At the Eltz Castle, in the town of Wierschem, Germany

 "Without words, without writing and without books there would be no history, there could be no concept of humanity." -- Hermann Hesse

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(in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate) Nestled in the hills above the Moselle River between Trier and Koblenz in the town of Wierschem, where Burg Eltz stands on a 70-meter-high rock surrounded on three sides by the Eltzbach stream. It's one of only three medieval castles still intact on the left bank of the Rhine River. Construction on Eltz Castle began in 1157 and took nearly 500 years to be completed. Found at the head of the beautiful Moselle side-valley (the Eltz), Burg Eltz is one of Germany's most romantic medieval castles. Never destroyed, this fairy-tale vision of turrets, towers, oriels, gables and half-timber has jutted forth from the rock framed by a thick forest for all those centuries. What makes Castle Eltz particularly interesting, is that is has been owned by the same family for 33 generations, for some 850 years, and is still owned and maintained by the Eltz family today. The Eltz Forest, a nature reserve of serene beauty, full of rare fauna and flora, surrounds it. It is in the center of an attractive hiking region with the award-winning dream hike "Eltz Castle Panorama," and other walks for any level of fitness.