r/interestingasfuck • u/The_Love-Tap • 22h ago

Germany has more castles than the United States has McDonald’s. This is the Eltz castle, located in Wiershem. It has been owned and occupied by the same family for 33 generations over 800 years

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u/DisorderedArray 21h ago

Just a note that Schloss is the word Germans normally use for castle, and that word covers everything you would call a castle in english, and a also huge number of other buildings that would have different names in english. Palaces and country houses are all schloss, for instance. So there are probably nowhere near as many Disney style castles as there are maccyDs in the US. There are a lot of palaces and big houses in Germany though.

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u/Herrvisscher 21h ago

Germany having words for every possible noun

Also Germany:^

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u/de_Generated 20h ago

I mean there are many different words that can be applied to these buildings, depending on what they are, what their function is etc.

Between synonyms or similar words like Residenz, Anwesen, Sitz, Palast or Kastell, you can always combine nouns to describe it better.

Is the castle used for hunting trips or other recreational activities? Visit your Jagdschloss or Lustschloss. Need a retreat during the hot summer months? Visit your Sommerresidenz.

So yeah there are multiple words, but for normal conversations the difference between Burg and Schloss is enough.

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u/Sh1n1ngM4n 20h ago

Oh I forgot the word “Lustschloss”, that has just a nice ring to it

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u/SabishiRan 19h ago

With inflation going on I can only get a Luftschloss unfortunately.

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u/Sh1n1ngM4n 18h ago

😂😂

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u/br0b1wan 20h ago

Can you tell me more about these lustschloss? Asking for a friend

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u/Sh1n1ngM4n 18h ago

Sorry dude,
Married with little kids. Our Lustschloss is a Luftschloss and turned a distant fairytale

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u/TallBeach3969 12h ago

Lustschluss

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u/FeelingSurprise 20h ago

Don't start the discussion about Schloss, Burg, Festung,…

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u/Personal_Relation421 15h ago

Not the best example - German differentiates for example between Burg and Schloss. English doesn’t.

The one above is a Burg, not a Schloss.

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u/Oesterreich-Ungarn 21h ago

Landsitz, Schloss, Anwesen, Burg, Palast etc. pp

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u/JackosMonkeyBBLZ 8h ago

There is no word for German ex-pats living in Australia that call it "Maccas" sarcastically but Aussies don’t catch it

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u/KeeperAdahn 21h ago

We have both Burg and Schloss as common terms for castle, Burg would be used for your typical medieval fortress castle and even fortified settlements. So it's always some sort of fortification. Schloss as you said may refer to many kinds of noble homesteads, which might be a Burg, but also includes non-fortified places like Palaces and grand manors. But it's actually more of a modern thing that these two words have settled in such clearly defined different meanings.

There are also many other terms for things like castles and fortifications, like Kastell which is very similar to castle.

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u/RedWeddingPlanner303 21h ago

A Schloss is a more fancy castle, like Neuschwanstein or Sanssouci. They probably included everything that is more rustic, which is called a Burg, and fortresses, which are Festungen. And if ruins are included then the number is probably in the tens of thousands.

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u/DisorderedArray 21h ago

Neuschwanstein is technically a folly. But what about Herrenchiemsee, or the Nymphenburg, which even has burg in the name? They're both schloss in German, and are translated to castle, but they are not castles, they're palaces.

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u/RedWeddingPlanner303 20h ago

Growing up around Burgen und Schlösser und Festungen we just accepted the colloquial definition of what it was. Of course that doesn't translate 1:1 into English, especially since some word nuances don't have a corresponding word in another language. Growing up near Schloss Wilhelmsburg, I know very well that it doesn't look like a Schloss or a Burg, but has both in its name. And part of the Wartburg is a palace. Sometimes it needs a lot of words to convey the meaning in another language and even then it sometimes misses the point.

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u/Hunkus1 21h ago

There are 2 words we use Schloss which is for castles people permanently lived in and Burg which is for millitary fortifications.

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u/DisorderedArray 21h ago

Yes, I didn't want to come across angry about it, but in my experience (as someone who moved to Germany) when Germans translate schloss into English, they always use the word castle, and as lovely as all those buildings were, I was always a bit disappointed about the complete absence of defensive structures.

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u/LittleMsWhoops 21h ago

I actually think palace is a more accurate translation for Schloss, as in Buckingham Palace = Schloss Buckingham and on thr other hand Windsor Castle = Burg Windsor.

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u/DisorderedArray 20h ago

Yes, I think you're completely right. But for whatever reason, I've never heard anyone in Germany translate schloss to palace, except for my German wife, and only after years of me bitching about the lack of battlements and moats in all the schloss we have visited.

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u/Sh1n1ngM4n 20h ago

That’s probably because Germans speak English well, but often not well enough to differentiate the intricate nuances of medieval architecture- lol.

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u/jenioeoeoe 19h ago

Or maybe its also because we have the word Palast which means palace too. And not every Schloss is a Palast

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u/Myrialle 19h ago

Because palace gets translated to Palast, and a Palast is only one kind of Schloss. 

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u/SpunkyMcButtlove07 17h ago

A Palace is a "Palast" in german, though.

Burg = Defensive structure that might also be used as a place of residence.

Schloss = fancy "we live here"-castle, less defensive.

Palast = super duper fancy "we live here" big big house. Not a defensive structure.

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u/koomGER 21h ago

German here, but not an expert in english.

I would say "Schloss" is often more like a very big manor. But even in german we have several buildings that would be considered more as a "Burg" (generally: military fortificated building with walls). Biggest and most well known example is "Schloss Neuschwanstein", that overall more resembles the definition of a Burg.

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u/Jazzlike-_-Growth 20h ago

And because it's not fun enough:
There is also a Schloss Burg.

I'd say palace is closest to Schloss.
(Though not quite identical, as Palace would be Palast, but it's closer)

Buckingham Palace, Palace of Versailles, Winter Palace, Palace of Justice, etc.

A Schloss can be smaller than a palace, but palaces also don't have to be enormous.

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u/koomGER 20h ago

I'd say palace is closest to Schloss.

Yeah, that fits really good!

And yeah, Schloss Burg makes everything worse. ;-)

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u/jfl561407 19h ago

This one is a Burg though, so plenty of defensive structures. I believe it was built to control the confluence of two traffic areas, but I was there almost 30 years ago, so my memory is a little lacking. I remember a cool armory too.

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u/Square-Singer 21h ago

Schloss = palace, burg = fortress. Castle just means either of them.

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u/DisorderedArray 16h ago

Castle does not mean palace. Schloss does. 

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u/Square-Singer 16h ago

Then why is Neuschwanstein a Castle in English and a Schloss in German? It's not fortified at all, it's just a fancy palace.

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u/DisorderedArray 13h ago

It's a folly. A folly designed to look like a castle. 

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u/Square-Singer 13h ago

And yet it's called "Neuschwanstein Castle" in English. Similar to a lot of other places that are called "Schloss" in German.

Schloss and castle aren't mutually exclusive terms.

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u/DisorderedArray 5h ago

And if you would care to read my earlier posts, you will be able to see that I am only referring to translating from Schloss, which is almost always translated to castle by Germans in Germany. Because of this, one should not assume that all 14,000 'castles' mentioned are actually castles. 

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u/Sh1n1ngM4n 20h ago

Can we add Residenz, Lustschloss, Anwesen, Palast, Festung and a few others to that 😂😂

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u/robot_pirate 2m ago

Then the name Schlossberg is very odd to me.

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u/Sh1n1ngM4n 21h ago

I mean not really. It all depends on what kind “castle” it is. Yeah we differentiate but I personally would have said “Burg” is far more common to be used.

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u/DisorderedArray 21h ago

In German, yes, but I think this is a case of mistranslation. There are more buildings German's call schloss than there are macdonalds in the US, but there are fewer buildings an English speaking person would call a castle, even though Germans tend to translate schloss to castle.

Like, Herrenchiemsee is absolutely not a castle, it is a palace, but English translations in Germany always use the word castle. Even Neuschwanstein would technically be a folly, not a real castle.

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u/Sh1n1ngM4n 20h ago

Okay maybe I have misunderstood your comment.

English translations of German structures by Germans is often, well - let’s use the word interesting.

You’re right, that is definitely a palace.

I think it’s often not really clear when a “Burg” is a “Burg” and when it is a Schloss or Palast ….

I also often shrug around what all qualifies as a “Burg” here. There’s a tiny structure on a hill, smaller than the house I’m living it, but it’s a “Burg”.

So I guess it’s a moot point to discuss what it should be called and just accept it’s not standardized.

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u/DisorderedArray 20h ago

I think the different meanings of the words suggests someone could go onto an English website, find the number of "castles" in Germany, and the number of McD outlets in the US, and then say that there are more castles in Germany. But the first website is using the mistranslation of schloss, so it's a bit misleading.

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u/4_fortytwo_2 20h ago edited 20h ago

Just a note that Schloss is the word Germans normally use for castle

No? We use the word "Burg". Like in germany the one from the title is "Burg Eltz". If it is ~medival and had some kind of fortifactions / military purpose it is a Burg not a Schloss.

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u/DisorderedArray 19h ago

So are there over 14,000 fortified defensive buildings in Germany, or is the 14k number based on the total number of things called Schloss or Burg, and therefore misleading? 

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u/4_fortytwo_2 15h ago edited 15h ago

The 14k or 20k or whatever giant number makes the rounds is pretty much counting everything even just a ditch left behind in a place we think was a castle at some point. And it considers a lot of things as castle (and it also includes not just Burgen but Schlösser und Paläste etc. too). Slightly bigger house with slighty bigger walls? Yup that counts.

It is a pretty meaningless number in my opinion. And it is not like saying germany has a ~thousand actual castles and castle ruins sounds bad, that is still a lot.

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u/sick_stuff1 18h ago

its honestly kinda confusing, even most germans can't tell you the difference.

"Burg" is the specific word for medieval fortresses.

"Schloss" is a residence for nobles after the medieval time period and a lot of "Burgen" got rebuild into "Schlösser"

thats why its often used interchangeably and why you see some that have both in their name.

then you also have "Palast" (palace) which is mainly used for huge, well, palaces that are representive of a location, city etc.

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u/DisorderedArray 17h ago

I live in Germany, and I'm aware of those words. I'm just questioning whether whoever compiled the 14,000 castles number used purely the word burg or the full breadth of meaning that schloss has. I hardly ever see burg used here, and I've never seen Palast used, even for obvious stuff like Herrenchiemsee. It's always schloss. But an English speaker reading the word castle will only think of the defensive castle with battlements and crenellations, not any of the other more comfortable structures covered by schloss. 

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u/AJL912-aber 20h ago

A castle for me would be a Burg. A Schloss is more like a palace (or more broadly a mansion)

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u/elitegenoside 19h ago

Americans have a pretty low bar for what counts as a castle. We technically have a couple, but they were all obviously built fairly recently and may not even count by the actual definition.

If looks like what we see in movies, then I'd say it counts.

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u/top_of_the_table 14h ago

That is not true. Germans dont use the world "Schloss" for small country houses.

Fucking annoying to hear that much bullshit on Reddit.

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u/SoupSad742 14h ago

This is and isn't true. Per (one) definition castle means defensive (private) place where people are living. A single tower where a family is living in is also a castle. 

There are many words in both languages that are about very special cases, not everything is a Schloss and not everything is a castle.

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u/goodolarchie 10h ago

My dog's old doghaus was called Schloss Rufenstein