A Georgia Girl in Germany

The final stop on our three-country express was to Feldkirch, Austria, for a tour of the 12th century Schattenburg Castle followed by supper. The castle is perched above the town, and we had to trek up a steep walkway to get there. The castle was built by the most important ruling dynasty of the province during the High Middle Ages in the 13th century.

The castle was enlarged in the 15th and 17th centuries, and was used as a barracks on and off in the 19th century and then as a poorhouse until 1914.

Zachary and Benjamin enjoyed playing on this cannon before we went inside for our tour. Boys will be boys!

This is a view of the town below. The tall, green steeple on the right is St. Nikolaus Cathedral. The Katzenturm -- Cat Tower -- is the round tower just to the right of center.

The kids got a kick out of role-playing a medieval knight and lady. Benjamin was simply himself -- a role he’s good at playing!

The castle courtyard was beautifully decorated with flowers reaching down from the second-story covered walkways. This was the way to the castle museum tour.

The fountain in the middle of the courtyard was a nice centerpiece, again, framed by colorful hanging flowers.

This late 18th century bed with a wooden canopy was interesting. It’s short -- not because people were that short then, but because they slept sitting up.

Below is another view of St. Nikolaus Cathedral and the Katzenturm, from the castle Salon.


I liked this painted farmhouse wardrobe with period clothing. It was a bridal gift to Anna Maria Wangnerinn, and dates from October 1785.

This heavy traveling chest was made in 1676 and has a gabled lid and coat of arms. It was very heavy, even when empty!

I’ve never seen a giraffe piano before. This one was built by piano-maker Alois Kalb in the early 19th century.

This early 16th century sculpture of the crowned Virgin Mary with child is carved of wood!

You can tell how thick the walls are from this window niche in the Great Hall -- more than nine feet thick! The wood sculptures on the wall date to the 17th century.

The armory keep is the oldest part of the castle. The sides of this room are 52-feet by 32-feet wide and more than 72 feet high making it one of the strongest fortified towers in the country. Naturally, it also served as a refuge in the event of war. They have quite the collection of weapons in this room, from spears and arquebuses (the earliest form of rifles) to 18th and 19th century military rifles, 16th century pistols and swords.

After our tour, we settled down to a table in one of the Knights’ Halls for supper including wiener schnitzel and French fries. I was told the wiener schnitzel is an Austrian specialty, although it’s readily available in Germany as well. The restaurant originally opened in the castle in 1927.

When we were done and headed back to the bus for our return trip, Benjamin had to stop and play with the water in the courtyard fountain. He wanted to drop leaves in the water, and didn’t understand why I wouldn’t let him.

Labels: Austria, Benjamin, MacKenzie, Travel, Zachary