Hiking Thru Cities In History

I was able to walk along Daniel's Run, in Fairfax, VA, today. The first time since last fall. Colorful then and getting more green now. Mayapples on the ground and dogwood and redbud in the low canopy.

Burg Vischering is the ideal model of a moated castle in Münsterland. With its main round castle building in the middle of the water mirror, it is an architectural monument of picturesque unity - widely known as a popular destination and photographic theme. The name Vischering did not appear until the 14th century. However, the first documentary evidence of the castle dates back to the year 1271. At that time, the bishop of Münster, Gerhard von der Mark, entrusted it to the knight Albert von Wulfheim. Recent studies indicate an earlier building, possibly dating from the 12th century, in the location of the main castle. In 1271 a mighty medieval tower-house was erected on what is now the castle courtyard. In 1944 the bombs of the Second World War caused severe damage. Reconstruction began immediately after the war. In 1972 the Münsterland Museum was opened and expanded in 1984. In 2018 the permanent exhibition within the Regional Project “WasserBurgenWelt” .

The castle is above the town of Braubach in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It’s 1 of the principal sites of the Rhine Gorge UNESCO World Heritage Site. The fortress was used for protection rather than as a residence for royal families. It has a striking example of a bergfried designed as a butter-churn tower. Of the 40 hill castles between Bingen am Rhein and Koblenz the Marksburg was 1 of only 2 which had never been destroyed and at least the only one that had never fallen into disrepair. A stone keep was built on the spot in 1100 by the Eppstein family and expanded into a castle around 1117 to protect the town of Braubach and to reinforce the customs facilities. It was 1st mentioned in documents in 1231. Napoleon seized then abolished the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. He gave Marksburg to his ally the Duke of Nassau who used the castle as a prison and a home for disabled soldiers. In March 1945, the castle was badly damaged by American artillery from across the Rhine.