You’ll find the town of Morsbach in the refreshing Bergisches Land region, next to the Rhineland-Palatinate state; all sixty-six local shires of it.
While the town has been settled since the Stone Age (prehistoric tools have been found here), the Middle Ages made more of an impact on the layout of the place.
Look around many of Morbach’s villages and you’ll see plenty of half timbered buildings. Some great examples can be found on Bahnhofstraße 4, the Fachwerkhaus in Holpe, and the Rheinischer Hof. But, it’s not only those fairytale looking beauties from the time period that you’ll see. Morsbach’s got castles, too.
Sadly, you can’t get to see the inside of Burg Volperhausen (it is private property) but the outside view of this 15th century castle is impressive. It couldn’t withstand the Swedish Forces during the Thirty Years’ War, but the Counts von Hatzfelds did rebuild it to what you see today.
Another one is the water castle Krottorf, which means that this castle’s got a moat. But, this 12th century original (and its formidable walls and two towers) is known for its wonderful stucco artwork and castle park. Hey, at least you can see the inside of this one. :-)
But, if you want to see the ultimate in medieval architecture and art, it’s the 13th century St. Gertrude Romanesque Basilica that will have you speechless. Impressive isn’t strong enough a word for this grand stone church, gobsmacked or awestruck just might work.
Throughout the many hamlets of Morsbach, you’ll find numerous walking trails that will take you along farmland, countryside roads, and a mile marker (I mean kilometer marker) showing the distance to Rome in Italy. Wow, those Romans really got around!
So, if you got some time take a hop over here to Morsbach. With sixty-six local villages it could take a while and you never know what you might find. :-)
