Left, a view of the Niederburg from the hills to the north. This is the view from the trail leading from the village of Manderscheid to the upper castle. There are basically two ways to get to the upper castle. You can hike uphill from the lower castle (about 20-30 minutes) or you can park in a small lot on the edge of Manderscheid and hike about 10 minutes, with only a modest downhill and uphill climb.
Below, some views of the Oberburg keep, which is very unique in that it is diamond in shape.
Not much remains of the upper castle, partly because it was destroyed over 100 years prior to the demise of the lower castle. Because of this, no efforts were taken at restoration, since the Manderscheid family obviously viewed the upper castle as the symbol of a fierce competitor. As a consequence, the remains of the upper castle would have been used by the villagers as a quarry to collect stones for their own building projects. A few outer walls and building sections remain, but the primary remnant is the keep.
In the photo above a small metal plate is visible to the lower left. This is a reinforcement rod inserted through the structure to help maintain its integrity.
Above, a view of the entrance into the keep. The entrance pictured at left at ground level is almost certainly of recent origin.
Above, the ground level entrance and wooden stairs leading into the keep. This entrance is probably of recent origin, as most keeps had higher entrances and used the lower level as storage and a cistern. Therefore, when you enter the keep you are entering through the water storage section.
Right, what is left of the walls protecting the inner ward. The remnants of wall sections buried in the woods indicate that the upper castle was much larger than it first appears.
Right, one of the few sections remaining somewhat intact. The circular item at the bottom of the photo is a cistern that served the inner ward.
Below, at the top of the upper castle's keep. The damaged walls indicate the keep may have been taller, and probably included a roof.
Above, a portion of the rebuilt wooden stairs within the keep. This section is above the true entrance and thus follows the authentic layout.
Left, a zoom shot of the top of the tower of the lower castle. Note the stairway entrance and door. This tower had a roof as seen in the plate below that probably dates from about 1500.
