Marksburg

Braubach, Germany, Germany

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Marksburg in Braubach, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, is the only hilltop castle on the Middle Rhine to have never been destroyed or fallen into ruin, perched dramatically above the Rhine River as part of the UNESCO-listed Rhine Gorge.

Built starting with a stone keep around 1100 by the Eppstein family and expanded into a full fortress by 1117 to protect Braubach and collect river tolls, it was first documented in 1231 before passing to the Counts of Katzenelnbogen in 1283, who added its distinctive Gothic features like the tall butter-churn tower.

After 1479 under Hessian rule, it was fortified against artillery during the Thirty Years' War, later used as a prison by Napoleon's forces, and since 1900 preserved by the German Castles Association as a museum offering guided tours into medieval life with original structures including cannons, a chapel, and living quarters.