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Today, the castle's crumbling walls extend from high ramparts down into the red roofs of the village below. The calls of sparrow hawks mingle with the distant rush of the Neckar. The Oberrauner family, which manages the huge castle complex, lives in the building over the main gate. Margret runs the reception desk, while husband Josef is in charge of the kitchen. The eight rooms in the main castle building have better river views and a bit more character--cherry-stained furniture, gauzy curtains pinnacled over the headboards, and subtle designs carved into the stone windowsills--than the 17 largely modern rooms in the Marstall, the quaint old stable down the hill. Most guests spend their time ensconced with a mug of beer or glass of Riesling on the dining terrace, which juts from the main building like the prow of a ship, providing amazing views up the swift river. Hirschhorn (between Würzburg and Mannheim), 011-49/6272-92-090, castle-hotel.de, from $132.

Kommende Ramersdorf

CASTLE HOTELS OF GERMANY See more beautiful photos of Germany's castle hotels • Launch the slide show SEPTEMBER 2006 ISSUE • Table of Contents: September 2006 • Australia: The Great Ocean Walk • Germany Castles • Road Trip: Lake Champlain • Trip Coach: Jamaica • 40 Best Vacations

In a suburb just across the Rhine from downtown Bonn, a city with a population of more than 300,000, the Kommende Ramersdorf is surrounded by a thick forest, adding that crucial fairy-tale barrier from the outside world. At the end of a short drive, the woods open up to reveal a mishmash of Renaissance turrets and baroque spires, the result of the castle's late-19th-century remodeling. Past the gatehouse, the grassy grounds are dotted with a stone bench under a tree here, a stone sculpture there. Stretching back from the castle is a long, U-shaped brick building--the former stable--with a French restaurant downstairs and a second story converted into guest quarters. Antiques in rooms have lovely carved or inlaid details. The tiny windows don't let in much light, making large and bright room No. 1 the best of the bunch. The aging baths are a bit stodgy, though perfectly serviceable. The main part of the castle--a warren of rooms maintained in a kind of dusty splendor--hosts conferences and serves as a display for antique furniture (mostly Biedermeier) and artwork up for sale. One drawback: A busy road runs past the property, and though guests can't see the road from the castle, there is a distant hum of traffic much of the day. Thankfully, the noise disappears by late evening. Oberkasseler Strasse 10, Bonn Ramersdorf (across from Bonn), schlosshotel-kommende-ramersdorf.de, 011-49/228-440-736, from $110.

Castle Liebenstein

Staying at Liebenstein feels a bit like you've been invited to your eccentric Uncle Günther's ramshackle country castle. The grounds are a glorious mess of romantically crumbling stone walls, ramparts, towers, and gateways. One steep-roofed building slumps against a central stone tower. Low ceilings and cramped spiral staircases keep guests hunched over, and everything--doorways, steps, floors, and hallways--is slightly askew. Kids will love hunting for ghosts and discovering hidden passages. The Gothic-arch motifs set into dark wood furnishings are painted bright blue and red. Random suits of armor and crossed swords decorate the stucco walls of the restaurant, which offers sweeping Rhine views and schnitzel-and-sausage cuisine. The breakfast-room windows also take in the river, past a foreground of trees, broken walls, and the white tower of Sterrenberg, the "enemy brother" castle next door. The lore holds that, back in the late Middle Ages, Liebenstein was built for the younger of two brothers whose feud over a woman split the Sterrenberg line forever. Kamp-Bornhofen (near Koblenz), 011-49/6773-251, castle-liebenstein.com, from $105.

Burg Veldenstein

The 1,100-year-old Veldenstein is owned by the state of Bavaria. The giant Kaiser brewery occupies a quarter of the little pastel-housed village in the valley below the castle walls. Appropriately, the local brew goes well with the castle's hearty German food, served on warmer days at outdoor picnic benches. During meals Oliver and Katrin Betzelt, who've managed the property since 1988, joke with guests and take turns chasing out the black spaniel and bobtailed cat that sneak in to beg for scraps.

Veldenstein doesn't have the fanciest of interiors. Most of the rooms directly beneath the peaked red roof are rather bland. Some rooms on the floor below have a bit more style--half-tester beds with fabric draped above the heads or, even better, a canopy bed surrounded by wood furnishings. A stay here is all about the simple pleasures of small-town life--climbing the tower for panoramic views or meandering along the weed-choked ramparts to sit on an old soldier's bench and watch fishermen work the lazy bends of the Pegnitz River. Burgstrasse 12, Neuhaus auf der Pegnitz (east of Nürnberg), 011-49/9156-633, burghotel-veldenstein.de, from $65.

Schloss Hohenstein

High in the hills above the city of Coburg, several miles down a twisting country lane from the village of Haarth, lies the Hohenstein, a Renaissance castle completely rebuilt after its 14th-century incarnation was burned to the foundations during the farmer revolt of 1525. After World War II the castle served as a retirement home for (extremely lucky) postal workers, and in the early 1990s the Hohenstein was converted into a hotel. A long gravel driveway curls to a wide stone staircase and the guard tower's gargantuan front door, surrounded by ivy. A friendly black-and-white cat named Susi greets arrivals and follows whoever pays her the most attention to their room, to try to cadge a spot on the bed for the evening. Past the guard tower lies a courtyard that's a study in different types of German castle architecture: a mélange of half-timbered walls, craggy medieval towers, wrought-iron lamps, flying staircases, gutter spouts sculpted into dragons' heads, and baroque stonework. The only sight that somewhat spoils the mood is the modern glassed-in porch of the restaurant, a popular spot for locals celebrating special occasions. The restaurant's chefs, Michael Kötterl and Stefan Wandt, prepare gourmet German and French cuisine that matches the royal surroundings.

The 13 guest rooms are scattered throughout the complex, and each is unique. A few, including the Lichtenstein Suite, are riots of gilded rococo stuccowork and crystal chandeliers. A favorite is the Freiherrenzimmer, a sizable chamber with a high wood-beamed ceiling, plank floors, and 17th-century windows set with painted glass medallions. The extensive wooded grounds, laid out in the 18th century in a Romantic style, are littered with mossy low ramparts, tumbledown outbuildings, and lichen-spotted statues. Hohenstein (outside Coburg, north of Würzburg), 011-49/9565-949-494, schloss-hohenstein.de, from $142.