Hi Mummy,
today we visited a medieval castle in the neighbour City Solingen, Schloss Burg, It is situated high upon a hill above the River Wupper.
We went into the courtyard and found a lovely half-timbered part of the castle.
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. This is the guy on the horse in the courtyard.
In Thirty Years War (17th century) large 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 handmade brushes, brooms, soap, lovely yarns and wooden knitting needles, toys like swords and helmets and much more.
You can overlook the valley between Remscheid and Solingen from this high point.
Here you can see the castle from a distance.
We found a "twin" of the outlook pavilion which I showed you on Sunday, it was created by the same architect.
And here is the fantastic overview 
We made a side-trip to the concrete wall of a nearby drinking water dam, there are repair works taking place at the moment.
We walked back to the car through a rural hamlet clalled "Höhrath", they have many livery stables here and a sawmill.
From now on I was hiding in Katja's pocket - it was soooo cold outside.
Bye
Mini-Woof
