Castle Pfalzgrafenstein Photo

Photographer’s Note

This is castle Pfalzgrafenstein on an island in the middle of Rhein river near the small town Kaub. It is one of the three never destroyed castles in the upper Middle Rhine Valley - a World Heritage Site of UNESCO.
In 1326/27 a tower was erected on the island by king Ludwig the Bavarian (Ludwig der Bayer). The custom office then was in Kaub on the right (eastern) bank of Rhine and by this tower on the island ships could be forced to pay the customs there. A chain across the river forced ships to submit, and uncooperative traders could be kept in the dungeon until a ransom was delivered.
Around the tower, a defensive hexagonal wall was built between 1338 to 1340. In 1477 Pfalzgrafenstein was passed as deposit to the Count of Katzenelnboen. Later additions were made in 1607 and 1755, consisting of corner turrets, the gun bastion pointing upstream, and the characteristic baroque tower cap.

The island of the castle was used for the Rhine crossing by 60,000 Prussian troops under field marshal Blücher in the winter of 1814 in his pursuit of Napoleon.
The castle was acquired by Prussia in 1866, and toll collections ceased in 1867. It continued to be used as a signal station for the river boat traffic for about another century. In 1946, the castle became property of the State of Rheinland-Pfalz. The State eventually turned "the Pfalz" into a museum and restored the color scheme of the baroque period.

The French poet Victor Hugo called it "a ship of stone, eternally afloat upon the Rhine, and eternally lying at anchor before the town of Pfalzgrafen" ...

Using the map view function left hand you can see the situation of this castle very well.
In the workshop you can see it from another angle.
In my yesterday photo you can see the situation of this small island.

mikolaj_kawa, snunney, holmertz, papagolf21, adelune, asajernigan, buscape, saxo042, carper, mvdisco, jhm, jlynx, jlbrthnn, chinchini, nels, COSTANTINO, Jakab has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

mikolaj_kawa (31819) 2008-08-17 1:12

Hello Frank! Wonderful castle. Amazing landscape. Nice light and bright. Good colors. Original picture. Well done!

baba_flies (8189) 2008-08-17 1:13

Bonjour Frank, guten Morgen! Spannend wie die das Schloss platziert haben und ich nehme an, dass schon manches Mal kleinere und groessere Ueberschwemmungen am Gebaeude genagt haben. Schoen, dass Du das Boot erwischt hast, das gibt wiederum etwas Leben auf unseren Rhein und ich habe gerade letzthin gesagt - vielleicht werde ich etwas gaga - dass ich wieder einmal Schiff fahren moechte, einfach so dahin treiben und nichts tun ausser nach draussen zu schauen und zu geniessen. Friedlicher Sonntag, hier ist es semi-bedeckt, aber nicht schlimm, surf noch ne runde, vielleicht beame ich was hoch, geh nach draussen, mit oder ohne Kamera, mal sehen, und koch dann ein schweres Nachtessen, kein Sonntagsbraten, dafuer aber syrisch. Habe mir ein neues Kochbuch gekauft und jetzt probiere ich aus :) Gruss ... Barbara.

snunney (35808) 2008-08-17 1:18

Hello Frank,
A good place to site a castle - on an island. I like the point of view here and the inclusion of the two boats. The tree covered hill behind makes a good backdrop for the white walls of the castle. Very good colours and clarity.

holmertz (10107) 2008-08-17 1:30

Hello Frank,
A very pretty castle, nicely situated. No offence intended, but it looks like a giant Lego construction.
Greetings from a rainy and windy Stockholm.
Gert

Nicou (46171) 2008-08-17 1:39

Hello,

une île au milieu du Rhin avec ce château, magnigique, de chaque côté un bâteau, très belle compo, bien vu, le blan du château ressort très bien.

Bravo et amitié

Nicou

jasmis (51283) 2008-08-17 1:40

Fabulous scenery again. How do you find such beauties? Really amazing photo.
Regards my dear friend.

amaryllis (17986) 2008-08-17 2:03

bonjour,
tres belle photo de ce chateau sur l'ile, une belle architecture, des tours splendides et nombreuses, à droite un gos bateau et à gauche un mini bateau
belles couleurs et nettete
bon dimanche
juliette

papagolf21 (57003) 2008-08-17 2:19

Bonjour, mon ami Frank,
Ah ! découvrir à bord d'un bateau les merveilles longeant les rives du Rhin, cela doit être fort agréable !
L'on comprend pourquoi ce site a été classé par l'UNESCO ! Cette photo a-t-elle été prise au cours d'une croisière ?
Quel régal cela doit être ! Merci, Frank, de nous faire rêver et découvrir ces merveilles.
Ici, temps très gris, voire pluvieux.
Amitiés.
Philippe

Janice (4386) 2008-08-17 3:02

That is an unusual looking castle Frank. It looks more like a modern day one - so since 1946 it has been modernised. . . And it is very close to the water
TFS
Janice

Fis2 (46681) 2008-08-17 3:43

Witaj Frank!
Curious place, interesting composition I like the colours and sharpness. Well done.
Greetings from rainy Poland
Krzysztof

adelune (2) 2008-08-17 4:52 [Comment]

Show Comment +

asajernigan (14392) 2008-08-17 5:49

Frank,
Great shot of this fine castle. Your composition is fine showing the castle from an angle which provides depth and direction. The addition of the boats gives us multiple points of interest. The lighting and colors are great with excellent sharpness and detail. We were ahead of you on this journey by about three weeks, your photos bring back nice memories.
TFS,
Asa

buscape (4040) 2008-08-17 7:42

Hallo Frank,
nettes Schloss auf dieser Rheininsel. Es scheint hier noch ziemlichen Schiffsverkehr zu geben. Sehr schön eingefangen.
Zusätzlich mit dem Wasser entsteht so ein guter Fluss in deinem Bild.
Grüsse aus dem Donautal,
Helmut

saxo042 (16554) 2008-08-17 9:30

Hi Frank,
Beautiful castle! I remeber passing this on a boat trip between Koblenz and Rüdesheim we made in 1964! It must have been restored and painted since then, I can´t recall the bright colours!
Greetings from Gothenburg
Gunnar

carper (66108) 2008-08-17 9:33

a very nice one with the ship of the Dusseldorfer line.
very nice point of view here Frank. this place and castle are new for me, good photojob and thanks for showing. have anice evening.
gr. jaap

jurek1951 (26172) 2008-08-17 10:33

Hi Frank,
Well seen, the view is beautiful, great colours and a good composition. The lighting is well done.
Gruss
Georg

bema (9230) 2008-08-17 11:03

Hallo Frank,

wie ich sehe, hast du eine Tour am Rhein entlang gemacht..schöne Aufnahme dieser sehr oft schon bewunderten, aber noch nie persönlich gesehenen Burg im Rhein. Tolle Perspektive und zusammen mit dem Schiff eine gut komponierte Ablichtung..Glückwunsch..
viele Grüße Bernd

Uhu (7478) 2008-08-17 12:51

Oh ha ha ha! I saw the very same castle and it's neighbour on asajernigan's photo! Very interesting place and your photo is amazing as always. And note, too.
Greetings! + 34 C today, and air is heavy and not moving at all.

gneufeld (15289) 2008-08-17 19:14

Hi Frank,
What a neat place and your composition and perspective is excellent. Nice colors and interest. Well done and TFS. Gerald

mvdisco (11709) 2008-08-17 20:25

Bonjour Frank,
Superbe prise de vue de ce château Pfalzgrafenstein, superbe arhcitecture et détails , Excellent POV. et détails, Excellent cliché
et composition..
Mes salutations
Michel

hay_kes (28596) 2008-08-17 23:30

Hi Frank,
What a great landscape vith excellent POV, light and colours.TFS.
Vielen Dank,

hAyAti

jhm (83742) 2008-08-18 3:18

Guten Mittag Frank,

I looked toward both pictures, but I prefer this picture for the excellent quality and the lovely presentation.
Thank your very much for the interesting note.
It castle Pfalzgrafenstein make here absolutely impression, perspective and presentation are superb.
Very well done, TFS.

Greetings from Belgium, with a lot showers and 16° Celsius.
John.

jplebrun (17468) 2008-08-18 3:40

Bonjour Frank
superbe ce chateau construit sur cette île, bien cadré dans la montagne, belle réalisation.
Amitiés
Jean-Pierre

jlynx (11380) 2008-08-18 4:35

Hello Frank,
Very interestet object superbly described by You in the foot-note to the photo. Attractive is the position of this castle on the small islet in the midstream Rhine. Very nice composition, excellent framing and already traditionally splendid quality of the photo. Since half the year you photograph with the digital reflex camera. Thenceforward I perceive the sharp increase of quality Your photos. There are very attractive. How behaves the reflex camera of Canon? What do you think about her?
Best regards from Poznan,
Jurek

UnTrained (0) 2008-08-18 4:47

Hallo Frank,
die Pfalz bleibt in jeder Aufnahme schön, da gibt es nichts. Mit den leicht glänzenden Wogen des Rheins und dem Grün am Hang kommt dieses Weiß gut heraus. Aber Methoden um andere gefügig zu machen hatten die Leute früher, mit Ketten den Fluss sperren. Glatte Nötigung.
Leicht sommerlich und Lieben Gruss, Ulf

pally3100 (3077) 2008-08-18 4:47

hello Frank
i know this cattle on the boat way between Rudesheim and Goar am Loreley rock on the Rhine but i do n t know the history thanks for the sharing of this good shoot of lovely Rhine river friendly HC

jlbrthnn (39451) 2008-08-18 5:17

Hello Frank,
This image supplements well the image of asajernigan. Excellent placement of this so beautiful construction in its context. Excellent realization.
Have a nice day
Cordially
Joël

chinchini (27917) 2008-08-18 11:17

Salut Frank,
Tu as ramené une très belle collection d'images de tes dernières vacances. Ce château a une architecture très particulière, tout de blanc vêtu. Je pense que tu étais à bord d'un bateau de croisière pour faire tes prises de vue car le POV en dit long ;o)
Mes amitiés de Humenné. Je rentre de Dukla avec mes premières photos polonaises.
Pierre

nels (2455) 2008-08-18 11:43

hello frank, a room with a view ,fishing out the window,,, it has got to be for me!!! a well composed shot
regards
adrian

COSTANTINO (23435) 2008-08-23 6:20

Hello FRANK,
what a wonderful castle,what a wonderful
place,amazing landscape,good shot well done
and well seen,
really amazing photo
HAVE A NICE WEEK END
regards and compliments from GREECE
cOSTANTINO

wolf38 (13153) 2008-08-27 2:36

Hallo Frank. Kaub. Wem wäre das nicht ein Begriff. Vor Jahren hatte ich einmal Gelegenheit, die Burg zu besichtigen. Du hast dieses Motiv in gekonnter Weise abgelichtet. Das kleine Schiff ergänzt die Ansicht wunderbar. Deshalb ist auch dieses Photo wieder ein gelungener Beitrag für die weltweite TE-Gemeinde. Viele Grüße, wolfgang.

Jakab (3524) 2008-08-29 10:53

Hallo Frank,
na ja, Pfalzgrafenstein ist eine Pflicht für jeden Besucher des Mittelrheins. (Auch meine Version wird noch kommen.) Gut gelungene Aufnahme, das Passagieschiff im Hintergrund ist eine engenehme Ergänzung.
Viele Grüße
László

Photo Information

Copyright: Frank Kaiser (Buin) (38574)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2008-08-09
Categories: Architecture
Exposure: f/7.1, 1/60 seconds
Details: Tripod: Yes
More Photo Info: view
Map: view
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Theme(s): Castles of the world, World Heritage Sites Part IX [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2008-08-17 1:06