Veste Coburg (22 Apr, 2011) Walk Through Page 8

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These pictures were taken and shared with the web by Hans-Hermann Bühling .

Coordinates - 50.263889°N 10.981389°E

The Veste Coburg, or Coburg fortress, is one of Germany's largest castles. It is situated on a hill above the city of Coburg. The Veste was the historical seat of the independent duchy of Coburg in Franconia, which now is part of the German state of Bavaria. Martin Luther lived in the Veste for a number of months during the Diet of Augsburg in 1530. In the twentieth century, the castle was the residence of Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a grandson of Queen Victoria who sympathized with and joined the Nazi Party.
The Veste now houses museums, including a collection art objects and paintings that belonged to the ducal family of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a large collection of arms and armor, significant examples of early modern coaches and sleighs, and important collections of prints, drawings and coins.
Archaeological work carried out in the 1990s dates the construction of the first portions of the castle to the eleventh, twelfth and early thirteenth centuries. The fifteenth century saw substantial additional building, including the construction of the Blue Tower, keep, great hall, armory, and chapel. The ducal family abandoned the Veste as a residence in the sixteenth century, preferring the Ehrenburg Palace in the city of Coburg. In keeping with the nineteenth century revival of interest in the middle-ages, Duke Ernst I undertook substantial renovations, converting the Veste into a romantic residence in a variety of gothic styles. Many of Duke Ernst's changes were reversed in the early twentieth century during the reign of Duke Charles Edward.

- Information from Wikipedia