Burg Eltz

On our way down to Vienna we stopped for a night in Koblenz, Germany so we could journey to the nearby town of Moselkern. Burg (castle) Eltz can be reached by a moderate 45 minute hike from the train station up a valley. Zac visited this last time he was in Europe and thought it was so special he wanted Jennie to experience it too.

Burg Eltz boasts some of the most well preserved, authentic artifacts and furnishings to be found in a castle. Most of the castle is open to tourists willing to pay a modest fee for a tour. There were only 5 of us in our group so we were blessed with a guide willing to explain and answer questions in English. Normally all tours are only in English unless a large group is present. So, in addition to the English pamphlet explaining the rooms we toured the guide interacted with us.

The family Eltz has owned this estate for 33 generations. They still inhabit the castle for part of the year. The wife of Mr. Eltz has a hobby of creating arrangements of flowers for each room on the tour. This is a nice touch.

The reason the castle is intact and contains many old furnishings is not due to its remote location from the Mosel river. Instead the family used its excellent political connections to insure against attacks. The castle was put under siege once until the Eltz family sued for peace.