Solingen, Schloss Burg, Germany - 31st March 2010
By: olgamaus
Hi Mummy,
today we took a walk in the neigbour town Solingen. Katja wanted to show me Schloss Burg, a medieval castle. We startet in Solingen-Unterburg, an old district situated at the River Wupper.
You can walk uphill to the castle or you can take a chair-lift.
Of course we walked to the castle, we had to walk through a forest for some time.
The first flowers!
We reached an outlook pavilion than. From here you can overview the valley of the River Wupper.
The castle came into sight than.
Schloss Burg was built in 1133 by Count Adolf I von Berg on a hill above the river Wupper.That's why this region is called "Bergisches Land". Many people believe that it's name refers to the landscape with hills and valleys. (For those who do not speak German: The German word for mountain or hill is "Berg", so many people think that the name "Bergisches Land" means "land with many hills" )
About a hundred years later it was enlarged by Count Engelberg II von Berg. The equestrian sculpture in the courtyard is showing him.
In Thirty Years War (17th century) many parts of the castle were destroyed. It was rebuilt then, but it was used for industrial purposes for many years. In the end of the 19th century they began to rebuild it as it appears today.
In the castle courtyard you can find souvenir shops and shops whose owners are doing an "old" handcraft. For example someone makes soap, another makes brushes, then you can buy things that were used by knights for the kids, like swords and helmets.
I also saw this statue.
This is a very old linden tree, it is about 250 years old and it is called "Kaiserlinde".
Here is the end point of the chair-lift. From here you can see how steep this hill is.
We left the castle than and went further. We walked through a rural outskirt of Solingen, Hoehrath.
We came to another forest. In the background you can see the city centre of Remsheid high upon the hill on the right side ...
... and also Schloss Burg in the distance.
We walked downhill until we reached the River Wupper.
We followed the river to get back to the car.
We reached Unterburg than. Katja showed us this statue, showing a "Kiepenkerl". In ancient times all sorts of goods were transported by men who carried the goods in large panniers on their back. This rangy landscape was too steep for horses. Those persons were called "Kiepenkerl". This one has sweet pretzels in his pannier, a local delicacy.
Katja bought pretzels for us in a bakery. We will taste them with a coffee later.
Bye
Wolle
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Posted Apr 1, 2010, 9:42 am Last edited Apr 1, 2010, 10:04 am by olgamaus
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