Katz Castle

Katz Castle is located near St Goarshausen in Germany and dominates the surrounding countryside and beautiful valley of the Rhine from its green and beautiful hill. The hill from which the Katz stands is an offering of a magnificent view to the river and entire surrounding area of the German Rhineland-Palatinate. Next to the castle Katz remains its counterpoint - Maus Castle and on the opposite bank of the Rhine is the magnetic Rheinfels Castle.

The name of the castle is widely popular as Burg Katz, which means Cat Castle. The original name after the start of construction of the Katz Castle was Castle Katzenellenbogen or Burg Neukatzenellenbogen. Over time, this long name has shrunk to the laconic, but purely descriptive - Katz.

The medieval fortress on this hill appears in the second half of the 14th century. The foundations of Katz was placed somewhere around 1371 by Count Wilhelm II of Katzenellenbogen. For a long time it was used as a fortification bastion and military base to protect the castle Rheinfels. Both the castle formed a strong unified system, which was the barrier of the Rhine and a place to collect the fees for crossing the river.

The place where Katz Castle rises was extremely well chosen. In practice the fort was impossible to capture by the river. Following the discovery of the firearm, it had emerged that the construction of the Maus Castle needed to be strengthened. For centuries both the Castle Maus and Katz were in contrast to each other.

Katz Castle was the official home of the Counts Katzenellenbogen. By 1479, however, the last of the influential family died. Previously, Katz became the place where the Counts of Katzenellenbogen first planted grapes from a special variety, beginning the tradition of wine making. The building of the castle Katz was bombed in 1806 and had undergone major repairs between 1896 and 1898. Today Katz Castle is privately owned and not open for public visits.