Nanstein Castle

Nanstein Castle, right here in Landstuhl! This is 15 minutes from our house.

Nanstein Castle was believed to be built around 1162 AD. It was the ancestral palace of the knights of Nanstein.  (It was named for the rock that you see sticking out in the middle of the picture.) The last knight to own the entire castle was Franz von Sickigen. He died in the castle after a battle in the early 16th Century that destroyed much of the castle and marked the end of the importance of castles in the region.

One of the outer courtyards of the castle.

The crest for the last knight who lived in the castle and his name. (Sickingen)

When the kids saw this they said, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel let your hair down."
This made me laugh so hard.  

One of the walkways looking over the walls. You can also see another walkway that was above the living quarters.

The kids were defending the Castle.

My handsome MAN!

The kids really enjoyed defending the castle from invaders!

I love the cobblestone walkways.  So very cool!!!

You can see how they used the natural rock as part of the wall .

A couple beautiful girls we got to hang out with during our visit.

There is a cute family for you!

Part of the view of the city of Landstuhl. It might have been overcast that day but it was still pretty.

The steep stairs down to the cellar.

Yeah, I think they loved exploring the castle. 

The cellar where they would store gunpowder and other items. It was pretty chilly and wet down there.

You can see where the water running down the walls started to create stalagmites.

Brooklyn & Kayden trying to match the face on the stone.  

This was the original sink in the kitchen. You could also see where the oven was.

A view of the inner courtyard.

You can still see the fire damage that was done to the castle. Wow!!!  

Peek A Boo!

This was a vent down to the cellar. The gunpowder left a lot of smoke when it went off and so they needed to create ways for it to escape so people could see and breath.

Love these cute bumbs.

This is the living area of the castle.

Kayden, was fascinated by the tile on the roof.

Another view of the living area.

One of the outer wall with a gate.

This is the gate. you can see the holes on the side that are for security. You could see through and be able to aim your rifle through them.

The Sicken crest above the gate to the castle.

Look at the bullet holes in the castle.
What a super fun day learning about the Nanstein Castle.