Travel adventures - Castle Bourscheid in Luxembourg
Would you like to visit another castle with me? Let me take you to the Bourscheid castle in Luxembourg.
This castle is the largest castle in Luxembourg and it belongs to the most valuable historical possessions of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
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The castle Bourscheid also known as Château de Bourscheid is situated in beautiful landscape. It stands on top of a hill, 150 meters above the river Sauer. It takes about 50 minutes by car to get to the castle from the Luxembourg city.
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We are coming closer to the castle. We are now standing on a viewpoint that is usually very crowded, but it was deserted two weeks ago. Are you asking why? I think it was because of the weather. It was 10 degrees Celsius and very windy!
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Welcome to the castle!
The construction of the castle Bourscheid began around the year 1000 when a stone construction replaced an earlier wooden defense structure. The first lord of the castle was Bertram of Bourscheid. His name was mentioned in 1095 for the first time in the castle history. After 1512, when the last lord of Bourscheid had died, Bourscheid Castle began to dilapidate. In the 19th century, the castle was abandoned and fell to ruin.
In 1936 the castle was declared a national monument and in 1972 it was bought by the Luxembourg state. Since then, the castle is slowly being restored.
Are you ready for the tour?
The entrance fee is EUR 5 and it includes an audio guide as well.
The castle is divided into three levels - lower, middle and upper. On each level of the castle lived a different social class of people. Working class, such as iron smith and carpenter lived on the lower level. The middle level was used by the middle class, for example officers. The upper level was reserved for the aristocracy.
We are now standing on the middle level. The door on the right leads us to a wine cellar. What was it used for? Let me tell you it was not solely used to store wine. There was a church built on the upper level of the castle. The lower class people were not allowed to enter this level of the castle hence they went to the cellar to follow the service. It was somehow connected and they could hear the ceremony.
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There are eight round towers (one of them is on the right) that were finalized in 1384. A defense wall that connects these towers was wide enough for guards to walk from one tower to another. In the same year, Stolzembourg House (in the middle of the photo) was erected. It served as a residential building. Today, it is used for cultural activities.
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My husband decided to show us how to walk on the wall. I think that those guards were not dressed like him and they were also not taking photos with their smartphones, but I think you get the point. 😊
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It's getting more and more windy so let's hurry up!
We will walk around the main defense tower before going up to enjoy the views. The Bastion was built in the 15th century with invention of the cannon.
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As the castle is built on top of the hill it was not easily accessible. The Bourscheid castle rapidly gained in strategic importance and it was enlarged in four phases. The last enlargement was finalized with the construction of the outer towers.
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I'd love to have a room with such a view! 😊 The Duke owned the land around the castle. However he didn't use it himself so he rented it to farmers. Those farmers had to pay him with a part of their harvest that they were bringing to the castle.
Would you like to see more views? Let's go to the tower!
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Here we can see various levels of the castle. The chimney on the left was part of the Manor's house.
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Now is the time to go back down to the castle and finish our tour..
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When this part of the castle was discovered, it was believed that it used to be a church. Why? Because of the large pillars standing in the 'room'. The archaeologists realized that it was a kitchen after they found some kitchen utensils later on.
The staircase used to have a circular shape and it was part of the Manor's house. What happened with the furniture that was in the Manor's house? I think you would say that it was destroyed. But the answer is that it was sold to families in Luxembourg.
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I walked on the wall as well 😊
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This is the middle level of the castle. How did we get here? There is a small tower that is the only connection between the upper castle and the other levels. The tower was guarded day and night and nobody could enter it unless they were asked to by a member of aristocracy.
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The castle had an important military function and it was unassailable by medieval weapons. We can also see it from the way the walls are built. The defense wall is built about two meters from the castle. If the enemy would manage to cross the defense wall, they would end up right in front of the tower that was constantly guarded. And the guards would take care of them before they would be able to enter the castle.
In case of danger, all people from nearby villages would seek the safety in the lower level of the castle.
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You can also admire the remains of the historical mosaic floor that have been unearthed.
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I've heard that the trees in the back were cut down and that new trees were planted. What I could see looked like grass, but I like to believe that it is the young trees.
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Unfortunately, none of the workers' houses have survived over the years but we can still see the remains of them.
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We are coming to the end of our tour. This is the main entrance to the castle that was used to bring the goods to Bourscheid as well.
Behind the gate there is a small cafe and I think we will have a cup of tea before we go back to the hotel.
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A couple of embarrassing photos you might like 😊
Can you see me?
Samsung Galaxy S7
I told you it was windy! Here is the proof!
Samsung Galaxy S7
I hope you have enjoyed the castle Bourscheid. It was my pleasure to take you on the tour with me!
All photos are taken by my Nikon D3200 AF-S NIKKOR 18-55 mm 1:3.5-5.6 G II (except of the ones indicated in the text)
Thank you for reading,
Cheers,
Martina
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Animation By @zord189
wow... another beautiful story about another unbelievably interesting place. Awesome job Martina, you deserved to be curied for sure here :)
Thank you Dave. You should come to Europe and I will take you around :) You will love it here.
Curie is always a lovely surprise :)
WOW!! What a great excursion. Thanks Martina. Beautiful photos as always. I have been in Luxembourg on a nuumber of occasions but always only passing through and never stopping to explore. this is such a beautiful castle. I always love seeing around castles. they are undoubtably my favourites and you always treat us to such wonders of the world. Your posts are really something to look forward to, even though I am late arriving at times , I always look forward to your posts so very much. Sending you lots of love! Thanks for always bringing up the most classy blogs!❤️
Thank you for your kind words my dear Sallybeth!
My husband used to live in Luxembourg and I fell in love with the country. We keep coming there on a regular basis as we have plenty of friends in Luxembourg city. We have visited this castle so many times as it is the favorite one of my husband :)
Next time when you'll passing the country, make sure you'll visit some places there :) I'm sure you will love it.
I hope you won't get fed up with castles as I'm planning a few more posts about them. For now, I am happy that you enjoy them :)
Oh, don't you worry about being late. I love to read your comments and it doesn't matter when you send them. Sending you lot of love to Spain my dear!
Thank you for sharing your experience with such historical heritage like Bourscheid Castle, or looking through the pictures and the structure of it it might be more Fortress with its strong high walls to protect the people behind their walls. It is unfortunate that most of the structures are destroyed, but this is the time, battles and age. I found it was good that the family has given it to state, to entertain such massive historical place just by one own is not possible, much expenses especially if someone would like to keep it in this condition. Weather is also not helpful in that.
It was may be a good luck with the weather because there are not too many tourists, otherwise it is difficult to make a photographs without people, some of them not keen to be in someones picture.
Looking at you wrapped in wind jacket and hair blown by wind, that made me shiver too. But I hope it was worth to visit that beautiful place :)
You are right, it does look like a Fortress and it had a military function but its name says Chateau (castle). I think it's because the aristocracy used to live there as well. This is an interesting point and I will try to search more information about it.
Yes, the state can cover higher expenses and they really do it. There is continuous restoration going on and I can see a big progress since I was there for the last time, a couple of years ago.
Sure, everything has its pros and cons. I prefer when there are no tourists to be honest so from this perspective, the weather was ideal :) But it was really cold. We were not really ready for such weather as the week before was still hot.
Sometimes I have to wait for several minutes for people to go away so that I can take a picture. How much I hate when someone sees that I'm taking pictures and go and stand right in front of me :D
Hahaha, I was lucky to have the jacket with me! But it was absolutely worth it!
Thank you for visiting!
Another epic entry into the #walkwithme tag, we are so lucky to have you @delishtreats!! <3 <3 Today this one was my favourite, I actually felt like I was taken back in time...and that I was the one standing there...well done.
Thank you Lyndsay! It's always so nice to read your comments! It's my pleasure to be a part of #walkwithme tag. There are some great writers using this tag too! Have a lovely day my friend!
These castles always take me to some times long before . And seems like weather hit you pretty nicely.
The weather wasn't good at all, to be honest. It was very cold and windy. It started to rain just a few minutes after we left the castle. It all went so fast as the wind was very strong! Thank you for stopping by!
I was hooked from the first line!
This is such a lovely with an interesting history. It's amazing to see how it has survived over the years... I love the view around there, it is so very beautiful... It was really interesting getting to know how life was in the castle, all the "class" diviaion going on there, it must have been tough for the low class there.... Well, they lived....
I love the mosaic floor design, you photos are beautiful as always and I enjoyed following you on this tour...
Thank you for visiting Audrey. I love Luxembourg and it is one of my favorite countries. It is also known as 'Petite Suisse' meaning a small Switzerland. It is as beautiful as Switzerland just on a smaller scale :)
This is what I love about castles. You can free your imagination and transport yourself back in time. Yes, I think that the low class didn't have it easy at time time but well, nowadays it's not different, is it?
I also like that floor. I wonder how long it took them to create it :)
Wow! Now, I want to visit Luxembourg 😃
Yeah, you can! Time travel becomes possible there😃, I can imagine how it felt being there. Yeah, it's still not easy these days but I think it is still Bit different. Still tough but at different levels, quite complicated to explain how they differ, really... How I wish life could be a whole lot better...
Hmm, it must have taken a really long time to make, or maybe short (that's if they made use of the low class people there)
Yes I love another castle visit! 😍 Been to Luxembourg earlier this year myself, but we decided to skip this one, but looking at your pictures we could have better combined Vianden and this castle. The views from Bourscheid are way better!
You made a post about Vianden, didn't you? That's why I didn't go there actually, lol! I've been to both of these castles several times but didn't want to post about Vianden as there was one post already :)
They are not that far from each other so you would manage both of them in one day. Anyway, I'm sure you'll go to Luxembourg again :)
Thank you for stopping by!
Hehe I did create a post about vianden (well actually our Luxembourg trip in total, but a part of it is about Vianden). so feel free to create a post about Vianden. Think there are more double posts about subjects here on Steemit. But everyone tells it's own story. The more stories there are the better another reader can make up their mind if they want to go there or not.
Well afte my discovery of Luxembourg when you get away from the highway I'll return there for sure indeed.
BTW, this weekend I'm leaving for a new adventure. How is the weather at your place? 😉
If you say it like this, then it makes sense :) OK, next time when I'm in Luxembourg I'll visit Vianden and make a post about it :)
So, you're heading to Switzerland, aren't you? With such a weather hint I can't imagine you would go anywhere else, lol!
Where are you going to stay?
Yeah looking forward to it! I'll do a coverage from Bourscheid ;)
Well actually no plans yet for a destination. We're getting in the car by sunday and will check the weathermap where we have sunshine and hopefully some winds. That's why I was asking for the weather. Love to go out on the road without a destination in mind.
The mornings are cold but it warms up during the day. It's very nice and sunny, but no wind. Why do you need wind?
That is a great plan! It makes you very flexible. How long are you going to stay?
Sorry there wasn't any Switzerland on our trip in the end... 🙈
We've headed to Croatia and by crossing Slovenia we decided to stay there first.
But in Slovenia I noticed the love from my girlfriend for mountains, so I'm gonna surprise her in spring or something with a short trip heading to Switzerland (in January she will be there for skiing with her parents). But ssh don't mention it to her. 😉
Amazing! The castles I enjoy visiting the most are the ones in Switzerland. They are always fully decorated and there's not the usual prohibition of taking photos inside. Most countries forbid taking photos... and that's just plain boring.
You are right, the castles in Switzerland are amazing. You can take photos almost everywhere, but sometimes you might need to pay a little bit higher entrance fees. The flash however can't be used.
Thank you for visiting :)
Yes, they charge more... but I think they work well enough to deserve it! The last one I went to even had sounds to make us feel like we were on the 17th Century! 😃
There are actually a few of them having some sound. I went to a castle last year just before Christmas, and they were having a performance there. All people were dressed up, there was a life music, we were served some traditional sweets and it was all amazing :)
What an incredible experience. I absolutely love ancient construction, especially castles. We actually visited some Mayan ruins in Belize a couple of years ago and I'll never forget the sense of wonder and age I felt being amongst those ruins. Thank you for sharing Martina!
Me too! It makes you feel like you were in a completely different world.
I didn't know there were Mayan ruins in Belize. Now, you made me want to go there :) What about making a post about your visit? :)
Thank you for your comment!