Burgfalknerei Hohenbeilstein

This place got two activities 1. Demonstration of birds lives and its characteristics and nature of its living. Demonstration is only in German so please bring a translator or friend with you who can translate. In my personal opinion entry fee of 11 Eur per person is quite expensive for this place. 2. The place has a small zoo, which is quite different here. Eagle, Owl etc

Beautiful vineyards and excellent wines

Burg Hohenbeilstein is fronted by a picturesque winery. You are somebody when your turrets sport dragon spigots. That probably comes castle estate status. A segment of leftover town wall links the estate with the castle. The somewhat shamefaced building commission, a wheelchair correct access is in the works. (The main gate to the falconry is wheelchair rated.) The 'Forstlagerbuch' from Andreas Kieser (Württemberg's version of the Doomsdaybook done after the 30 Years War) shows a roughly triangular town wall defined by three anchor points, the Hohenbeilstein at the hilltop and two gatetowers on the valley side. Shorthand, a Roman balance loaded on one side by a bucket full of half-timbered houses and on the other by a castle. The winery and a church halfway up the hill did mark the fulcrum points. The trickle irrigation (the black hoses) looks state of the art. View from the battlements. Burg Lichtenberg is in hailing distance. Both castles date from the Staufic period. Some differences in building material. Sandstone (Lichtenberg) versus limestone (Hohenbeilstein). Not the same in atmosphere. The odds were heavily stacked against anything surviving in organic form. A scaled down version of these baseball hoops were once used to secure flagpoles. Honi soi qui mal y pense. The castle hosts a falconry. The billed aerial acrobatics are in keeping with the Staufic tradition. Military type security. No close-up pictures, no videos. Downtown, the door hinge of this vintern house is nearly as hobnail studded as a Roman sandal.(The door had to be large enough to allow wine barrels to pass.) Spotted between Oberstenfeld and Beilfeld, a black market in ping pong tables.

The falconry seems permanently closed, but we visited Mayers Burgrestaurant. Excellent dishes, well worth the high price. Very friendly and competent staff. Nice beergarden, with large trees providing shade from the sun.

Very nice place, clean rooms, amazing breakfast, joghurt, butter, fruits jam all are home made, the view from the kitchen terrace on the lake is amazing, free parking and wifi

Wonderful experience, the birds flew close to the spectators. I could feel the air move...

Places like these should be forbidden by law. Majestic birds from around the world that normally have hunting grounds of a few square kilometres (don't get fooled by the nursery nonsense - these are not local orphan birds) are caged in the small and dirty cubicles.. for what? To entertain stupid tourists with their misery. I hoped these 'zoos' finished in the previous century, but this one somehow survived. Anti-educational spot on the map. Shame. On a bright side nice vineyard and herbal garden.

A great performance. Very informative if you speak German....which I don't but I had my partner who does so I didn't miss anything. Food was fantastic at the restaurant. Great views from the old castle looking over the town below.