In 1245, Count Diether V of Katzenelnbogen built Rheinfels as an administrative and toll collection centre. It was shortly afterward besieged by the League of Rhenish Cities, but the Katzenelnbogen family thrived and maintained power ... Much of the castle is still a ruin, but it does contain a luxury hotel, wellness center, restaurant and museum. A story related to the castle tells of the Count of Rheinfel's beautiful daughter, who was wooed and won by George Brömser of ...
But the family was still wealthy and Bernhard spent his early years at Reckenwalde, the family's new estate in East Brandenburg thirty kilometers east of the Oder-river, (now the village of Wojnowo, Greater Poland Voivodeship in Poland) ...
however, this one, unlike most of the other castles, was never restored, although a bhotel/b and restaurant have been built onto it. it was really interesting walking through the ruins...i still don't think we got through everything. ...
