Fans of medieval times have the opportunity all year round to immerse themselves in the daily life of the knights: festivals, knights’ feasts or special historical exhibitions take visitors back to the past centuries age.
Historical market activity in the old walls
At the Weesenstein Castle, perched on the cliffs above the Müglitztal south of Dresden, knights with horses and birds of prey, medieval craftsmen, chefs and musicians meet every year on the weekend of Pentecost: In the Medieval Festival they engage in historical activities and joy. party guests. For more than 25 years, Falkenstein Castle in the Harz region has also been hosting a knight’s fair with a historic market performance in the autumn. The highlight here is the knight tournament, in which the contestants compete on horseback: for example, Roland riding, pig jousting, lance fighting and fire riding.
A celebration like the Middle Ages
Castle festivals offered by many castles attract visitors with “all kinds of jokes and jokes”: against the background of ancient walls, performers dressed in historical costumes take visitors back to past centuries. Reichsburg Cochem, high above the Moselle and surrounded by vineyards, “Gasterey in the style of the old knights” serves, for example, spicy soup and large fried sticks. On the Ritterkeller island on the castle island of Mirow in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, visitors don’t just enjoy delicious food: the evenings are decorated with various shows lasting several hours, which tell stories and legends about the historic island of history and its former inhabitants. in a happy way.
How did the warriors really live?
Visitors to Veste Heldburg in southern Thuringia learn that life in the Middle Ages was not all fun and games. The German Museum, located in the castle, aims to dispel such myths: with unique multimedia exhibitions and rooms with real objects, including rare historical objects, the museum history sheds light on the daily life of knight families and presents history and history. castle culture in Europe from the Middle Ages to the present.
Intervention theory: Nibelungenlied
While the German Museum focuses on the real life of the knights, Prunn Castle focuses on the most important poem: The Nibelungenlied. The manuscript of this famous heroic saga was found about 450 years ago in one of the best-preserved castles in Germany, a tower that towers over Altmühltal in Bavaria and can be seen from afar. The story of the dragon slayer Siegfried, his wife Kriemhild and the knight Hagen von Tronje illuminates a permanent exhibition in the castle: visitors experience various scenes from the Nibelungenlied in themed rooms and hand stations, related to the history of the building. the daily life of its inhabitants.
