Burg Frankenstein

Say the word Frankenstein and the one image that usually comes to mind is....

...this version of Frankenstein's monster, Boris Karloff from the 1931 film. 

But in the Frankfurt area, it also brings to mind Burg Frankenstein, the ruins of a 13th century castle located near Darmstadt.  On the way home from our very first trip to Heidelberg in September, 2007, we passed a sign for Burg Frankenstein.  "Do you think that is the Frankenstein?" I asked.

The answer to that question is "Maybe, maybe not." But we couldn't drive past that sign again without making a detour to see the castle for ourselves.

Fifteen minutes south of Frankfurt, a winding road takes you up a mountain to the ruins of a castle called Frankenstein. An original fortress was first built in the 10th century and the current castle was constructed beginning in the 13th century with additions in the next two hundred years. Abandoned as a residence in the late 1600's, it served for a while as a prison and then was completely forgotten and has been a ruin ever since with some walls, an intact though damaged distinctive tower and a small chapel, said to be haunted.

Mary Shelley began writing Frankenstein in 1816 in Switzerland and most of the story takes place in Switzerland, the Alps, and on a ship. The author, however, was reported to have visited the Darmstadt area during a boat trip along the Rhine River in 1814.

Her visit may have been prompted by a tale related by her stepmother, an English translator for the Brothers Grimm fairy tales, according to Walter Scheele, German author of two books on Burg Frankenstein. In a letter Jacob Grimm wrote to Shelley’s stepmother in 1813, he described that years before, alchemist Johann Konrad Dippel, who was born at and lived in Burg Frankenstein, had performed strange medical experiments with cadavers he removed from nearby cemeteries.

According to Scheele, many believe it was this legend that inspired Mary Shelley to pen the renowned horror story.

Conventional wisdom holds that any connection between Mary Shelley and Burg Frankenstein is tenuous at best.  Shelley never mentioned visiting Darmstadt in her journals and she rarely spoke with her stepmother.

In 1976, American soldiers founded an annual Halloween festival at the castle which became one of the biggest Halloween festivals in Europe. We toyed with idea of visiting the castle last year on Halloween, but reports were that the festivities were too scary for kids under 16.

Whether or not Shelley was inspired by this castle or its name, we can say in all truthfulness and certainty, "We visited Frankenstein Castle."