Idar-Oberstein Castle Ruins and Church in the Rock

In the town of Idar-Oberstein there is a castle atop a cliff. Part of the castle is in ruins, but part of it has been maintained and is furnished. You can tour the castle for free although they do accept donations and have a few items for sale in the lobby. There is a modern pay toilet in the basement of the castle. You can drive right up to the castle and park in the courtyard. There is also a touristy souvenir shop right next door but they have very good prices on their items.

There were grapes growing inside the courtyard.

There was a birds nest inside one of the windows. 

This was one of the original toilets 

We made sure to sign the guest book.

The lady at the souvenir shop was very helpful. She gave us a map and directions to get to the church from the castle. We drove down the road a little way and were able to park fairly close to the church so we didn't have to climb the hundreds of steps up the mountain to get to it.

The prices for the church

There were still a lot of steps to climb to get up inside the church

Inside the church

Out on the balcony

We signed this guestbook too

The view of Idar-Oberstein from the balcony