Wednesday 16th October 2024 (day 33).
Heading further west today, brings us to the small town of Coburg, Germany, and in particular Coburg Castle, which was the birthplace and childhood home of Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria.
According to one of the information boards, Veste Coburg is a textbook example of castle development in the period between 1420 and 1650 with additional fortifications added during the 30 years war.
There is very little reference to Prince Albert in the castle, the residential part of which was remodelled extensively in the early 20th century. It is also set-up more as a museum with many exhibits in glass cases, rather than fully furnished with period furniture, as you might find in a British National Trust property.
Many of the rooms are highly decorated with wood panelling, others have built-in furniture.
The wood-panelled room below has a mezzanine gallery and a large model of the castle:
The chapel, which was viewable from a gallery, was quite extraordinary:
Other rooms had exhibitions of old Christian religious art.
One room in particular, has the wow factor. The wooden carved panelling depicts many 3D scenes which all revolve around the theme of hunting:
The large ballroom had a couple of knights mounted on horses at one end and a display of knight’s armour:
On our way round the castle, there were many ornate door locks to be seen, some of which were on display.
They included this very elaborate strong-box with its multi-point locking lid:
There were also many ceramic objects on display, including huge ceramic stoves in some of the rooms:
At the time of our visit there was a special exhibition of Damask weaponry, mainly swords and daggers. Whilst this is really not my thing, I can appreciate the skill and craftsmanship which has gone into each of these.
There are also more permanent exhibitions, including a large collection of glass, amassed by Queen Victoria’s second son, Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
In the glass collection, was the only reference to Prince Albert we found. It is a mosaic and is about 50cm high:
In the attic, there was a huge collection of rifles and armour. Enough to equip a small militia.
And in the stables there are several coaches, one of which is thought to have carried Queen Victoria when she visited.
There were also a large number of very ornate sleds which would have been horse-drawn:
Outside, in the grounds of the castle is also quite interesting:
Above the defensive walls, there is an exhibition of artillery:
Our park-up for the night is on a stellplatz which is only a short walk from the castle, towards the end of an airfield. No services, but the parking charge is just 2€.
We plan on moving further north and west tomorrow. TTFN. See you later.
"See-u-Later" 