Eltz Castle near Koblenz deeply impressed many visitors. The German art-historian Georg Dehio declared it 'the castle par exellence'. This book describes its history and takes readers through the interior of the castle as well as through the treasure vault. Victor Hugo was simply impressed by the castle: "High, mighty, suprising, sombre", he wrote in his diary after his visit and continued: "I have never seen anything like it." To the English travel writer Katharine Macquoid it was "a fairy-tale in stone." Eltz Castle with its 850-years history and its picturesque setting still is the quintessence of a castle today. This book describes the beginnings and the history of Eltz Castle. It takes the readers through the interior of the castle as well as through the treasure vault, describes in detail the pieces of furniture and artworks and gives a vivid picture of what life in this castle was like in the past centuries. The discovery of Eltz Castle as a tourist site in the 19th century is dealt with, as is the castle's significance in art and literature. Nearly one hundered colour illustrations complement the text.

Translated by: Kerstin Hall