Castles & Palaces
Locations from Storm Keep
From our travels in France and Germany, it became necessary to defind the difference between a palace and a castle—even if it was just for tourist purposes. What I came up with was that a castle was defendable and a palace not. Not surprisingly the dictionary Miriam agreed with me.
Castle - A large building, typically of the medieval period, fortified against attack with thick walls, battlements, towers, and in many cases a moat.
Palace - the official residence of a sovereign, archbidshop, bishop, or other exalted person.
We visited both and one of each found their way into Storm Keep.
Haut - Barr is a fortress built on three sandstone pinnacles above the town of Saverne, which is outside Strasbourg. The castle was known, and still could be, as the Eye of Alsace as it was possible to see miles of the surrounding area, from the spire of the cathdral in Strasbourg to the Black Forest in Germany.
Erected in 1170 by the Bishop of Strasbourg to control the Zorn Valley, it was transformed and restored in the 16th century by Bishop Jean de Manderscheid, who frequently lived there, which becomes a critical part of the book.
A key feature of the castle is the Pont du Diable (Devil’s Bridge). The construction of this bridge spanning the void was so complicated that the bishop is said to have asked the devil himself to build it in exchange for the soul of the first man to cross the bridge. But it was a stray dog that he made go over it, angering the devil who stamped his foot so hard that he left his mark on the rock.
Palais Rohan sits across the plaza from the Cathedral. is the former residence of the prince-bishops and cardinals of the House of Rohan, an ancient French noble family originally from Brittany. It is a major architectural, historical, and cultural landmark in the city. It was built next to Strasbourg Cathedral in the 1730s, from designs by Robert de Cotte, and is considered a masterpiece of French Baroque architecture. Since its completion in 1742, the palace has hosted a number of French monarchs such as Louis XV, Marie Antoinette, Napoleon and Joséphine, and Charles X.
The palace has been transformed into three museums. We visited the Museum of Decorative arts on the ground floor, which contains many of the original furnishings. The museum houses parts of the first two versions of the astronomical part and plays a part in the story.
The palaces we visited were interesting, but I’ll take a good castle any day.
It would be interesting to see what is rattling around in your brain while visiting such unique places. Most tourist just nod and take another picture then move on.
We’ve corresponded before and I’m looking forward to this new book. I say new because it’s a little different location than I am use to for you. I’m in Texas and flying back to Orlando tonight and on to The Villages. Storm Keep reminded me of the Coral Castle in Homestead, FL. A day trip for you and a very interesting place to visit. Maybe a site for a future book! Good luck!