Katz Castle (german: Burg Katz) is a castle above the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

town of St. Goarshausen in

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) 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 ...

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

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

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

urg Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is a protein that stimulates cell growth and differentiation by binding to its receptor, EGFR. Human EGF is 6-k Da and has 53 amino acid residues and three intramolecular disulfide bonds. EGF was originally desc ...

Katz" ("the

astle Astle is an English surname of dual origins. In the East Midlands, the surname is certainly of patronymic origin. This is also a possibility in Cheshire yet the name there more probably originated as a locative surname. Origin in the East ...

Cat"). As such, it is popularly linked with

Burg Maus Maus Castle (german: Burg Maus, meaning ''Mouse Castle'') is a castle above the village of Wellmich (part of Sankt Goarshausen) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It lies on the east side of the Rhine, north of Katz Castle (''Cat Castle'') in San ...

("the

Mouse"), 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 ''Bergfried'' (plural: ''bergfriede''; English: ''belfry''; French: ''tour-beffroi''; Spanish: ''torre del homenaje'') is a tall tower that is typically found in castles of the Middle Ages in German-speaking countries and in countries under Germ ...

, originally 40 metres tall, on the uphill side. In 1435, the

Counts of Katzenelnbogen The County of Katzenelnbogen was an immediate state of the Holy Roman Empire. Chatti Melibokus is a very old tribe who stayed on a high hill in the Bergstraße region of Hesse (the part that lies south), in Germany. It existed between 109 ...

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 wh ...

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, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

'' L'Orgue du Diable'' in the

Yoko Tsuno ''Yoko Tsuno'' is a comics album series created by the Belgian writer Roger Leloup published by Dupuis in '' Spirou'' magazine since its debut in 1970. Through thirty volumes, the series tell the adventures of Yoko Tsuno, a female electrical e ...

series by

Roger Leloup Roger Leloup (; born 17 November 1933) is a Belgian comic strip artist, novelist, and a former collaborator of Hergé, who would rely upon him to create detailed, realistic drawings and elaborate decoration for ''The Adventures of Tintin''.

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