Katz Castle () is a castle above the German town of

Sankt Goarshausen Sankt Goarshausen (abbreviated St. Goarshausen) is a town located in the Rhein-Lahn-Kreis in Nassau on the eastern shore of the Rhine, in the section known as the Rhine Gorge, directly across the river from Sankt Goar, in the German state Rhi ...

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

. The castle stands on a ledge looking downstream from the riverside at Sankt Goar. It was first built around 1371 by Count William II of Katzenelnbogen. The castle was bombarded in 1806 by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

and rebuilt in the late 19th century, in 1896–98. It is now privately owned, and not open for visitors.

Description

Etymology

After the original castle "Burg Katzenelnbogen" (lit. ''Castle fCat's Elbow'') this medieval fortress castle is officially known as ''Burg Neukatzenelnbogen'' (''Castle fNew Cat's Elbow''). It used to be and still is, however, comfortably and commonly contracted to "die urgKatz" ("the astleCat"). As such, it is popularly linked with Burg Maus ("the astleMouse"), which was indeed erected in closest possible vicinity as its military counterpart.

Architecture

The castle is of compact layout, consisting mainly of a great hall and a massive bergfried, originally 40 metres tall, on the uphill side. In 1435, the Counts of Katzenelnbogen were the first to plant

Riesling Riesling ( , ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling ...

grapes in their vineyard.The History of the County of Katzenelnbogen and the First Riesling of the World
/ref> Katz Castle and its surroundings are the place of action for the Belgian

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

'' L'Orgue du Diable'' in the Yoko Tsuno series by Roger Leloup.

Gallery

Burg Katz, St. Goarshausen, Southwest view 20141002 2.jpg, Southwest view Katz Castle, Goarshausen (i.e., Sankt Goarshausen), the Rhine, Germany-LCCN2002714108.jpg, The castle in the 1890s, before the reconstruction Burg Katz, 5.jpg, View from Lorelei rocks St. Goarshausen Burg Katz 2015-10-29 16.24.09.jpg, View from Lorelei harbor Castle on the Rhine.jpeg, View from Rhine

Notes and references

External links

Katz Castle

Katz Castle
in th
Lorelei
Valley
Katz Castle
near the Lorelei {{Coord, 50, 09, 06, N, 7, 43, 27, E, region:DE-RP_type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures completed in 1371 Katz