@@dan438 Historians estimate that there were between 50,000 and 60,000 castles in Germany and France, i.e. castles as a fortified place for defense and protection. The other castles mean palaces that are more about status and symbol. Much of the fortified castles have disappeared from the face of the earth over the centuries and some only stand in ruins. So the number 20,000 is very close to the actual number of fortified castles. The number of magnificent palaces is significantly lower.
Its always funny when foreigners visit Schloss Neuschwanstein as "the German castle". But what they are really visiting is a "Disneyland" Version of a castle. Because this castle was build in the 1860' as a idealised Version of a Ritterburg of the medieval (maybe 200 years earlier). It is build of modern concrete and steal, never had a military duty or had to secure its inmates like real castles of the medieval. It was just for the romantic fun of a Bavarian King.
most forms of art and architecture culminate in a highly stylized form. As is the case with Neuschwanstein. fortification was really not an important function anymore. so they made it pretty.
And an fully electrified, backlight "grotto", just because it was cool... It's essentially a castle-shaped pleasure palace. If you'd ever end up here, go to castle Elz on the Moselle river. It's as pretty, an actual fortification that was never taken and it's still held by the Counts of Elz... the very family who built the place. Best regards Raoul G. Kunz
8:50 Well, Germany does border with the sea! Northern Germany borders both with the Baltic and the Northern Sea. You should check out some videos about northern Germany, it's very different to all the Bavarian and other southern places this video shows.
Don't worry. The video actually shows the Baltic Sea a little bit later on. Unless he totally forgot to pay attention, he (anmd all other viewers) will have seen it.
In the view of people who are living at the northest waterfront federal state of Schleswig-Holstein between the both oceans of the north sea and the baltic eastsea... ,,all southern of the Elbe River Stream must be Bavaria...far, far away!"
You need to visit also "Dinkelsbühl" - my favorite! Dinkelsbühl got an fully intact old Town-wall including Towers. Its not far away from Rothenburg o.d.T..
German cities were mostly not designed, like US-cities, but are grown over centuries or even millenia and some have seen roman legions walking through, and many already existed in the middle-ages. It is a kind of deep dive into history visiting some german cities.
@@anjakorthals9702 Das mag so sein, auch historisches Städtewachstum hatte eine gewisse Stadtplanung, die sich aber in der Regel an der Sicherung und "Einmauerung" neuer teils "wilder" Siedlungsgebiete orientierte und weniger eine Stadt am Reissbrett im Schachmuster vieler US-Städte darstellte.
I spent my youth in the woods around 4 german castles ruins from the 11th century ... it was an eerie experience, that i still cherish. The people that live there oppose any change to grow the town, only improvements to the existing structures are allowed.
you get used to how old everything is. When my parents built their house they had to let archeologists search the perimeters first because the village was around since the roman empire. They found a bakery and a well and part of a cemetary all from ca. 200AD on our plot of land...
I grew up in west Germany, near the netherlands, but I am always shocked how these films about germany often dont talk about east germany. Skip Heidelberg and go to quedlingburg. Formed before 922, it is a unesco world heritage and absolutly breathtaking. Go and visit Weimar, Rostock, ect...ect....
Es gibt hier überall soviele Schätze,die kann man gar nicht alle aufzählen. Wenn man dann noch bedenkt,dass soooo viel im Krieg kaputt gebombt wurde....
I'm from Lübeck, so here's a fun fact about the Holstentor (Holsten Gate): The gate was built in a swampy area which still makes the gate sink into the ground very very slowly. One of the sides has sunk more than the other, making the gate look a bit crooked from the side. Same phenomenon can be seen at the Tower of Pisa
I like the north sea more than the baltic sea, personally. The "Nationalpark Wattenmeer" is one of the few regions in the world where you can literally walk on the sea floor to small islands during low tide (with a guide, of course), which happen to be in the midst of the sea during high tide. It is also home to the biggest predator in Germany, seals. And there are, depending on the season, some seal rescue stations offering tours and where you can watch the rescued baby seals getting fed.
@@melchiorvonsternberg844 Kegelrobbe bis 300kg, Braunbären in Europa sind kleiner. Nur Kodiak- oder Kamtschat-Bären können größer werden. Die aus Südeuropa einwandernden Bären sind unter 100kg. Aus Nordeuropa und Sibirien werden kaum welche kommen, aber auch die sind mit max. 250 kg kleiner.
@@melchiorvonsternberg844 Gray seal up to 300kg, brown bears in Europe are smaller. Only Kodiak or Kamchatat bears can get bigger. The bears migrating from southern Europe are under 100kg. Hardly any will come from Northern Europe and Siberia, but they are also smaller with a maximum of 250 kg.
The Castle you see on 0:34 min it is Schloss Neuschwanstein and it is the example of the Disney Castle in Disney World :D Dresden was once called the Florence on Elbe (River Elbe)
I live near Heidelberg. And i can say i cant imagine to live anywhere else. Black Forest, France are some miles away. A lot of old towns around me. And there are lot more nice places and towns to see. What a beautiful place to live :)
Morning Joel, what a lovely reminder of my happy times in Germany. We used to land in Munich, on the way to Austria for skiing. We could just see the Berchtesgaden restaurant from our mountain. Last year, I took a Rhine River cruise, and visited some of the towns on this video. This year, it's the Danube cruise. Have a good day, T
My dad used to study in Heidelberg and he has lots of wonderful memories from there. And last year I visited Munich with my parents and it truly is an amazing city and I would love to see all the other places in Germany that were mentioned in the video as well, they all look so stunning! 🤩🤩
Munich and Berlin is not Germany. 😅 Visit Frankfurt and travel to Switzerland, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium or France in 2 hours. Frankfurt is multicultural and the best mix of Germany and Europe.
@@signiferaquilifer7954 what a Nonsens comment! Munic Bavaria is the base of the beginning from Germany. All other German country where a gift from France to Bavaria to build Germany.
@@signiferaquilifer7954 wth are you talking about? o.O like Frankfurt is the only city in Germany... Munich and Berlin are also multicultural and many other cities as well. Falls du aus Deutschland kommst, gibt es nach dem Lesen deines Kommentares wieder so einen Fremdschäm-Moment...
Living in northern Germany I think this video is just showing half our countries beauty, most places he showed were located in southern Germany (Bavaria and Baden Wurttemberg). He at least could have shown 1 town out of every state but he just mentioned 8 or 9 :/ Not saying those aren't nice, but some wouldn't be on this list if he had seen all of germany.
Hello Joel. I visited a fair number of these before I was your age, but I have not been back. So much was as it was when I went and admired it. Well worth a visit.
My favorite spot? Norderney island - there are so many beautiful islands in Germany as well. I am very partial to the sea. BUT I am also a big fan of the Blackforest... and yes, it can be creepy, especially if you watched Sleepy Hollow, go out for dinner and when comin out there is this fog rising all raound you and all those trees. Took a cab - my imagination was just in overdrive XD
14:20 Well - there are a lot of locations in the USA that predate the founding of the country by far: Old Native American settlements and the like. They are not as impressive as the Inca, Maya and Aztec ruins in South America and Central America, but they do exist and are fascinating as well.
@Hellequin Maskharat Not here in the North of Germany. PS: The term "castle" is used a bit too loosely. If you#re interested in learning more about castles - the TH-cam channel Shadiversity has a lot of good videos about castles; some other HEMA channels have some tidbits here and there as well.
It is always so uplifting to watch someone look at the landmarks and landscapes we have been used to since childhood with fresh eyes and remind us of the beauty around us. It feels like I am surfing on your sense of wonder. But having been to the US for three extended trips I have seen many amazing landscapes too, especially visiting the spectacular Bryce Canyon in early spring, when there was still some snow around the red rock needles but also fresh greens of trees. That was a sight I will NEVER forget. Marvelous. I get your longing for a deeper and more extensive history with the buildings and architectural landmarks though. The US is just a couple thousand years shy of having that. If you want a good visual for why there are just so damn many castles around germany, you should look for a "european borders timelapse" video. When you see all those many tiny microstates almost flickering in the timelapse and realize that they all had their own seats for rulers plus border fortifications, you get why so many castles were built.
I'm biased, bc I worked at the palace and castle as security for a time and walked daily to them :). But I like my hometown Würzburg the best, it sits on the Main river. We got a Castle and a Palace, and picnicking on top of the castle walls in the evening is great, or visiting the beer garden / restaurant up there. The Castle sits in the middle of vineyards. Visit the small church Käppele in a bit of woodland up the mountain, and suffer through the hundreds of steps to get up there but the view is awesome :), or if you are no fun then you can drive there too, there is a road going up. Same thing with the castle, I recommend walking up through all the defensive walls and tunnels from the foot of the hill. Veitshöchheim the next town over got a beautiful palace and garden with hedge maze and arguably the best ice cream vendor in the region. You got easy 10-20min wait times there in the summer :). Pro tip when visiting, take the ferry to Veitshöchheim along the river if you want to go there too.
Dresden is a beautiful city and is also called Florence of the East on the Elbe. The Frauenkirche a landmark of Dresden which was destroyed in WWII was later rebuilt , which I think is great , with donations from America, England, Germany, etc. As a sign of reconciliation . Christmas a beautiful mass was broadcast from the church on TV. Yes Germany has from north to south, so many beautiful landcapes to be visit on holidays.💚
FYI…the „Magic Mirror“ from the fairytale Snow White is was actually in Lohr Castle. The mirror „talked“ by the inscriptions in the mirrors corners. You can see the mirror as it‘s still on display at the Spessart Museum in Lohr am Main. Oh, I managed to live in Germany for several years courtesy of the US Air Force. A wonderful way to see the world and get paid to do it! Cheers
I can truly say, born and raised in Western Germany, that I love living here. I also loved for 9 years in England, which I also absolutely loved. And as most Europeans, I visited basically all European countries. Each similar, but uniquely different. Europe is beautiful. But my heart beats for Germany. If only the winters would be not so long, gloomy and dark. But hey, spring is around the corner, and that feeling with the first warm and sunny days make the wait through winter worthwhile, right? You know what? You should start a Go Fund Me to raise enough money to come and visit, maybe even study for a year at a university, and travel around the country. You represent a new emerging kind of Americans spreading their interests out into the world, it seems. I certainly would throw in a few bucks!
I love always Koln to visit and the cathedral and I love the area of the zugspitze, such a nice nature there. Schloss Neuschwanstein is famous when u drive at the highway. u see him from far on the hills. you definitly need to visit that all Joel !!
In Germany we have free access to lakes and mountains .. even if the path crosses private property. Just hike or take a bike and go where you want to go. No tresspassing problems - unless dedicated signs tell you. Nobody would point a gun at you at all.
Oh, Passau in a video ... how nice! I used to live in Passau and I am currently living next to it. I still can see Passau from my windows ... :) P.S.: I had more than one beer on the top of the mountain at the "Eagles' Nest" - nice view for sure!
Terrific video Joel. A walk down memory lane, but even more beautiful. It would many lifetimes to see and appreciate all the beautiful view and architecture in Germany. John in Canada
Königsee and Obersee were until fairly recently (geologically) one lake. A massive rock-drop from the mountains cut off Obersee from Königsee. That happened in 1172, so from a geological standpoint that wasn't even the blink of an eye ago. Sure, it's nearly been a thousand years for us short-lived humans, but for geology and erosion it hasn't even registered yet. At 5:28 you can see the Frauenkirche of Dresden. During the whole GDR era this was left a bombed-out ruin. After the German reunification plans began to restore it. From excruciating architectural and archaelogical studies the planners found many discarded stones in the rubble and reconstructed their original position. That's why you can see some old, blackened stones in the predominantly white marble walls of the building. As many stones as possible were used from the original construction. But sadly, as you can see, most of it was destroyed and missing. Only the front gate wall had survived ash-blackened relatively intact. Everything else had to be reconstructed from scratch. Germany does have access to the ocean. Or rather, the North Sea. It is one of the most storm tossed seas on this planet both by average wave height, as well as number of storms. The Baltic Sea is technically not an ocean but a brackish large lake (it's salt content is significantly lower than a regular ocean water). The mudflats along the North Sea are the largest continuous mud flats in the world. They run fallow and almost dry during low tide, but flood by over ten feet or three meters minimum depth during high tide. During low tide the ocen front extends back from the main land for well over five kilometers, or roughly 2.5 miles deep and along the whole of Germany's northern coast right up to Denmark and over to the Netherlands with whom we share this gorgeous natural spectacle. I have to correct the original video. Hamburg doesn't have 2500 bridges, it has well over 4500 bridges when all pedestrian bridges are counted as well. Because Venice, the city most famous for its bridges, has only around 1700 including all pedestrian bridges. Berlin has only around 2000 bridges. So Hamburg has more bridges than Venice and Berlin combined. As an inner-German immigrant to Hamburg I have to defend my home-town from inaccurate info 😂😁 Local pride, and all. 🤣🤣 Heidelberg university isn't just Germany's oldest university; it is in fact the very first university of the world (as per our modern understanding of a university). There may be some older academic centers around the world that may be considered universities when it comes to pure teaching, but most of them wouldn't be considered universities today as per scientific standards.
Fun fact about Schwerin Castle: it's the only castle (or rather palace) in Germany that still to this day has political significance as it houses the state parliament of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany's north-eastern state.
Not actually correct: a lot of castles and palaces, eg in Bavaria, house various government offices, and Schloss Bellevue in Berlin is the seat of the Bundespräsident.
The Metropol region Ruhr is not as picturesque as the beautiful castle sites shown in this video, but there are some cool post industrial places in the Ruhrgebiet. Gritty and down to earth with real people and a good beer.
I am from Heidelberg and study there. Honestly I love this city so much, not just bc it’s my home but u can so easily relax there and also can visit the castle. Furthermore it’s just perfect for college students. It was built around 1294, even tho the city with its name was found almost 100 years before. Sadly the castle got destroyed in 1618-1648 from the French during the 30 year long war. It kinda got reconstructed but not all of it, u can still go in some rooms, etc. and its still beautiful. In general if u walk around the city, there are still mediaeval buildings, walls, even streets. The most beautiful spot must be the „Altstadt“.
I was born in Regensburg. It's a medieval city at the Danube river where an important trade route crosses the river. The medieval old town is well preserved, even the hotel exists where Richard the Lionheart stayed waiting for to join the french crusaders. Visit a beer garden overlooking Danube river and have a beer and bratwurst.
Cologne Cathedral is by the way, the biggest medieval cathedral in the world. There may be some bigger "megachurches" in the US now, but for centuries it was the biggest church in the world.
A bommer that he didn'1 visit the eastfrisian islands in the north of Germany. You can walk to the islands, but only for a few hours before the (water) tide comes in.
The video is very centered around Bavaria. I can agree that Bavaria has beautiful sights but I think a lot SW Germany and Eastern Germany have as much to see. SW Germany has the cities of Trier (oldest German city) with a lot of architecture from the Roman Empire and the city of Mainz, founded by the Romans too which is always worth a visit. Additional great spots in the SW part are the Eifel, an area formed by volcanic activity and with a lot of crater lakes. In the eastern part of the country there are cities like Erfurt with similar medieval city centres like Rothenburg but way less tourists (and one of the most beautiful medieval christmas markets), the city of Leipzig is worth a visit too, the city of Weimar and beautiful landscapes like the Thuringia forest and the Elster valley where the two rivers called White Elster and Black Elster cut through the hills. Germany is definitely worth a visit and it's way too much to see.
A town that had a similar fate to Rothenburg, being once a rich hotspot for trade and falling suddenly into a 100s of years sleep, is the absolutely stunning town of Bruges in Flanders (Belgium).
Try this video , the title is,t this is Germany of Dr. Ludwig. Please take the newer version and use the subtitle function, that shows you where the places are.
Thank you for your obvious adoration… it makes me reminding me- as a German- that it is possible to love this land. Thank you for showing beauty and not ressentiments. 😘
For me, Bamberg is the most beautiful city in Germany. Especially in the time when the roses bloom, because Bamberg is also famous for its rose gardens. Regensburg on the Danube with its old town original from the Middle Ages is also beautiful.
the Rhein - spring also is amazing ... in switzerland the rheinfalls... a major waterfall u can walk underneath and go ontop by boat - seriously amazing spot
I’ve been to Germany many times, I LOVE it❤ a great trip is to stay in Salzburg and travel over to Berchtesgaden and Eagles Nest. Stunning and unforgettable day trip
There is the really long, epic film by the Italian master director Luchino Visconti, Ludwig II, that tells of the composer Richard Wagner, King Ludwig and Neuschwanstein Castle. I would also check (although all his films, like Senso, Rocco etc. are awesome) the film The Count that has Burt Lancaster as a Sicilian nobleman. Historical and splendid as well as artistic, human and perceptive. Btw., having visited the Brandenburger Tor / Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, that's the spelling of it.
THese are beautiful places, indeed. I want to mention, that there are a many more stunning places in the middle and the north of germany. Most videos shows the great places of the south, and i think in this video its the same. The middle and the north have more stunning places then the big cities. But it was a good video although
As a german it is truly a blessing to live in this country, although you sometimes tend to forget this. Even my hometown got a short panorama fly by in the video 😆 Some additional trivia about Neuschwanstein, it was the first place in bavaria to get a telephone installed. The cost of building it (because Ludwig was so crazy and changing plans over and over again) was so detrimental to the bavarian coffers that it made King Ludwig prone to be bribed. He was bribed by Bismarck, the chancellor of King William the I of Prussia, to make Ludwig of bavaria (the second most influential king on german soil at that time) "offer" the emperors crown of germany to King William. It was politically important that William did not just go forward and claim the crown himself. Basically the first unification of the german country we know today. King William of Prussia emperor *IN* (not of, because there were still the emperors of austria and they had to avoid insulting them) germany, considered the imperial crown always inferior to the title of King he inherited from his ancestor Friedrich the great.
Ich komme aus Hessen und bin 2016 in die Schweiz ausgewandert. Es leben und arbeiten viele Deutsche Ärzte hier, 80% der Ärzte die unsere Familie behandeln sind deutsch (aus NRW, Bayern, Hessen, BW). Leider hat Deutschland zu viele Probleme, darum bleiben meine Frau und ich bis auf weiteres in der Schweiz. Ausländer sind die meisten Italiener, die 2. meisten sind deutsch!
It was pretty common to build castles on top of hills or mountains, so they could see the enemy coming from any side, from far away, and the enemy had a harder time, getting to the castle, which gave the people in the castle more time to defend it.
This video maker, Ryan Shirley, is very much geared towards those who love travelogues focussed on the great outdoors. With these he is second to none. He began on TH-cam doing science videos, though. He began his travels as a LDS missionary, but went on to live in several Central American countries, and is now lives in Switzerland working for a human rights NGO. The man has an interesting biography.
I'm glad to see you're enjoying Germany; it is a stunningly beautiful country, and it's good for those of use who live here to be reminded of this. Hohenzollern usually gets overshadowed by Neuschwanstein, but just to the north of that castle is the tiny Castle Lichtenstein (not to be confused with the country of the same name) which looks like a miniature Neuschwanstein and would be famous if it were in any other country.
a good place to visit in the middle of germany is the brocken with 2100 meters the biggest berg of the middle of germany inside of the harz and the only berg where you can travel upwards with a old locomotie/ train
As a mater of fact Neuschwanstein, when built, had one of the first telephone lines in Bavaria. It is not really that old - to be honest. It was a romantic idea what a castle should like.
There is another castle nearby to Schloß Neuschwanstein called Schloß Hohenschwangau. King Ludwig II inherited it from his parent's but built 3 castles/palaces of his own and bankrupt Bavaria. Probably why he was murdered. You can get tickets that include both castles. Well worth a visit. There's even a village called Wank nearby! lol Edit: There a lot of castles because Germany was divided up into duchies/principalities/kingdoms/archbishoprics and each ruler had to defend their land. Germany united under Bismark and Kaiser Wilhelm I 1871.
@Anglo Saxon Fun fact: what nearly ruined Bavaria at those times is making the most money now because of millions of tourists visiting every year 🤣 What you were discribing as "lots of kingdoms etc" was the HRI of German Nations, the Kaiser got elected by the Prince Elect and it never had a Capital, therefor the Kaiser (was called "travel" Kaiser) was travelling around the HRI of German Nations with about (up to) 6.000 people (soldiers, any sorts of craftsmen, the wifes, children etc), the "Kaiser castles/Kaiser Pfalz) were built every 30 km (day trip distance), even ALL documents were taken all the time, including the "crown juwelries" to be shown that he is the ruling Kaiser. Forgot to say: the people living in or near by those "Kaiser castles/Kaiser Pfalz" had to feed those thousands of people following the Kaiser, a average staying time was about two/three months. Even though it was an honour that the Kaiser chose to stay at those places, I would think, that the people from those villages were very happy, when the Kaiser and his people left again 😊 That "federal" monarchy/HRI of German Nations existed for about one thousand years ... Greetings from Germany 😉
Many people talk about Neuschwanstein and yeah, that's a famous castle that is much more recent than most people think but so is Schloss Drachenburg (shown at 7:14). It's pretty, yeah, much more of a fairytale vibe than the nearby Burg Drachenfels (the names are so cool though), but that's because it was designed that way. It was built in 1882-1884 by a bank analyst, long after the times it tries to evoke. Generally a really beautiful area though, I love walking along the Rhine and seeing the castles, mountains, vineyards...
Associating Brothers Grimm with the Black Forest is allowed... but factually wrong. Better locate them to Hanau and northern Hesse, where they and their fairytails really belong. (I'll add this also into the original vid.)
Why does no one mention that it was only 80 years ago that these cities were completely destroyed? That's so impressive! By the way, to get an idea of how old Germany is, my hometown of Trier was founded by the Romans over 2000 years ago.
If you ever visit Germany, please visit the Ahr Valley they can need more tourists after the horrible flood in 2021. They have some of the best german wines there. Try blanc de noir, it's white red wine.
Absolutely yes - the wines got extraordinary the last decades and clearly beat most of the french. I love Mayschoß-Altenahr wines - it was the worlds first cooperative wine-growers association. And the valley is still beautyful - beside of the destruction which can still be seen there. But live and tourism is coming back slowly.
12:37 Kölner Dom (Cologne cathedral) the biggest and highest cathedral/church in europe. The towers are 157 m (515 ft.) Total area length 144 m (474 ft.) total width 86 m (282 ft.) The Cologne cathedral has overall a window area from 10.000 qm (11.000 sq ft) 1.200 seats and 12 bells. One of these bells is the largest free-swinging bell of the world with a diameter from 3,22 m (10,5 ft.) a weight of 24 tons ! Only the clapper weighs 600 kilo. This bell is affectionately called Thick Peter by the inhabitants of cologne. If you want you can touch the Thick Peter and go upstairs over a stone spiral staircase with 533 steps and have nice view over cologne.
If you have time, be sure to check out Heidelberg. Two more travel tips South Germany : en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walhalla_(memorial) Hamburg : en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbe_Tunnel_(1911)
Okay... There are definitely a few notes to make... Hohenzollern Castle, is the ancestral seat of the last German Emperors and the Kings of Prussia. The Holsten Gate in Lübeck adorned the penultimate 50 DM note that was available. And the Hanseatic League, or Hanse for short, is also the namesake for the German airline Lufthansa. And the state parliament of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern sits in Schwerin Castle.
Not to forget, Hohenzollern Castle was first mentioned in 1267 and destroyed twice. "Die Hanse"-> many of the old Hanseatic cities bear the title again in their name; e.g. Hanseatic City of Stade, Hanseatic City of Rostock; the only cities that still bore the title of Hanseatic City after the end of the Hanseatic League were: Bremen, Lübeck and Hamburg. While Bremen and Hamburg were also Free and Hanseatic Cities, they were stripped of "Free City" status during National Socialism.
This guy's pronunciation of German names is completely incomprehensible for a native German speaker. If I hadn't read them, I would not have understood what he's talking about. 🤣
My favorite place in Germany is the Insel Mainau/Island of Mainau. This island belongs to the King of Sweden and is open to the public. It has a Mediterranean climat, which allows plants and fauna to thrive there, other than other parts of Germany. It is on the Chiemsee, a beautiful lake which also has a second castle build by King Ludwig (he built Neuschwanstein) Herren Chiemgau. Absolutey breathtaking. I love Germany. You should go visit too.
The Insel Mainau is actually located on Lake Constance (Bodensee), which is the largest lake in Germany. It’s definitely worth a visit, just like Lindau. Despite not being as big as Lake Constance, the Chiemsee is nice too, though.
You don't have to kill anyone to study in Germany. Exchange students are always welcome there. Regarding that castle situation... look at a medieval map of Germany and you will see hundreds of small kingdoms. Each has had at least one castle. And that Cologne Cathedral... it took 600 years, but only because of a building freeze for about 400 years. On that old black/white picture of Cologne in the video you can even see the construction crane which was there for hundreds (!) of years.
And studying is free of charge, you only have to pay your rent with side costs. And as a student you can travel cheaper all over germany and the public transport system is well developed, so come on and visit our beautiful country, seeing the original is much more breathtaking than watching a video. My hometown of Kassel was seriously bombed during the war, but there are also beautiful sights to see, even it is not mentioned in most tourist guides.
one point to the "many castles": there are many many more! ;-) tip: if you're planning to rent a car and you want to explore the Rhine-region (e.g. between Mainz - through Bingen - to Bonn) - don't take the Autobahn A60/A61 - it would be much better to drive on the Bundeststaße B42 (on the right side of Rhine) or B9 (on the left side of Rhine) - it takes more time, but the scenery is much much better than "cars, cars, more cars" on the Autobahn... that streets along the river have many many curves and it feels like "after every curve there is another castle" - I once had a gig with my medieval-band on a wedding in Bingen - and I stopped multiple times to enjoy the scenery...
There are lots of tourist traps in the video. It's not that much fun to visit small towns like Rothenburg when the streets are crowded with 100,000 other tourists around you. I'd say avoid the top 25 spots and look for no.40, 63 or something like that. You wanna see some typical half timbered houses? Visit Celle or Wolfenbüttel instead of Rothenburg.
Those were mainly destinations in Bavaria. If you want to see a different Germany than what Americans think they know, you really have to go to Dresden, Erfurt, Lüneburg, Oldenburg, Mainz, Wiesbaden and Potsdam. All not so big cities, but so German and so different from Bavaria. I personally love the German Baltic Sea coast. The North Sea coast is completely different. The advantage of all of Europe is that you don't have to travel far and you're already in "another world". Spain, France, Italy, the Czech Republic, Scandinavia etc. everything is so different and so beautiful.
6:55 That's not the Rhine at all 😁 This is the Moselle. This is where I live. On the right is the village of Kröv, on the left is Wolf and in the background on the left is the small town of Traben-Trarbach. At this point where the photo was taken, my family owns a vineyard ☺️ Moselle is next to the rhine and it flows into Rhine in Koblenz.
There are many more things to see that may not be as beautiful, but are famous or simply unique in the world. For example, there is the "Leaning Tower of Suurhusen" or the Wadden Sea on the North Sea, the military ports on the North Sea, and so on. In such videos, usually only snippets from Bavaria are shown, but Germany has much more to offer, especially in places that are rarely mentioned, like the endless fields at the border with the Netherlands, and so on. #Don'tForgetTheNorth
Check your lineage,,,,it’s based in EUROPE,,, and by looking at Archives you could find it documented. It could inform your future travel plans,,,,,, EUROPE above every other Continent is a visual spectacle with each individual Country offering up something unique.
A lot of these castles have inhabitants. A friend of mine lives in a tiny castle in Friedberg, in an old house, which was used for the administration in former times. All these castles and houses are under control of the Denkmalschutz, means you are not allowed to change important details like windows and stairs.
Poland is also very beautiful and has the biggest castle not only in Europe but the world! It's located in Malbork....and it is insane! Both Germany and Poland are beautiful ! LOVE
Fun fact: Germany has more castles (ca. 20,000) than the USA has McDonalds restaurants (ca. 15,000)!
nice fact :3
Yeah, but only if you add Schloss castles and Burg castles together. And they just have the same name in English. They're not the same thing.
In Augsburg gibt's ja auch einige
@@dan438 Historians estimate that there were between 50,000 and 60,000 castles in Germany and France, i.e. castles as a fortified place for defense and protection. The other castles mean palaces that are more about status and symbol. Much of the fortified castles have disappeared from the face of the earth over the centuries and some only stand in ruins. So the number 20,000 is very close to the actual number of fortified castles. The number of magnificent palaces is significantly lower.
And about 45.000 churches.
Its always funny when foreigners visit Schloss Neuschwanstein as "the German castle". But what they are really visiting is a "Disneyland" Version of a castle. Because this castle was build in the 1860' as a idealised Version of a Ritterburg of the medieval (maybe 200 years earlier). It is build of modern concrete and steal, never had a military duty or had to secure its inmates like real castles of the medieval. It was just for the romantic fun of a Bavarian King.
most forms of art and architecture culminate in a highly stylized form. As is the case with Neuschwanstein. fortification was really not an important function anymore. so they made it pretty.
The Middle Ages had ended almost 400 years before Neuschwanstein castle was built (not 200).
It even has electric light build in by Ludwig himself
And an fully electrified, backlight "grotto", just because it was cool...
It's essentially a castle-shaped pleasure palace.
If you'd ever end up here, go to castle Elz on the Moselle river.
It's as pretty, an actual fortification that was never taken and it's still held by the Counts of Elz... the very family who built the place.
Best regards
Raoul G. Kunz
@@tubekulose it was just a guess 🙂
8:50 Well, Germany does border with the sea! Northern Germany borders both with the Baltic and the Northern Sea. You should check out some videos about northern Germany, it's very different to all the Bavarian and other southern places this video shows.
Don't worry. The video actually shows the Baltic Sea a little bit later on. Unless he totally forgot to pay attention, he (anmd all other viewers) will have seen it.
Too much Bavaria
In the view of people who are living at the northest waterfront federal state of Schleswig-Holstein between the both oceans of the north sea and the baltic eastsea... ,,all southern of the Elbe River Stream must be Bavaria...far, far away!"
yeah sadly Bavaria overshadows the 90% of germans who arent bavarians & dont even like these hilltribes down there!
You can drive in Schleswig - Holstein from West to Eastcoast under two hours.
What do you mean no ocean?! We have a huge coast line to the Nothern Sea that directly connects to the Atlantic Ocean and the Baltic sea (shelf sea).
I was just about to say this :D
Thx for being so interested in my home country 😊
You need to visit also "Dinkelsbühl" - my favorite! Dinkelsbühl got an fully intact old Town-wall including Towers. Its not far away from Rothenburg o.d.T..
Yes, Germany has many many castles. According to official Websites there are about 25.000 of em. In various states from ruins to perfectly maintained.
Germany has more castles than the US has McDonald's
Yepp, it's around 2500 more or less well preserved castles, palaces, or at least keeps. The rest are ruins in more or less devasted states.
@@RustyDust101 no not 2500. It’s 25000. You forgot a 0
only this number is not quite correct, many have disappeared again in the course of time, it is estimated that there could be up to 60,000
i heard its ab 30k castles but anyways way to much to explore in one lifetime so get the best of all👀
German cities were mostly not designed, like US-cities, but are grown over centuries or even millenia and some have seen roman legions walking through, and many already existed in the middle-ages. It is a kind of deep dive into history visiting some german cities.
Ich fand in TH-cam eine Dokumentation über Städte im Mittelalter das darlegte daß die mittelalterliche Städte sehr wohl geplant waren.
@@anjakorthals9702 Das mag so sein, auch historisches Städtewachstum hatte eine gewisse Stadtplanung, die sich aber in der Regel an der Sicherung und "Einmauerung" neuer teils "wilder" Siedlungsgebiete orientierte und weniger eine Stadt am Reissbrett im Schachmuster vieler US-Städte darstellte.
I spent my youth in the woods around 4 german castles ruins from the 11th century ... it was an eerie experience, that i still cherish. The people that live there oppose any change to grow the town, only improvements to the existing structures are allowed.
06:59 - introducing the River Rhine and showing a meander of the River Moselle...
you get used to how old everything is. When my parents built their house they had to let archeologists search the perimeters first because the village was around since the roman empire. They found a bakery and a well and part of a cemetary all from ca. 200AD on our plot of land...
I grew up in west Germany, near the netherlands, but I am always shocked how these films about germany often dont talk about east germany. Skip Heidelberg and go to quedlingburg. Formed before 922, it is a unesco world heritage and absolutly breathtaking. Go and visit Weimar, Rostock, ect...ect....
Agreed!
Quedlinburg is almost bizarrely (?) beautiful and picturesque!
Es gibt hier überall soviele Schätze,die kann man gar nicht alle aufzählen. Wenn man dann noch bedenkt,dass soooo viel im Krieg kaputt gebombt wurde....
Ja und das Ruhrgebiet und Münsterland wird auch immer unterschätzt...
Der Osten ist ja leider nicht sicher für Ausländer
Görliz
I'm from Lübeck, so here's a fun fact about the Holstentor (Holsten Gate):
The gate was built in a swampy area which still makes the gate sink into the ground very very slowly. One of the sides has sunk more than the other, making the gate look a bit crooked from the side.
Same phenomenon can be seen at the Tower of Pisa
I like the north sea more than the baltic sea, personally. The "Nationalpark Wattenmeer" is one of the few regions in the world where you can literally walk on the sea floor to small islands during low tide (with a guide, of course), which happen to be in the midst of the sea during high tide. It is also home to the biggest predator in Germany, seals. And there are, depending on the season, some seal rescue stations offering tours and where you can watch the rescued baby seals getting fed.
Aber auch nur solange, bis die Bären zurück sind...
@@melchiorvonsternberg844
Die müssen aber erstmal durch Bayern durch 🤣
Grüsse von der Waterkant
@@melchiorvonsternberg844 Kegelrobbe bis 300kg, Braunbären in Europa sind kleiner. Nur Kodiak- oder Kamtschat-Bären können größer werden. Die aus Südeuropa einwandernden Bären sind unter 100kg. Aus Nordeuropa und Sibirien werden kaum welche kommen, aber auch die sind mit max. 250 kg kleiner.
@@melchiorvonsternberg844 Gray seal up to 300kg, brown bears in Europe are smaller. Only Kodiak or Kamchatat bears can get bigger. The bears migrating from southern Europe are under 100kg. Hardly any will come from Northern Europe and Siberia, but they are also smaller with a maximum of 250 kg.
@@Mike-dg2pw Och... Ich habe schon vor über 30 Jahren einen Kamtschatka Bären, mitten in Europa gesehen. Er kletterte auf einem Felsen herum...
In Germany you dont need Stopp signs its regulated who's first. right bevor left and others.
The Castle you see on 0:34 min it is Schloss Neuschwanstein and it is the example of the Disney Castle in Disney World :D
Dresden was once called the Florence on Elbe (River Elbe)
I live near Heidelberg. And i can say i cant imagine to live anywhere else. Black Forest, France are some miles away. A lot of old towns around me. And there are lot more nice places and towns to see. What a beautiful place to live :)
Morning Joel, what a lovely reminder of my happy times in Germany. We used to land in Munich, on the way to Austria for skiing. We could just see the Berchtesgaden restaurant from our mountain. Last year, I took a Rhine River cruise, and visited some of the towns on this video. This year, it's the Danube cruise. Have a good day, T
My dad used to study in Heidelberg and he has lots of wonderful memories from there. And last year I visited Munich with my parents and it truly is an amazing city and I would love to see all the other places in Germany that were mentioned in the video as well, they all look so stunning! 🤩🤩
Munich and Berlin is not Germany. 😅 Visit Frankfurt and travel to Switzerland, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium or France in 2 hours. Frankfurt is multicultural and the best mix of Germany and Europe.
@@signiferaquilifer7954 what a Nonsens comment! Munic Bavaria is the base of the beginning from Germany. All other German country where a gift from France to Bavaria to build Germany.
You’re father was smart to study in Germany. USA is very expansive to study. He did it good 👌
@@signiferaquilifer7954 wth are you talking about? o.O like Frankfurt is the only city in Germany... Munich and Berlin are also multicultural and many other cities as well. Falls du aus Deutschland kommst, gibt es nach dem Lesen deines Kommentares wieder so einen Fremdschäm-Moment...
Nice!!!! Love Germany 🇩🇪 🇩🇪🇩🇪🇩🇪
Living in northern Germany I think this video is just showing half our countries beauty, most places he showed were located in southern Germany (Bavaria and Baden Wurttemberg). He at least could have shown 1 town out of every state but he just mentioned 8 or 9 :/ Not saying those aren't nice, but some wouldn't be on this list if he had seen all of germany.
He cant visit every city.. come on.
Hello Joel. I visited a fair number of these before I was your age, but I have not been back. So much was as it was when I went and admired it. Well worth a visit.
My favorite spot?
Norderney island - there are so many beautiful islands in Germany as well.
I am very partial to the sea.
BUT I am also a big fan of the Blackforest...
and yes, it can be creepy, especially if you watched Sleepy Hollow, go out for dinner and when comin out there is this fog rising all raound you and all those trees.
Took a cab - my imagination was just in overdrive XD
14:20 Well - there are a lot of locations in the USA that predate the founding of the country by far: Old Native American settlements and the like. They are not as impressive as the Inca, Maya and Aztec ruins in South America and Central America, but they do exist and are fascinating as well.
Definitely. Cahokia, the Anasazi ruins, the Navajo cliff dwellings, etc
@Hellequin Maskharat Not here in the North of Germany.
PS: The term "castle" is used a bit too loosely. If you#re interested in learning more about castles - the TH-cam channel Shadiversity has a lot of good videos about castles; some other HEMA channels have some tidbits here and there as well.
I wish and hope you do. There are so many stunning places worth visiting in Germany and most of European countries. You won't regret it. Kudos!
It is always so uplifting to watch someone look at the landmarks and landscapes we have been used to since childhood with fresh eyes and remind us of the beauty around us. It feels like I am surfing on your sense of wonder.
But having been to the US for three extended trips I have seen many amazing landscapes too, especially visiting the spectacular Bryce Canyon in early spring, when there was still some snow around the red rock needles but also fresh greens of trees. That was a sight I will NEVER forget. Marvelous.
I get your longing for a deeper and more extensive history with the buildings and architectural landmarks though. The US is just a couple thousand years shy of having that.
If you want a good visual for why there are just so damn many castles around germany, you should look for a "european borders timelapse" video. When you see all those many tiny microstates almost flickering in the timelapse and realize that they all had their own seats for rulers plus border fortifications, you get why so many castles were built.
I'm biased, bc I worked at the palace and castle as security for a time and walked daily to them :).
But I like my hometown Würzburg the best, it sits on the Main river. We got a Castle and a Palace, and picnicking on top of the castle walls in the evening is great, or visiting the beer garden / restaurant up there. The Castle sits in the middle of vineyards. Visit the small church Käppele in a bit of woodland up the mountain, and suffer through the hundreds of steps to get up there but the view is awesome :), or if you are no fun then you can drive there too, there is a road going up. Same thing with the castle, I recommend walking up through all the defensive walls and tunnels from the foot of the hill.
Veitshöchheim the next town over got a beautiful palace and garden with hedge maze and arguably the best ice cream vendor in the region. You got easy 10-20min wait times there in the summer :).
Pro tip when visiting, take the ferry to Veitshöchheim along the river if you want to go there too.
Dresden is a beautiful city and is also called Florence of the East on the Elbe. The Frauenkirche a landmark of Dresden which was destroyed in WWII was later rebuilt , which I think is great , with donations from America, England, Germany, etc. As a sign of reconciliation . Christmas a beautiful mass was broadcast from the church on TV. Yes Germany has from north to south, so many beautiful landcapes to be visit on holidays.💚
FYI…the „Magic Mirror“ from the fairytale Snow White is was actually in Lohr Castle. The mirror „talked“ by the inscriptions in the mirrors corners. You can see the mirror as it‘s still on display at the Spessart Museum in Lohr am Main. Oh, I managed to live in Germany for several years courtesy of the US Air Force. A wonderful way to see the world and get paid to do it! Cheers
I think the Bothers Grimm movie was shot in part in Rothenburg.
So happy my home town Heidelberg was mentioned! 🥰
I can truly say, born and raised in Western Germany, that I love living here. I also loved for 9 years in England, which I also absolutely loved. And as most Europeans, I visited basically all European countries. Each similar, but uniquely different. Europe is beautiful. But my heart beats for Germany. If only the winters would be not so long, gloomy and dark. But hey, spring is around the corner, and that feeling with the first warm and sunny days make the wait through winter worthwhile, right?
You know what? You should start a Go Fund Me to raise enough money to come and visit, maybe even study for a year at a university, and travel around the country. You represent a new emerging kind of Americans spreading their interests out into the world, it seems. I certainly would throw in a few bucks!
As a "new German" I love the first weeks of Spring, when we go from heavy winter coats to T-shirts.
I love always Koln to visit and the cathedral and I love the area of the zugspitze, such a nice nature there. Schloss Neuschwanstein is famous when u drive at the highway. u see him from far on the hills. you definitly need to visit that all Joel !!
In Germany we have free access to lakes and mountains .. even if the path crosses private property. Just hike or take a bike and go where you want to go. No tresspassing problems - unless dedicated signs tell you. Nobody would point a gun at you at all.
And fun fact. Very little amount of people carrying guns here…. 😀
Make it even saver here.
Oh, Passau in a video ... how nice! I used to live in Passau and I am currently living next to it. I still can see Passau from my windows ... :)
P.S.: I had more than one beer on the top of the mountain at the "Eagles' Nest" - nice view for sure!
Servus!
🍺😊
Terrific video Joel. A walk down memory lane, but even more beautiful. It would many lifetimes to see and appreciate all the beautiful view and architecture in Germany. John in Canada
Königsee and Obersee were until fairly recently (geologically) one lake. A massive rock-drop from the mountains cut off Obersee from Königsee. That happened in 1172, so from a geological standpoint that wasn't even the blink of an eye ago. Sure, it's nearly been a thousand years for us short-lived humans, but for geology and erosion it hasn't even registered yet.
At 5:28 you can see the Frauenkirche of Dresden. During the whole GDR era this was left a bombed-out ruin. After the German reunification plans began to restore it. From excruciating architectural and archaelogical studies the planners found many discarded stones in the rubble and reconstructed their original position. That's why you can see some old, blackened stones in the predominantly white marble walls of the building. As many stones as possible were used from the original construction. But sadly, as you can see, most of it was destroyed and missing. Only the front gate wall had survived ash-blackened relatively intact. Everything else had to be reconstructed from scratch.
Germany does have access to the ocean. Or rather, the North Sea. It is one of the most storm tossed seas on this planet both by average wave height, as well as number of storms. The Baltic Sea is technically not an ocean but a brackish large lake (it's salt content is significantly lower than a regular ocean water). The mudflats along the North Sea are the largest continuous mud flats in the world. They run fallow and almost dry during low tide, but flood by over ten feet or three meters minimum depth during high tide. During low tide the ocen front extends back from the main land for well over five kilometers, or roughly 2.5 miles deep and along the whole of Germany's northern coast right up to Denmark and over to the Netherlands with whom we share this gorgeous natural spectacle.
I have to correct the original video. Hamburg doesn't have 2500 bridges, it has well over 4500 bridges when all pedestrian bridges are counted as well. Because Venice, the city most famous for its bridges, has only around 1700 including all pedestrian bridges. Berlin has only around 2000 bridges. So Hamburg has more bridges than Venice and Berlin combined. As an inner-German immigrant to Hamburg I have to defend my home-town from inaccurate info 😂😁 Local pride, and all. 🤣🤣
Heidelberg university isn't just Germany's oldest university; it is in fact the very first university of the world (as per our modern understanding of a university). There may be some older academic centers around the world that may be considered universities when it comes to pure teaching, but most of them wouldn't be considered universities today as per scientific standards.
Fun fact about Schwerin Castle: it's the only castle (or rather palace) in Germany that still to this day has political significance as it houses the state parliament of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany's north-eastern state.
Not actually correct: a lot of castles and palaces, eg in Bavaria, house various government offices, and Schloss Bellevue in Berlin is the seat of the Bundespräsident.
The Metropol region Ruhr is not as picturesque as the beautiful castle sites shown in this video, but there are some cool post industrial places in the Ruhrgebiet. Gritty and down to earth with real people and a good beer.
I am from Heidelberg and study there. Honestly I love this city so much, not just bc it’s my home but u can so easily relax there and also can visit the castle. Furthermore it’s just perfect for college students.
It was built around 1294, even tho the city with its name was found almost 100 years before. Sadly the castle got destroyed in 1618-1648 from the French during the 30 year long war.
It kinda got reconstructed but not all of it, u can still go in some rooms, etc. and its still beautiful.
In general if u walk around the city, there are still mediaeval buildings, walls, even streets. The most beautiful spot must be the „Altstadt“.
I was born in Regensburg. It's a medieval city at the Danube river where an important trade route crosses the river. The medieval old town is well preserved, even the hotel exists where Richard the Lionheart stayed waiting for to join the french crusaders. Visit a beer garden overlooking Danube river and have a beer and bratwurst.
Servus!
A Biergarten is immer a guade Idee.
Hauptsach Bier. 🍺😊
Guter Plan !
Cologne Cathedral is by the way, the biggest medieval cathedral in the world. There may be some bigger "megachurches" in the US now, but for centuries it was the biggest church in the world.
A bommer that he didn'1 visit the eastfrisian islands in the north of Germany. You can walk to the islands, but only for a few hours before the (water) tide comes in.
The video is very centered around Bavaria. I can agree that Bavaria has beautiful sights but I think a lot SW Germany and Eastern Germany have as much to see. SW Germany has the cities of Trier (oldest German city) with a lot of architecture from the Roman Empire and the city of Mainz, founded by the Romans too which is always worth a visit. Additional great spots in the SW part are the Eifel, an area formed by volcanic activity and with a lot of crater lakes.
In the eastern part of the country there are cities like Erfurt with similar medieval city centres like Rothenburg but way less tourists (and one of the most beautiful medieval christmas markets), the city of Leipzig is worth a visit too, the city of Weimar and beautiful landscapes like the Thuringia forest and the Elster valley where the two rivers called White Elster and Black Elster cut through the hills.
Germany is definitely worth a visit and it's way too much to see.
I was born and grow up in Heidelberg. Never been at the castle 😂
Sad….
A town that had a similar fate to Rothenburg, being once a rich hotspot for trade and falling suddenly into a 100s of years sleep, is the absolutely stunning town of Bruges in Flanders (Belgium).
Hi Mina, that is so true. Comming from Germany I visit Brügge several times. I love it…
I studied in Heidelberg about 30 years ago and it really is a wonderful city!
💯👍 agree
Try this video , the title is,t this is Germany of Dr. Ludwig. Please take the newer version and use the subtitle function, that shows you where the places are.
Speyer.
Is One of the oldest City in Germany (2033 years old).
Speyer also has the largest cathedral in the Gothic-Romanesque style.
Speyer has also a great modern synagogue to visit.
And the largest exhibit of a technical museum: a complete 747, donated by Lufthansa.
Thank you for your obvious adoration… it makes me reminding me- as a German- that it is possible to love this land.
Thank you for showing beauty and not ressentiments. 😘
The castle near Austria is really special.
For me, Bamberg is the most beautiful city in Germany. Especially in the time when the roses bloom, because Bamberg is also famous for its rose gardens.
Regensburg on the Danube with its old town original from the Middle Ages is also beautiful.
Travelling the world with you in this VR type of style is a bunch of fun 💯💪
the Rhein - spring also is amazing ... in switzerland the rheinfalls... a major waterfall u can walk underneath and go ontop by boat - seriously amazing spot
It's fine, and when you will come to visit our beautiful country, you are very welcome👍.
With many greatings here from Germany
Gertrud👋👋👋
12:43 The semicircular glass building in the foreground is a chocolate museum. Greetings from Gernany.
The Cologne Cathedral is so incredibly beautiful from the in- and outside it´s surreal, also This thing is F CKING HUGE being 157.22 m high
i mean people build that thing for 630 years - in multiple stages of course.
I’ve been to Germany many times, I LOVE it❤ a great trip is to stay in Salzburg and travel over to Berchtesgaden and Eagles Nest. Stunning and unforgettable day trip
But Salzburg is in Austria......
@@Stefan-1978 yes. I know it is but it’s not far from the German border and it’s easy to get to Berchtesgaden
@@michaeldaley7511
Ja, ich weiß 😄
@@Stefan-1978 Haben Sie einen guten Tag
@@michaeldaley7511
Ebenso.
Really appreciate your curiosity, man! Lots of love from Cologne :D
There is the really long, epic film by the Italian master director Luchino Visconti, Ludwig II, that tells of the composer Richard Wagner, King Ludwig and Neuschwanstein Castle. I would also check (although all his films, like Senso, Rocco etc. are awesome) the film The Count that has Burt Lancaster as a Sicilian nobleman. Historical and splendid as well as artistic, human and perceptive. Btw., having visited the Brandenburger Tor / Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, that's the spelling of it.
THese are beautiful places, indeed. I want to mention, that there are a many more stunning places in the middle and the north of germany. Most videos shows the great places of the south, and i think in this video its the same. The middle and the north have more stunning places then the big cities. But it was a good video although
As a german it is truly a blessing to live in this country, although you sometimes tend to forget this. Even my hometown got a short panorama fly by in the video 😆
Some additional trivia about Neuschwanstein, it was the first place in bavaria to get a telephone installed. The cost of building it (because Ludwig was so crazy and changing plans over and over again) was so detrimental to the bavarian coffers that it made King Ludwig prone to be bribed. He was bribed by Bismarck, the chancellor of King William the I of Prussia, to make Ludwig of bavaria (the second most influential king on german soil at that time) "offer" the emperors crown of germany to King William. It was politically important that William did not just go forward and claim the crown himself. Basically the first unification of the german country we know today.
King William of Prussia emperor *IN* (not of, because there were still the emperors of austria and they had to avoid insulting them) germany, considered the imperial crown always inferior to the title of King he inherited from his ancestor Friedrich the great.
Ich komme aus Hessen und bin 2016 in die Schweiz ausgewandert. Es leben und arbeiten viele Deutsche Ärzte hier, 80% der Ärzte die unsere Familie behandeln sind deutsch (aus NRW, Bayern, Hessen, BW). Leider hat Deutschland zu viele Probleme, darum bleiben meine Frau und ich bis auf weiteres in der Schweiz. Ausländer sind die meisten Italiener, die 2. meisten sind deutsch!
It was pretty common to build castles on top of hills or mountains, so they could see the enemy coming from any side, from far away, and the enemy had a harder time, getting to the castle, which gave the people in the castle more time to defend it.
So nice to see a video on Germany again 👏🏽
Yes, we have a very beautiful Country with a lot of history, and modern Citys.
This video maker, Ryan Shirley, is very much geared towards those who love travelogues focussed on the great outdoors. With these he is second to none. He began on TH-cam doing science videos, though. He began his travels as a LDS missionary, but went on to live in several Central American countries, and is now lives in Switzerland working for a human rights NGO. The man has an interesting biography.
I'm glad to see you're enjoying Germany; it is a stunningly beautiful country, and it's good for those of use who live here to be reminded of this. Hohenzollern usually gets overshadowed by Neuschwanstein, but just to the north of that castle is the tiny Castle Lichtenstein (not to be confused with the country of the same name) which looks like a miniature Neuschwanstein and would be famous if it were in any other country.
a good place to visit in the middle of germany is the brocken with 2100 meters the biggest berg of the middle of germany inside of the harz and the only berg where you can travel upwards with a old locomotie/ train
Pedant's alert: it should be the BRANDENBURG Gate not BRADENBURG Gate(10:00) ,apart from that,good vid! 👌👍
As a mater of fact Neuschwanstein, when built, had one of the first telephone lines in Bavaria. It is not really that old - to be honest. It was a romantic idea what a castle should like.
There is another castle nearby to Schloß Neuschwanstein called Schloß Hohenschwangau. King Ludwig II inherited it from his parent's but built 3 castles/palaces of his own and bankrupt Bavaria. Probably why he was murdered. You can get tickets that include both castles. Well worth a visit. There's even a village called Wank nearby! lol
Edit: There a lot of castles because Germany was divided up into duchies/principalities/kingdoms/archbishoprics and each ruler had to defend their land. Germany united under Bismark and Kaiser Wilhelm I 1871.
@Anglo Saxon
Fun fact: what nearly ruined Bavaria at those times is making the most money now because of millions of tourists visiting every year 🤣
What you were discribing as "lots of kingdoms etc" was the HRI of German Nations, the Kaiser got elected by the Prince Elect and it never had a Capital, therefor the Kaiser (was called "travel" Kaiser) was travelling around the HRI of German Nations with about (up to) 6.000 people (soldiers, any sorts of craftsmen, the wifes, children etc), the "Kaiser castles/Kaiser Pfalz) were built every 30 km (day trip distance), even ALL documents were taken all the time, including the "crown juwelries" to be shown that he is the ruling Kaiser.
Forgot to say: the people living in or near by those "Kaiser castles/Kaiser Pfalz" had to feed those thousands of people following the Kaiser, a average staying time was about two/three months.
Even though it was an honour that the Kaiser chose to stay at those places, I would think, that the people from those villages were very happy, when the Kaiser and his people left again 😊
That "federal" monarchy/HRI of German Nations existed for about one thousand years ...
Greetings from Germany 😉
@@saba1030 Yes his enemies could not see the future! lol
@@anglosaxon5874
Sounds familiar 🤣
Many people talk about Neuschwanstein and yeah, that's a famous castle that is much more recent than most people think but so is Schloss Drachenburg (shown at 7:14). It's pretty, yeah, much more of a fairytale vibe than the nearby Burg Drachenfels (the names are so cool though), but that's because it was designed that way. It was built in 1882-1884 by a bank analyst, long after the times it tries to evoke. Generally a really beautiful area though, I love walking along the Rhine and seeing the castles, mountains, vineyards...
Associating Brothers Grimm with the Black Forest is allowed... but factually wrong. Better locate them to Hanau and northern Hesse, where they and their fairytails really belong.
(I'll add this also into the original vid.)
I Like how it´s always like "This city got Heavily bombed" Showing a picture of a gigantic City in Ashes "but it is now completely rebuild"
The Footage at 6:43 ist wrong. It shows a Mosel Meander at Kröv and not the Rhine River.
I live in a city at the Danube, but its at the beginning of it so the river here isn’t that big. I would estimate its about 50m wide over here.
I really like your reactions :) You seem to have such a nice character :) Keep on going!!!
Why does no one mention that it was only 80 years ago that these cities were completely destroyed? That's so impressive!
By the way, to get an idea of how old Germany is, my hometown of Trier was founded by the Romans over 2000 years ago.
If you ever visit Germany, please visit the Ahr Valley they can need more tourists after the horrible flood in 2021.
They have some of the best german wines there. Try blanc de noir, it's white red wine.
Absolutely yes - the wines got extraordinary the last decades and clearly beat most of the french. I love Mayschoß-Altenahr wines - it was the worlds first cooperative wine-growers association.
And the valley is still beautyful - beside of the destruction which can still be seen there. But live and tourism is coming back slowly.
12:37 Kölner Dom (Cologne cathedral) the biggest and highest cathedral/church in europe. The towers are 157 m (515 ft.)
Total area length 144 m (474 ft.) total width 86 m (282 ft.) The Cologne cathedral has overall a window area from 10.000 qm (11.000 sq ft) 1.200 seats and 12 bells. One of these bells is the largest free-swinging bell of the world with a diameter from 3,22 m (10,5 ft.) a weight of 24 tons ! Only the clapper weighs 600 kilo. This bell is affectionately called Thick Peter by the inhabitants of cologne. If you want you can touch the Thick Peter and go upstairs over a stone spiral staircase with 533 steps and have nice view over cologne.
If you have time, be sure to check out Heidelberg.
Two more travel tips
South Germany :
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walhalla_(memorial)
Hamburg :
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbe_Tunnel_(1911)
Munich is where I was born and still live to this day 🥰
Visit Augsburg and the Fuggerei!
Okay... There are definitely a few notes to make... Hohenzollern Castle, is the ancestral seat of the last German Emperors and the Kings of Prussia. The Holsten Gate in Lübeck adorned the penultimate 50 DM note that was available. And the Hanseatic League, or Hanse for short, is also the namesake for the German airline Lufthansa. And the state parliament of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern sits in Schwerin Castle.
Not to forget, Hohenzollern Castle was first mentioned in 1267 and destroyed twice.
"Die Hanse"-> many of the old Hanseatic cities bear the title again in their name; e.g. Hanseatic City of Stade, Hanseatic City of Rostock; the only cities that still bore the title of Hanseatic City after the end of the Hanseatic League were: Bremen, Lübeck and Hamburg. While Bremen and Hamburg were also Free and Hanseatic Cities, they were stripped of "Free City" status during National Socialism.
@@manub.3847 Ja... Soweit keine Neuigkeit...
I am suprised they introduced Schwerin too, but I'm really glad about this. a real nice city
This guy's pronunciation of German names is completely incomprehensible for a native German speaker. If I hadn't read them, I would not have understood what he's talking about. 🤣
My favorite place in Germany is the Insel Mainau/Island of Mainau. This island belongs to the King of Sweden and is open to the public. It has a Mediterranean climat, which allows plants and fauna to thrive there, other than other parts of Germany. It is on the Chiemsee, a beautiful lake which also has a second castle build by King Ludwig (he built Neuschwanstein) Herren Chiemgau. Absolutey breathtaking. I love Germany. You should go visit too.
The Insel Mainau is actually located on Lake Constance (Bodensee), which is the largest lake in Germany. It’s definitely worth a visit, just like Lindau. Despite not being as big as Lake Constance, the Chiemsee is nice too, though.
You don't have to kill anyone to study in Germany. Exchange students are always welcome there.
Regarding that castle situation... look at a medieval map of Germany and you will see hundreds of small kingdoms. Each has had at least one castle.
And that Cologne Cathedral... it took 600 years, but only because of a building freeze for about 400 years. On that old black/white picture of Cologne in the video you can even see the construction crane which was there for hundreds (!) of years.
And studying is free of charge, you only have to pay your rent with side costs. And as a student you can travel cheaper all over germany and the public transport system is well developed, so come on and visit our beautiful country, seeing the original is much more breathtaking than watching a video. My hometown of Kassel was seriously bombed
during the war, but there are also beautiful sights to see, even it is not mentioned in most tourist guides.
one point to the "many castles": there are many many more! ;-)
tip: if you're planning to rent a car and you want to explore the Rhine-region (e.g. between Mainz - through Bingen - to Bonn) - don't take the Autobahn A60/A61 - it would be much better to drive on the Bundeststaße B42 (on the right side of Rhine) or B9 (on the left side of Rhine) - it takes more time, but the scenery is much much better than "cars, cars, more cars" on the Autobahn... that streets along the river have many many curves and it feels like "after every curve there is another castle" - I once had a gig with my medieval-band on a wedding in Bingen - and I stopped multiple times to enjoy the scenery...
There are lots of tourist traps in the video. It's not that much fun to visit small towns like Rothenburg when the streets are crowded with 100,000 other tourists around you. I'd say avoid the top 25 spots and look for no.40, 63 or something like that. You wanna see some typical half timbered houses? Visit Celle or Wolfenbüttel instead of Rothenburg.
Those were mainly destinations in Bavaria. If you want to see a different Germany than what Americans think they know, you really have to go to Dresden, Erfurt, Lüneburg, Oldenburg, Mainz, Wiesbaden and Potsdam. All not so big cities, but so German and so different from Bavaria. I personally love the German Baltic Sea coast. The North Sea coast is completely different. The advantage of all of Europe is that you don't have to travel far and you're already in "another world". Spain, France, Italy, the Czech Republic, Scandinavia etc. everything is so different and so beautiful.
Not really. There were Dresden, Köln, Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg and many more of other regions than Bavaria as well.
6:55 That's not the Rhine at all 😁 This is the Moselle. This is where I live. On the right is the village of Kröv, on the left is Wolf and in the background on the left is the small town of Traben-Trarbach. At this point where the photo was taken, my family owns a vineyard ☺️ Moselle is next to the rhine and it flows into Rhine in Koblenz.
Hahaha i laughed "imagine having a beer up there :)"
There are many more things to see that may not be as beautiful, but are famous or simply unique in the world. For example, there is the "Leaning Tower of Suurhusen" or the Wadden Sea on the North Sea, the military ports on the North Sea, and so on. In such videos, usually only snippets from Bavaria are shown, but Germany has much more to offer, especially in places that are rarely mentioned, like the endless fields at the border with the Netherlands, and so on. #Don'tForgetTheNorth
The landscape Seen at 2:18 is not situated in Germany, but in south tyrol, Italy. The so called „Seiser Alm“.
Check your lineage,,,,it’s based in EUROPE,,, and by looking at Archives you could find it documented.
It could inform your future travel plans,,,,,, EUROPE above every other Continent is a visual spectacle with each individual Country offering up something unique.
A lot of these castles have inhabitants. A friend of mine lives in a tiny castle in Friedberg, in an old house, which was used for the administration in former times. All these castles and houses are under control of the Denkmalschutz, means you are not allowed to change important details like windows and stairs.
"Die Entdeckung der mittelalterlichen Stadtplanung" doku auf TH-cam, von 2004.
10:02 BRANDENBURG Gate
Cool didn't think he would put Lübeck on here , my hometown. I sometimes forget how impressive it is 😊
Poland is also very beautiful and has the biggest castle not only in Europe but the world! It's located in Malbork....and it is insane! Both Germany and Poland are beautiful ! LOVE