A Night in a Castle- Auf Schonburg, Oberwesel, Germany

We are typically pretty thrifty when we travel.  Not staying in a hostel thrifty but more the small, family run hotel with breakfast included kind of thrifty.

When we first starting talking about this trip to Germany Nancy said she wanted to stay in a castle so we thought OK, why not?

She did the research and found a castle on the Rhine. It was a bit pricey but how often do you get to spend the night in a 1000 year old castle?

Castle of choice Caste Hotel - Auf Schonburg high above the medieval town of Oberwesel in the middle Rhine Valley. 

A beautifully restored castle with a turbulent history. It was first mentioned in history between 911 and 1166. From the 12th century the Dukes of Schonburg levied customs on those traveling on the Rhine River. At the height of its power during the 14th century 250 people representing 24 families lived within the walls of Schonburg. In 1689 the French burned the castle and it sat in ruins until 1914. when the castle was purchased by an American named Rhinelander. He spent 2 million Gold Marks to restore the castle. In 1950 ownership returned to the Town Council of Oberwesel and in 1957 the Hittl family moved into the castle on a long term lease. They established the hotel and restaurant as we see today.

Auf Schonburg

I knew that if I was going to stay in a castle it would have to be a room in the tower. We carefully searched the choice of rooms on the website and choose room 22. A room in the round tower with a tiny balcony overlooking the Rhine River. It looked perfect.
(Our room was in the tower with the pointy top that's behind the red building. You can just make it out in the photo below)



This was our first view of the castle on the hill as we arrived in Oberwesel.

View as we crossed the bridge to the castle.

Key to our room. I don't think we'll lose this one!

Stairs to the tower

Welcome sherry waiting for us in our room.

A Tour of Our Room

 A bed fit for royalty. 

See that chest of drawers looking piece of furniture on the wall? That's the door to the fire escape. A ladder going down the side of the tower. Believe me I prayed that we'd not have to go down it!

Bookcases and a neat little sitting area,

The bookcase was filled with Germany titles. I left a book I'd brought along on the shelf above the bench seat. "The Inheritance of Beauty" I wrote a little note on the inside. If anyone stays in room 22 check it out and see if it's still there. 

Our balcony

Ye Old Royal Bathroom

Complimentary robe and slippers

What the heck is that Jethro?

We're such yokels. Even though we were staying in a castle we got all excited about the free mini bar...

Stay tuned!

I'll be posting about the food we ate and a little more about the Rhine.