In the castle's tiny chapel, his spirit became visible and he revealed the knight was actually in league with the devil.
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Eternally grateful, the castle was renamed Marksburg.
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That's the only supernatural event that we know of.
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In the early 19th century, the castle fell into Napoleon's hands and he gifted it to the dutchy of Nassau.
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Then in 1900, the German Castles Association, a private heritage foundation, bought Marksburg to preserve and protect it.
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Today, this stunning icon is home to a different kind of treasure.
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An immaculate collection of armament fit for a fortress such as this.
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More than 2000 years of shaped steel and chain mail documenting the evolution of armor.
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Life along the river has changed a lot with a centuries, but towering Marksburg castle stands strong.
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It's an impeccable time capsule here on the Rhine.
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I hope you too will do what I did and immerse yourself in this Rhine treasure listening for the stories this remarkable castle can tell.
Painstakingly chiseled into the slate bedrock of a mountain peak, Marksburg has long stood as one of Germany’s most formidable castles. Step back into the Middle Ages with Karine as she explores the heart of this legendary stronghold.
