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/Azulapis 21h ago

I don't know where you live in Germany. But in my area, every city has at least 2–3 castles, and there are many more in the surrounding towns. Yes, they aren't as majestic as Neuschwanstein. But they are essentially what a castle truly was in medieval times, like this one.

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u/Shar4f 20h ago

If you look at the list https://www.alleburgen.de/burgen-deutschland.php

Most of them are ruins or just places that were formerly places of castles. It also includes churches and manors.

The number of intact ones is not anywhere close to 25k

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u/Scribblehamzter 19h ago

Yes, adding to that: https://www.dw.com/en/does-germany-really-have-25000-castles/a-42350502

"In fact, only perhaps 20 percent of the castles in Germany still have a roof on them, according to the EBI director. Another 40 percent are in a state of ruin, while the remaining ones often exist only as "ground-level monuments" in which only the foundations — if even those — are still evident."

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u/TA_Lax8 21h ago

Oh there are definitely thousands of proper castles in Germany, I make that point in my comment. But in OPs count of 20k-25k, for every proper castle, there are 5 that were a four man keep at a crossroads or a wooden palisade near a manor.

I think the count of true castles/forts is closer to 8k, which is still unreal. But to get the figure above the "McDonalds" in USA number OP had to loosen the definition and I'm just making that point

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u/cyberdork 16h ago

I don't know where you live in Germany. But in my area, every city has at least 2–3 castles,

This is absolutely not the case in all of Northern Germany.

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u/MarcioMakaveli 21h ago

Ich komme aus dem Schwarzwald und sehe während dem pinkeln schon 3 Burgen wenn ich aus dem Fenster schaue.

P.s. : Und Richtung Flachland nur 1 megges 😅

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u/mikiex 15h ago

Which is also your house.

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u/Impressive-Turnip-38 14h ago

Man it’d be so cool to live there

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u/psychic_gibbon 13h ago

I imagine they would do well on airbnb!
Is there a specific tourism site specialising in German castle bookings??