Hello! Yesterday was a long day in Luxembourg. Today we tell you about our second stop. After a few hours in Echternach, we arrived in Vianden at the German border. This town is famous for mainly one thing – its castle. And it was the castle that we first saw when driving into the town from the hill next door.
Vianden Castle and a Great View
The first thing we did after parking the car was climbing up the hill to the castle. The castle was built between the 11th and 14th centuries and it is an impressive sight on top of a hill. The castle was left in ruins during the 19th century and it was not until the second half of the 20th century that the reconstruction of the castle was done. It is one of the largest castles in Europe, overlooking the town as well as the river Our.
For us, seeing the interior of the castle was not important. It would have been hard to get the pram through the entrance and we were not ready to pay the entrance fee without really knowing how much we would be able to see. Instead, we enjoyed the view of the castle from a distance. In our opinion buildings such as castles are usually more impressive from a distance, when it is possible to see how big they really are.
On a hill behind the castle, there was a sit lift going up as well as a hiking trail. Convincing Susann to let me walk up to have a better view was not hard and she stayed below with Little A. There was actually quite a few people walking up to the top and it did not take long to reach the top. At the top, there was a cafe, as well as a great view. The castle, town, and valley created a picture-like view. It was possible to see all the way to Germany.
The Town and a Long Walk Downhill
The town of Vianden has less than 2,000 inhabitants and it is located directly at Luxembourg’s border with Germany. The town was first mentioned in the end of the 7th century and it has many medieval buildings still standing. For us, it was a long walk downhill. First I had to walk back down the hill to reunite with Susann. Afterward, we walked the long way down from the castle to the center of town. It was most likely further down to the river from our parking lot than it was up to the castle.
We did eventually reach the bridge crossing the Our River. Once more we enjoyed a great view up towards the castle. There were several cozy cafes down here, but we had decided to continue to our next stop before making such a break. We just had to climb the slope back to our car first.
We continued to explore Luxembourg, and you can read more about that in later posts.
Vianden is truly spectacular and charming, Jesper. I warmly recommend everyone to visit it! Did you go inside the castle?
You photos are great, maybe the best on the Internet! Thanks for sharing. I am sorry you missed the tour. Did you not do a little more research about the chateau before visiting? You would have learned that the castle has an amazing and most beautiful interior, not to be missed! And though the town’s main feature is the chateau, it’s not simply because of its beauty and spectacle, but because it holds a very important place in WWII history! When the Germans attacked the castle, wanting it because of its strategic position, house-to-house fighting inside the castle ensued. After conceding several casualties, the Germans withdrew from the castle and concentrated their force on the town, but the strong resistance from the Luxembourg militia made them abandon their plans and withdraw to the other side of the river to Germany.