Heaven and Stolzenfels Castle

Where shall we start? Why not with a description of a heavenly city and then visit an earthly castle. First the one that will come down from God. Its name is the New Jerusalem. Here is a summary:

It’s a cube measuring 1,400 miles in every direction.

Revelations 21:16

It has walls of jasper with foundation stones of sapphire, emerald, amethyst and more…

Revelations 21: 19,20

It has 12 gates each carved out of a single pearl. These gates will always be open.

Revelations 21:21,25

The streets are of pure gold, no sun, no moon and no temple. God and Jesus are the light. And the glory and honour of the nations will be brought into the city.

Revelations 21:23,26

There will be a crystal clear river flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb, right in the middle of the street.

Revelations 22:1,2

And there is also a tree. The Tree of Life half growing on each side of the river, an amazing trunk, with 12 different fruits, giving fruit every month, and its leaves are to heal the nations.

Revelations 2:22.

It is a mind expanding experience to read about and it seems Isaiah had a knowledge of it also.

Isaiah says in God’s voice: ” behold, I create new heavens and new earth, and those you have now will not be remembered, nor come into your mind…the wolf and the lamb will feed together… no one will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain.”

Isaiah 65: 17,18…

Then Paul says after giving an example of meeting with God through Moses on mount Sinai that we will come to the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels…

Hebrews 12:22.

Paul likes to talk about this because he says again:

‘For this Agar is mount SinYai in Arabia, and answers to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

It is interesting to see that these reference a heavenly city so carefully described by John who saw so much detail in vision as a prisoner on the island of Patmos.

I guess the romantic earthly castle reminded me of the above.

Let us look high up first. Why build a balcony and abridge there?

A panoramic and observation deck for King Friederick William IV. He was the older brother of William I who reigned as King of Prussia starting in 1861 and was the one celebrated by the equestrian statue on the ” German Corner” in Koblenz. This was his older brother’s summer castle, Stolzenfels. It was a ruined 13th century castle when he was gifted it and King Friederick William had it rebuilt as a 19th century palace in Gothic Revival Style. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Upper Middle Rhine Valley.

No photographs are allowed in the rooms but the romantic pergola garden with the terraces provide panoramic views of the river and surroundings.

The plant loved by snails, hostus grows large and unaffected well hedged in by thriving box hedge which is kept clipped really short. Then notice the symmetrical beds surrounding the fountain. This is the work of the original designer Peter Joseph Lenné carefully reconstructed.

The planting is bright with forgiving petunias in individual pots on ornate stands. Orange and pink with purple and yellow as seen in my last detailed photograph.

The views many and wonderful but I chose this to remind that a castle is high up and a place of safety.

Karl Friederich Schinkel, a renowned architect, was commissioned to rebuild the castle and he included an Italian influence with a major Gothic medieval look.

The details are highlighted with planting. Let’s look at the plant in full bloom now in June, roses.

The white of the stone walls and the changing skies make it look like different days, but it is not.

Black stone stairs, thick green planting, turrets, high walls and roses. It must be a dream castle.

Roses in white, single but how enormous a bunch. Exquisite!

Planting, bright and neatly held with a leaf edging. So much detail. We then looked at the chapel.

The inside of the chapel was linked with looking at the garden from a position higher up rather than walking through. It was fascinating. I couldn’t photograph but I will describe a little of what Queen Victoria saw in three murals. This chapel was inaugurated in 1845 during her visit. (It is interesting to know that she began to build Osborne House the same year and Balmoral Castle three years later.)

These murals were special. As you enter the upper level overlooking the worshipers, as a queen may do, the mural on the right has Eve in full height offering Adam a bitten apple. Satan the snake is looking out from a well established tree, rather pleased, head out stretched forked tongue testing the air. Then there is God on the right, looking how we may think He felt at this moment of change. Over the large double door God is there again, His arms wide open and out stretched, with one hand reaching out to Adam on one side and Eve on the other. Both have a lamb slain at their feet. The mural on the left is violent, Cain has just killed Abel with Abel’s sacrifice of a lamb still burning. Who painted them I don’t know but Queen Victoria will have seen them. I wonder what she thought?

We soon left down a steep serpentine walk, the same we had walked up for 20 minutes and through a wooded gorge. Some folks ask me to take their picture and they took ours. Roy celebrates his birthday soon so here we are Sandy and Roy.

A pleasure it was to visit Stolzenfels Castle.

Take care,

Sandy and Roy: travelling with Bess our dog and Bugzy our motorhome.