Yburg Castle is a ruined hilltop castle on the western edge of the Black Forest near Baden-Baden in southwestern Germany.

The castle is located at the junction of the Upper Rhine Valley to the Black Forest on the summit of the Yberg. It is the emblem of Baden-Baden's Rebland and the villages of Steinbach, Neuweier and Varnhalt. From the castle there is a wonderful panoramic view of the Upper Rhine Plain and the Black Forest.

Yburg Castle

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Hohenbaden Old Castle (Altes Schloss Hohenbaden) is one of the oldest possessions of the margraves of Baden – with origins that go back to the 12th century. The oldest part of the complex, the Oberburg (upper castle) is built on a crest on the southwestern side of the Battert hill. The newer Unterburg (lower castle) was expanded on the orders of Margrave Bernhard I in the late 14th century. The impressive Bernhardsbau, the main building in the castle’s lower bailey (courtyard), bears testimony to the heightened importance of the margraves of Baden. In 1479, however, they moved to the more comfortable Neues Schloss (new palace) in the valley. The old castle fell into disuse, and was left in ruins after a fire in the late 16th century. Interest in Hohenbaden Old Castle was reawakened in the 19th century, when Baden-Baden became a popular spa destination. Today, the ruin, with its fabulous view, is one of the most attractive destinations in the northern Black Forest.

Hohenbaden Castle

Windeck Castle (German: Burg Windeck), also Old Windeck Castle (Burg Alt-Windeck), is a ruined Black Forest spur castle which stands on a 378-metre-high spur in the Bühl district of Kappelwindeck, in the county of Rastatt in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.

The castle was built around 1200 by the lords of Windeck. The family, probably of Franconian origin and based in the Ortenau, owned wealthy allodial estates and held numerous fiefs from various liege lords, such as the empire, the Prince-Bishopric of Straßburg, the counts of Eberstein as well as the Vogtei of Schwarzach Abbey as an Afterlehen of the burgraves of Nuremberg. The first documentary evidence dates to 1212 when a certain Melchior von Windeck comes to light, and, in 1248, the lords of Windeck are mentioned in a document at Schwarzach Abbey as ministeriales of the Bishop of Straßburg. The castle itself, however, is first mentioned in 1335. It became a jointly-managed castle or Ganerbenburg very early on as a result of divisions of inheritance. In the early 13th century the New Windeck Castle (Burg Neu-Windeck) was built by a branch of the family near Lauf within sight of Old Windeck. During the course of the 13th and 14th centuries, the lords of Windeck came into conflict many times with neighbouring territorial lords, the city of Straßburg and the counts of Württemberg in alliance with the Martinsvögel during the so-called Schlegler Wars, during which the castle was besieged, but never captured and so remained largely undamaged. In the late 14th century, however, it was stricken by a devastating fire. Stables and domestic buildings were razed, and the valuable archives, the basis of numerous legal titles, were destroyed. Reinhard von Windeck had the affected buildings rebuilt.

In 1466, the last heir of Old Windeck, Anna, only child of Burkhard von Windeck, married and so the castle went to the family of her husband, Baron Berthold IV of New Windeck. His descendants occupied the castle until the 16th century, but from 1561 it was used as a quarry for other buildings in Bühl, such as the Kappelwindeck Church. Its owner thus moved into the more modern Schlosshof (today a hotel) in Bühl.

The last heir, Jakob von Windeck, was on the return journey of his Junkerfahrt, which had taken him through France, Spain and Italy to Palestine, when he was taken seriously ill and died in Venice in 1592. The fief was returned to the Empire, the remaining allods went in equal portions to his two sisters: Old Windeck to Ursula and New Windeck to Elizabeth.

All that remains of the castle today is a bergfried, a tower and parts of the curtain wall. They may be visited in good weather.

The castle probably consisted of an outer and an inner ward that each had its own bergfried and palas.

The smaller, northern bergfried, with a ground plan measuring 8.5 metres square, guarded the castle gate and the downhill side of the site. The surviving southern bergfried, 27.6 metres high, has a floor area of 9.6 x 9.8 metres. Its lower floor was probably used as a dungeon or store room. In case of war, its thick walls made it a strong refuge for the castle's residents. On the first and second floors of the attached palas were probably reception rooms such as the great hall.

At the foot of the castle ruins are the hotel and restaurant, Burg Windeck, and the Pferdestall snack bar.

Windeck Castle (Bühl)

The ruins of Alt-Eberstein are the remains of the former Schloss Eberstein (Eberstein Castle), located on a hill near the town of Ebersteinburg and directly upstream of the modern city of Baden-Baden, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The original structure was built in 1100 as the primary residence of the Counts of Eberstein, but by the end of the 16th century had been abandoned and much of the castle was torn down to provide materials for other structures. Presently it is a German national monument and a State Palace of Baden-Wuerttemberg.

A spur castle situated on a once-strategic mountain peak, the fortress was constructed as the seat of the Counts of Eberstein perhaps as early as 1100. The oldest part of the castle remaining intact are the ramparts. The first historical mention of the castle occurs in 1197 as Castrum Eberstein. In the second half of the 13th century, the Ebersteins began construction on Castle Neu-Eberstein and the older seat declined in prominence and ultimately fell into disrepair; by 1573, it was uninhabited and thereafter became a quarry used by both the Eberstein descendants and locals. Starting in the 1800s, efforts have been made to preserve the site (which now consists solely of elements of the curtain wall and keep) and it presently one of the State Palaces and Gardens of Baden-Wuerttemberg, housing a restaurant and garden open to tourists.



Alt Eberstein

Schloss Favorite is a schloss on the outskirts of Rastatt-Förch in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

Built by Johann Michael Ludwig Rohrer between 1710 and 1730, it was created as a hunting lodge and maison de plaisance (pleasure palace) for Margravine Sibylla Augusta, the widow of Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden (Türkenlouis). It was only used for several weeks per year as a summer residence, and it is not far from Schloss Rastatt.

Schloss Favorite houses a large collection of Chinese porcelain, black lacquerwork and Schwartz Porcelain. It is the oldest of the German so-called "porcelain palaces", and the only one to survive intact to this day.



Schloss Favorite (Rastatt)

Schloss Rastatt, also known as Residenzschloss Rastatt, is a Baroque schloss in Rastatt, Germany. The palace and the garden were built between 1700 and 1707 by the Italian architect Domenico Egidio Rossi for Margrave Louis William of Baden-Baden. Visitors can tour the restored Baroque interior and gardens.

During the Palatine war of succession, the residence of Margrave Louis William of Baden-Baden had been burnt by French troops. A rebuild of the destroyed building would not have suited the representative needs of the court of Baden-Baden. Since he also needed a home for his wife Sibylle Auguste of Saxe-Lauenburg, whom he had married in 1690, the Margrave had a new residence built in place of the former hunting lodge.

During this operation, the 1697 hunting lodge was demolished to leave space for the new palace. The village of Rastatt was promoted to city status in 1700, and the Margrave moved there with his court.

The residence in Rastatt is the oldest Baroque residence in the German Upper-Rhine area. It was built according to the example of the French Palace of Versailles. During the 19th century, the palace was used as a headquarters.

The palace was not damaged during World War II. It is now owned by the State of Baden-Württemberg, and visitors can take guided tours of the restored Baroque rooms and gardens.

The palace is also home to two museums, the "Wehrgeschichtliches Museum" (military history museum) and the "Erinnerungsstätte für die Freiheitsbewegungen in der deutschen Geschichte" (memorial site for the German liberation movement).

A large staircase with stucco decorations gives way to the bel étage. The biggest and most decorated hall is the Ahnensaal ("Ancestral Hall"). It is decorated with numerous frescoes and shows paintings of ancestors and of captured Ottoman soldiers.