Stahlberg

Stahlberg is tucked away in a little valley up the L224, going west from Bacharach.  While not super impressive, it is still worth the trip, for it is largely unnoticed and therefore receives few visitors.  When trying to find the road to it, I stopped to ask a local and he first assumed I was looking for the better-known Stahleck.  Once I repeated myself he understood and showed me the way.

The entrance seen left and below.  The castle is protected by a dry moat that until recently was heavily overgrown.  Recent work has done much to remove the excess vegetation.

An interesting view into the entrance to the keep.  This photo demonstrates that the keep's walls were about five-six feet thick.  Moreover, by carefully looking at the bottom of the entrance, you can see that the tower is hollow, the stairway and levels long gone.  The tower is closed for good reason, as cracks at the base indicate it has stability problems.

One of the lower entrances that would take you into a below-ground chamber.  Much of the undergrowth hides the debris field that has formed from the collapse of the upper structure.

This section of wall shows the indent for the floor joists to divide off the level above.

This section  at right is of another small tower, now only a remnant of itself.

Below, a view of the main entrance from within.  The defensive area above is visible, though obviously incomplete.

Below, a view of one of the outer walls from the dry moat.