Welcome back to another blog about a small castle tucked into the countryside of Germany!
This time we went to Burg Satzvey, located in the south-western area of North-Rhine Westfalen, Germany. We actually went here once before with my mom, but unfortunately, at that time the castle was closed for the Christmas holidays. We could walk into the main castle courtyard, but that was it. This time though, the castle was in full operation!
The castle is what’s called a “Water Castle”. These are castles typical of German landscapes that do not have a lot of cliffs or bluffs to provide natural protection, so instead the castles are built on small islands, with trenches/moats built around them. The moats get supplied with water from nearby rivers, so these castles tend to have many water elements nearby or surrounding them. I wouldn’t recommend taking a swim in this moat though, it was too green.
Even luckier for us was that the castle was having a festival when we arrived! It was like a small, but still decently sized, medieval festival and flea market. There were tents surrounding the inside and the outside of the castle. People were selling all sorts of things. From various foods like french fries and bratwurst, to flamed salmon which were cooked by being stuck to a wooden board and propped up over a fire. Lucas thought those looked tasty, but we didn’t stop to try it.
Unlucky for us, it was raining. It sometimes feels like the rain follows us everywhere, but I suppose that isn’t really true. What can you do? We were troopers though, and enjoyed the market and festivities despite the rain! At least it wasn’t downpouring.
To visit the castle we paid a 5 EUR/person for the entrance fee. It costs slightly more for adults, but since we are students we get a discount, and we certainly do make use of it! Also, parking cost another 3 EUR and you can expect to pay about the same for a small lunch.
Walking around the outer perimeter of the castle was cool, and seeing the inner courtyards is also fun, but what we really came to see was the inside of the castle. There are always so many cool things to see inside that you rarely see anywhere else.
One last time, we paid another fee of 5 EUR/person for the inside tour. It took about 45 minutes, and was fairly interesting, although I must admit, sometimes information was repeated and the tour only involved seeing 4 or 5 rooms of the castle (which is also a hotel). It felt like maybe the price was a bit much, considering what we have seen at other castles already, for the same price.
All the same, it was a cool piece of history to see, and if you love castles both big and small, I would still recommend it. I really liked that you got to get up close and personal with historic artifacts, like a tool that was used for parting crowds (it looked kind of like a sword).
The castle itself has quite a history, having been passed down to different families since the 14th century, and for a long time it even survived any kind of damage from wars. However, during WWII it was damaged, and the owners have been working to constantly restore it ever since. They put on a lot of festivals and fundraisers too, so they can continue to restore the castle as needed.
Our tour guide himself was one of the children of the latest owners, who have since passed the castle down to his eldest brother, who married an American author. People in the family still use the castle for living purposes, yet the eldest brother moved out to something more modern a few years ago.
The castle allows for photos and video recording during the tour, something rare to us! This is definitely not common practice from what we have experienced, so take advantage of the opportunity. We did! 😀
One thing special about this castle was that Beethoven dedicated one of his musical pieces to the family of the Burg Satzvey. How cool! You can even see this document today!
If you ever find yourself around the Satzvey area, take a moment to check this place out. It certainly isn’t the grandest of all the castles Germany has to offer, but the fact that so much of it has survived all these years, and its constant involvement with the community makes it great!