Built in 1067 high in the wooded mountains of the Thuringian forest this fortress was the seat of counts. A mecca for poets and minnesingers, it became the setting for the life and work of St Elizabeth with the poor and sick, then sheltered Martin Luther from persecution for a year in 1521, whose room we saw. Worth the long climb and hundreds of steps! We even climbed right up to the top of the tower, where we could see for miles, and there was our attic room far below. (Descend immediately if thunder and lightening approach we were warned, which actually was the case!)
