Pfalzgrafenstein, a photo from Rheinland-Pfalz, West

Photographer's Note

This shot of Pfalzgrafenstein was taken through the raindrops on a cloudy and cool German summer day.
Burg Pfalzgrafenstein is a toll castle on the Falkenau island, otherwise known as Pfalz Island in the Rhine river near Kaub, Germany. Known as "the Pfalz", this former stronghold is famous for its picturesque and unique setting.
Its keep, a pentagonal tower with its point upstream, was erected 1326 to 1327 by King Ludwig the Bavarian. Around the tower, a defensive hexagonal wall was built between 1338 to 1340. In 1477 Pfalzgrafenstein was passed as deposit to the Count of Katzenelnbogen[1]. Later additions were made in 1607 and 1755, consisting of corner turrets, the gun bastion pointing upstream, and the characteristic baroque tower cap.
The castle functioned as a toll-collecting station that was not to be ignored, as it worked in concert with Burg Gutenfels and the fortified town of Kaub on the right side of the river. A chain across the river forced ships to submit, and uncooperative traders could be kept in the dungeon until a ransom was delivered. The dungeon was a wooden float in the well.
Unlike the vast majority of Rhine castles, "the Pfalz" was never conquered or destroyed, withstanding not only wars, but also the natural onslaughts of ice and floods by the river. Its spartan quarters held about twenty men.

snunney, tedesse, buscape, Buin, bema, Charo, ElAprendiz, carper, danasam, jlbrthnn, jlynx, feather, danos, phwall, jhm, Clementi, UlfE, PaulVDV, Cricri, Jakab ha puntuado esta nota como útil.

Critiques | Translate

snunney (130967) 2008-08-17 6:59

Hello Asa,
A great capture of this delightful little castle that looks as if it belongs in a book of fairy tales. The pour weather makes for a particular atmosphere and pleasing soft colours.

tedesse (25147) 2008-08-17 7:18

Hello!
Excellent composition,beautiful old castle,lovely colours and interesting note.
Greetings
Tadeusz

Buin (42580) 2008-08-17 7:23

Hallo Asa!
Competitors never sleep...! ;-) You caught two castles in one picture - great! This shows the wonderful atmosphere of this gorgeous landscape very well. One really has the impression of a stone ship - isn't it!?
Have a good week!
Greetings from Germany - about 150 km away from Pfalzgrafenstein!
Frank

buscape (6219) 2008-08-17 7:47

Hello Asa,
very good POV for Pfalzgrafenstein with the other castle in the back. I also like the colours and sharpness, though it was a rainy day.
Greetings from Germany
Helmut

jurek1951 (42198) 2008-08-17 8:35

Hi Asa,
Excellent view and details of this beautiful
castle.Excellent composition with POV,amazing colours and perspective.
Georg

bema (26591) 2008-08-17 10:53

Hi Asa,

nearly everbody, who had the chance to come there through needs to make a picture of this famous landscape and castle; your picture is a fine one, taken by bad conditions, nevertheless it´s a charming compostion..well done
and best regards Bernd

Uhu (8609) 2008-08-17 12:05

Classic Germany here - castle after castle! Very, very good photo of the interesting place! I'll like to visit this place someday. As well as hundreds other places there.
Very good photo!

Charo (51290) 2008-08-17 16:49

Hello Asa,
I also photographed this beautiful castle and small-office. It is close to what I suppose sacaste sailing in a boat on the Rhine.
Excellent definition and depth to another castle in the background.
Best regards,
Charo

ElAprendiz (30) 2008-08-17 19:23

Hello Asa:

It is a pity that the sky, you have not worked for this shot, but no doubt that the architectural aspect of the work is beautiful and striking.

The shade of the facade, with the slope of substance, identified a significant composition, in a perfect frame.

John

Nicou (193806) 2008-08-18 0:43

Hello,

mangigique château,, avec un autre à l'arrière, posée au milieu de rhin, le blanc et ris ressortent à merveille, superbe.

Bravo et amitié

Nicou

carper (96) 2008-08-18 3:29

ah I saw yesterday this castle for the first time by a photo of Frank Kaiser.
It is a very nice castle in the middle of the river. good pov and very nice to see it, thanks for sharing. Have anice day.
gr. jaap

jplebrun (21208) 2008-08-18 3:57

Bonjour Asa
de toute beauté ce château blanc construit au bord de l'eau, bien vu.
Amitiés
Jean-Pierre

danasam (1075) 2008-08-18 5:04

Hi Asa, very good POV and excellent contrast. although there it is a cloudy day but you managed to improve the colors of this photo well. well done.
Sam.

jlbrthnn (76043) 2008-08-18 5:06

Hello Asa,
The colors are the first thing which astonishes on this beautiful building. It is a perfection, one to plair to discover it. The fortress in background is quite as interesting. It is damage which the weather was not favorable. A very beautiful image.
Have a nice day
Cordially Joël

feather (51130) 2008-08-18 6:39

What a pity your travels did not give you better weather as this looks like a wonderful place and you are showing us two castles "for the price of one". The architecture is beautiful and they obviously keep it in pristine condition.
Kath

danos (110407) 2008-08-18 10:17

hello Asa,
splendid shot of a splendid presentation of this strange pentagonal tower.I like the clear and vivid colors,as the sharpness and the clarity of the scene.The razor sharp focus is excellent and i like your composition and choice of POV, as the placement of the scene.Well done.

Regards,Danos

rossofuoco (7398) 2008-08-18 11:52

Hi Asa.
Bella foto di architettura con bei colori e ottima composizione.
Ciao Renzo

phwall (6787) 2008-08-18 14:21

Hello Asa,
Lovely uncluttered shot of this picturesque little castle, good sharp detail throughout the entire image.
Informative note as well.
cheers
Peter

jlynx (12647) 2008-08-19 0:50

Hello Asa,
You performed with the Frank (Buin) the travel of the same day? The following time today I rate the photo with this small castellated manor in the main part. At you the more narrow picture , more collected on the exhibition of the architecture of castle Pfalzgrafenstein. Impressive photo - a little central picture, but very well showing small architectural details.
Best regards from Poznan,
Jurek

jhm (211734) 2008-08-19 4:31

Hello Asa,

I saw yesterday on TE the same place with the same Pfalzgrafenstein, more landscape picture than these.
You gives more detail and taken the picture closer.
Great composition and excellent presentation, TFS.

Best regards,
John.

UnTrained (0) 2008-08-19 6:12

Hi Asa,
less luck with the weather but you achieved with the colours of the "Pfalz" to make it outstanding against the background. Good POV from the ship in fine sharpness done.
Lieben Gruss, Ulf

Clementi (52514) 2008-08-19 13:37

Ciao Asa,
nice shot,interesting place,with this the weather you have been able to create a beautiful atmosphere with some beautiful colours. very beautiful the building architectures.
nice work
Giorgio

UlfE (14641) 2008-08-19 22:42

Hi Asa,

This is an excellent rainy day shot. This white tower looks great against the green-greyish background. I also like the atmosphere of a a quiet rainy day with no wind. TFS and have a nice day!

Cheers,

Ulf

PixelTerror (0) 2008-08-20 2:57

Hi Asa,
Too bad this weather, dull sky is always a sh*, however the white and red of the castle are popping out, but given the conditions maybe a sepia alternative ?
Have a nice day JY

emka (157280) 2008-08-20 9:23

Hi Asa,
Splendid photo of the stone ship in the Rhine Valley. It is a pity there was no sun, but the colours are OK. Beautiful roof with small towers. Have you gone with a ship along Rhine? The cruises are so attractive, with all those castles and Lorelei. Thanks for sharing. You remembered me the time I was there in 1980.

Malgorzata

PaulVDV (62810) 2008-08-20 12:34

Hello Asa,
A beautiful architecture and landscape picture.
Despite the bad weather (it was the same here) the white and red of this interesting toll castle make the pic very beautiful and contrast nice with the dark hill and fields.
Best regards, Paul

Disabled_A (0) 2008-08-20 22:53

Hello Asa,
interesting composition, nice colours (even despite the fact that the sky is not blue), the castle looks like a toy castle somehow :) The red element of the castle adds some "sunshine" to the photo :)
best regards,
Elena

Greg1949 (9011) 2008-08-21 8:45

Asa, very nice capture, the colors are really super on the fort and it is obvious that on a good day it has many potentially harsh elements to deal with. Fine note as well. Well seen and captured.

Greg

chinchini (31529) 2008-08-21 9:35

Bonjour Asa,
Tu n'as pas eu meilleur temps que Frank (Buin) lors de la prise de vue de ce magnifique château sur le Rhin. Etant blanc, il ressort majestueusement de ce décor gris. Que dire si le soleil avait été de la partie ?
Deux châteaux en un, il fallait quand même le faire ;o)
Surperbe publication bien expliquée.
Pierre

Cricri (176) 2008-08-21 10:40

Hi Asa,
Une vue intéressante de ce château a l'architecture particuliére et belle, un contraste avec celui en arriére plan aux alentout bien agréable
Friendship
cricri

tomi1 (2200) 2008-08-21 13:19

Oeiras,21-8-2008
Asa Jernigan
I had the opportunity to travel by train along the rhein river. It is the first time I see this villages`name Kaub. I was in Trechetingshausen near Niederheimbach. These are small villages indeed. Bigen and Mainz are the main cities nearby. The castle in the river must have very good structures to support the floods. Really constructions that amaze us. This one surely belonged to rich people. I think to Ludwig King. Fortunatelly the wars did not damage it. Regards. Domingos

molla (7129) 2008-08-21 23:02

Hej Asa,
I really like the composition on this one.
The "castle" makes a sharp contrast to left agaist the dark green shadowed trees and floating out in the BG slopes to the right wich makes the a different DOF and the photo more interesting.
Tjingeling
Anders

flatwin (2181) 2008-08-23 23:39

bonjour,

bel édifice riche en couleurs avec de nombreux détails

Arnaud

COSTANTINO (115605) 2008-08-25 2:06

Hello my friend,
Excellent presentation of this marvellous
castle of old times,warm colous ad interesting
tones...The weather gives something special
to this scenery and you can feel it..
regards
Costantino

Jakab (3867) 2008-08-28 13:13

Hello Asa,
Pfalzgrafenstein seems to be the TE meeting point this year! (Unfortunately we were not really succesful at adjusting the time table, both you and Frank came too late.) I like the vivid contrast between the castle and the surroundings.
Best whishes
Laszlo

wolf38 (30) 2008-08-29 10:01

Hello Asa. What for a motive. Everyone photographs it differently. With your photo the focus is on the castle, but one sees also still houses, vineyards etc. The close frameworks places however the actually important into the center. Outstanding. Informative text. Best regards, Wolfgang.

gunbud (34066) 2008-09-01 19:04

Hi Asa,
This beautiful German castle swith lovely lines and angles sits well against the towering hillside with its tilled green fields lovely river background.
Excellent colors and sharp details to this beauty.
Regards, Tom

mauro61 (53411) 2008-09-18 3:29

ciao Asa,
scatto molto bello col contrasto fra i due castelli....il rudere e il piccolo a valle molto ben curato.
Belli i colori e ottima gestione delle luci.
Ben fatto
saluti
maurizio