There seems to be a surplus of “Medieval Festivals” in the area lately so my girls and I decided to go check it out. I was thinking more along the lines of the Renaissance Festival that I attended in Georgia in my twenties….music, large mugs of beer and even larger drumsticks (chicken and turkey I believe). It was kind of the same but also very different.

Middle Ages Revive

The Lichtenberg Castle let the Middle Ages revive itself with this Medieval Market. Vendors and actors in costumes demonstrated what life was like during this time.

Knights demonstrated fights in their camps and artisans presented skills such as blacksmithing, shoemaking and broom making. As if that wasn’t enough entertainment, jugglers and fire-eaters along with music groups were located in various places throughout the grounds.

Items for Sale

And of course, there were many items for sale. These are the usual things from other markets such as crafts, soaps and jewelry.

This market also had a couple of interesting additions, which led to my daughters insisting that they must own a “medieval” costume. I was firm in my decision that said costume would never be worn again and it was a purchase they would need to make with their own money. If you are a parent, you will already know that we left without costumes.

A Bite to Eat

We did take some time to sit with the locals and talk about the usual things…why we live in Germany, how do we like living in Germany, why do we not speak German and why do we take pictures of Germans eating their food. All in all, my new German friend was a good sport and even offered to share a taste of his champignons (mushrooms) with garlic cream sauce. I declined but appreciated the gesture. By the way, if you ever get the chance, try these at a festival. They are delicious!

Last but not least, they were offering Baumstriezel. Unfortunately, the line for these was almost 30 minutes and it was starting to rain so we had to skip this treat.

How to Get There

The Lichtenberg Castle address is:
Burgstraße 12
66871 Thallichtenberg

The castle is just over 35 minutes northwest of Kaiserslautern, 1 hour and 30 minutes southwest of Wiesbaden and 2 hours and 37 minutes northwest of Stuttgart. For train information to the town of Thallichtenberg, click on DB Bahn.

Author’s Profile: Cheryl Koller is a native of Georgia. She is a DOD spouse, mom of 4 daughters (2 adults, 2 teens), thrill-seeker, avid traveler, and lover of food and wine. She is a self-proclaimed Freedom-Preneur and Blogger currently living in Ramstein with her family.

Featured Image Photo Credit: © Cheryl Koller