BURG GREIFENSTEIN
July 2018
After a very scenic visit to Mittelrhein on our way to Dortmund we stopped to visit the ruins of Greifenstein Castle. The first recorded history of the castle goes back to 1160 A.D. The castle changed hands many times belonging to: from clergy to robber barons.
Today the most interesting part is the free standing (Bergfried) twin towers and the climb to the top using the narrow spiral staircase. You start your climb outside the tower and enter it halfway, the rest is inside all the way to the top where the bridge joins the two towers.
The Griffin weather vane on top of the tower also points to the fact that 'Greif' means 'Griffin' in German.
The castle also houses torture chambers, chapels and a bell museum.
The double chapel of St. Catherine is half underground [the Gothic part] and half above ground. The Baroque church built above the fortified chapel from 1687 to 1702 is decorated with stuccos and is of the Italian Early Baroque period. Upper and lower churches are linked by a staircase.
The Bell Museum
