バートエムスターの洞窟・トップ20

a great corner, always worth a trip

It can no longer be clearly determined when the wooden palisade castle was built. It probably already served Charlemagne and his troops in the Saxon Wars (772 to 804) as a strategic outpost to secure the Frankish Empire. Several drawings[2] that are on a sign near the former castle indicate that the Igelsburg probably cannot be classified as a classic castle complex. Because within four ring walls, some of which can still be seen today, four houses can be seen on this sketch, two of them on the summit, the other two a little further down. Historians suspect that the barons of Dörnberg, first mentioned in 1100 in the Habichtswald area, had their seat in the castle. The wooden houses of the Igelsburg probably fell into disrepair as early as the 12th or 13th century. Source: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burruine_Igelsburg

Above Wilhelmshöhe Castle lies the artificial castle ruins of the Löwenburg. From a distance it appears like a romantic knight's castle from the Middle Ages. However, it was only built between 1793 and 1801 as the “ancestral castle” of Landgrave Wilhelm IX. of Hesse-Kassel, the later Elector Wilhelm I. His court architect Heinrich Christoph Jussow implemented the bold plans. The Löwenburg was not a fortress, but a pleasure palace, whose princely living quarters and rich furnishings with historical furniture, paintings, tapestries, glasses, bronzes as well as a magnificent collection of weapons and medieval stained glass windows reflect the great passion for collecting of its builder. The immediate surroundings of the castle were also included in the production by creating an ancient-looking castle garden, a vineyard, a tournament field and a zoo.

The Igelsburg is a clearly prominent basalt hilltop 466 m high. There was a small castle on it. (see table). The ditch is still clearly visible.

Woooow, like a movie set. The sight knocks every ambitious hiker's socks off 😍

Nice paths to the top, with a very steep incline

Landgrave Wilhelm IX had the mountain park redesigned and expanded according to the English-influenced spirit of the time. This also included the Löwenburg Castle, which was built as a ruin in 1793. The habitable ruin was his personal retreat and was also intended to be his grave, where he still lies today. Kassel was exposed to heavy bombings during the Second World War, which also severely damaged the Löwenburg. It was only rebuilt for practical purposes. The facility is now being restored again and will then look exactly as it did when it was founded. Due to the restoration work, only the armory and the chapel can currently be visited (2022). This is done exclusively through guided tours, which take place every hour.

Another highlight on this route.