Schloss Burg in Solingen
Cultural site, experience destination and landmark
The high castle in the Bergisches Land awaits with a unique, panoramic view. Using an App, visitors can explore the museum and the other rooms of the castle. It is easy to get to by chairlift. Events such as open air concerts and jousting tournaments, which take place all year round, invite you to stay a while.
Anyone who takes Germany’s oldest double chairlift from the district of Unterburg to Oberburg in order to get to the castle above will know what treasures await after the climb of 91 metres in altitude. The scenery at the mountain summit is breathtaking. Your gaze falls upon the gentle Wupper river and then floats over the broad expanse of hills and valleys in the distance. No wonder Adolf II von Berg chose it as his family’s permanent seat in about 1130.
But Schloss Burg is not just worth visiting for the unique panorama and remarkable histories of its lords – including Count Adolf V von Berg, who conferred the status of a city on Düsseldorf. Nowadays, the complex is a Bergisches Land landmark, a real tourist magnet and an experience destination. The Bergische Museum is located behind the mighty walls of the restored fortress, which was still called Burg Neuenberge up until the 15th century, fell to ruin from the 17th to the 19th century and was finally rebuilt in the historical style from 1890 by an association and lots of helpers.
Visitors can find out more about the history of the castle and exhibits such as historical weapons, large wall paintings and silver cups on a tour with a museum guide, mobile phone or tablet. Since 2015, the central complex with its ancestral portrait gallery, bower, chapel, armoury and battlements can be explored virtually using an App with augmented reality and 360 degree views. Important personalities such as the former lord of the castle tell fascinating anecdotes on the mobile devices. For example, in the knights’ hall they tell of important events such as the Battle of Worringen in 1288.
Culture buffs also get their money’s worth through a wide range of event formats. Spooky tours terrify even the most fearless modern day knights. Feasts make gourmets’ hearts leap for joy. Craft and medieval markets impress with a wide range of offerings.
The absolute highpoints of the year, however, are the open air concerts in the inner courtyard, comedy evenings in the hall and jousting tournaments that spread out over the entire complex. The historical castle walls lend the events a very special charm.