Entering the Marksburg, four gates have to be passed. The first one is a large drawbridge gate followed by a vaulted tunnel with an antique bookshop on the right, 500 years ago the room of the castle's gate keeper.

The guided tour through the castle begins at the Fuchstor (Fox Gate). It's the second medieval castle gate. (Don't forget to buy your ticket at the castle's cash desk in the souvenir shop!)

Above the doorway of the third gate, the "Schartentor" (Notches Gate), there is a machicolation, a little balcony from which the defenders would bash stones onto attacking enemies who had advanced this far. The gate in the "Vogtsturm" (Castellan's Tower) with the old guard's quarter was reduced in size in more recent times.

We have come to a wall display showing the succession of the various Marksburg Castle owners and their coats of arms, starting with the Counts of Eppstein and ending with the German Castles Association.
Climbing the "Riders Stairway", hewn into the bedrock for use by horsemen, we begin our walk through the castle.

We are now in front of the oldest main residential building, the Romanesque Great Hall, with its stately apartments; it dates back to the year 1239 and underwent various changes in the years to come. Today it houses the offices and the official residence of the general secretary of the German Castles Association (DBV).

The batteries in front of the Great Hall were built in the year 1711. The breech-loader of 1450 in the Small Battery is a copy of one of the oldest guns of that type in the whole of Germany.

The big cannons in this "Great Battery" are aimed at the Rhine river. According to weight we differentiate between front-loading 6-pounder and 12-pounder cannons. Their reach amounted approx. 1000 meters, the crew was able to assure the Rhine valley in its whole width. The elder half of this battery house was erected in the year 1589, the later half in 1711.

We continue into the Rhinezwinger (the Upper Bailey) that boats a unique medieval herb garden consisting of 2 patches of about 150 medieval plants. A lot of them are important medical or seasoning plants, but some like the mandragora or the jimson weed were used by witches, and the deadly nightshade and the hemlock are very toxic.

After climbing a wooden staircase, we reach the core of the castle: the courtyard with the impressive central keep. We now proceed to the wine cellar with its 17th century interior.

From here we ascend to the large castle kitchen of the gothic Great Hall (1435). Note the big fireplace in which a steer could be grilled whole, the wine-press dating from 1767, the window benches built into the extraordinary thick walls (3,5 m) and the vast array of cooking implements. The room is still used for candle-light banquets by the open fire today and can be hired for similar functions.

Leaving the kitchen we climb an arduous stone staircase leading to the upper storey, were we enter the Kemenate (bed-chamber) furnished with a canopied matrimonial bed, a cradle, a spinning wheel etc. It was one of the few rooms of the castle to be heated with a stove.

The adjoining room is the impressive Rittersaal (Great Banqueting Hall) with its mighty fireplace, a gothic chest and armchair. A unique item is the garderobe (medieval toilet) integrated into the wall on a corbel above the upper bailey. Note the portrait of Landgrave Johann II of Hessen (a.k.a. "The Belligerent"), one of the great compaigners of the 30 Years' War (1618-1648).

Next we enter the chapel with beautifully painted walls and ceilings which is part of the Kapellenturm (chapel tower) from 1372. It was converted in the 15th century and is dedicated to St. Mark (hence: Marksburg!). The fine niched statue is a copy of a Rhenish virgin mother of the 15th century.

A narrow staircase into the wall takes us to the next floor passing the room of the castle's chaplain. Onto the former rampart we're led to the Rheinbau (Rhine wing), erected 1706. It houses a weaving room where a loom and various other tools for working flax and wool are on display, as well as old household implements.

The next room, the Rüstkammer (armoury) contains a remarkable collection of personal armour illustrating the historical development of armour from c.a. 600 BC to 1500 AC. This is a very rare and noteworthy collection, only equalled by similar displays in Paris and in the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds (formerly in the Tower of London).

Leaving the Rheinbau, we come to the Bergfried (central keep) which is situated in one of the smallest courtyards in Germany. The lower part was built in 1239, the upper one in 1468. It towers ca. 40 m over its base. Its present shape is 14th century, but certain parts belong to the oldest elements of the castle (12th century). The keep was the defenders' last refuge during a siege. Its only entrance was 10 m above the ground, inaccessible with a ladder. The lower section contains the dungeon, measuring only 1,70 by 1,70 m, with a small manhole in the ceiling.

We now enter the former stables underneath the Romanesque Palas (Great Hall) which houses today numerous instruments of torture and punishment such as would be uses in a typical Folterkammer (torturing chamber). The ceiling dates back to 1239!

Finally we leave the inner castle through the Eiserne Pforte (Iron Gate) and walk down the Riders' Stairway (see above). Do not forget to look at the castle forge on your left.
We leave the inner fortification of Marksburg Castle via the Fuchstor (Fox Gate).