Marksburg Castle is a contender for the #1 Rhein River fort, and almost upsets my choice of Braunfels for the overall winner among "gamer" attractions. The compact structure is perched on a steep, conical hill that would be impossible to field a siege force upon. The narrow road snaking up to the castle is not for careless drivers! The minimal damage inflicted to the stonework over the centuries has long been repaired, and every area aside from the 100 foot center tower can be investigated. Unfortunately, most of the outer towers were adapted to support cannon batteries instead of medieval archers. The great halls and chapel are practically time-capsules of 15th century castle life.

In a side note to fellow gamers, please note the thickness of the walls for the center tower. One of my pet peeves are fantasy castles and towers that don't have walls of necessary width. I'm sorry, but you can't build Saruman's Spire with 2 foot thick walls! The tower shown below has walls no less than two meters thick. I'm not an engineer, but I'd guess a stone wall would have to at least be 1' thick for every 15' in height, probably with extra buttressing past 40' high.

These mini-postcard shots are: The Knight's Assembly Hall, An Armor Collection from 600 BC to 1500 AD, and the Kitchen!