This one was unexpected. We were driving towards Neuschweinstein Castle from Austria and all of a sudden we drove under this bridge:

We had to check this out, not knowing we were going to enjoy the famous highline 179 and visit the Ehrenberg ruins!

Want to know what we saw before you read on? Check out the video below!

We quickly turned the car and parked right in front of the main entrance to the establishment (car parking € 4,- for the whole day). Here we found what kind of massive place we stumbled upon. Burgenwelt Ehrenburg has several forts and castles in the surrounding area, all located to one another (see the map with all sights in the gallery below). We first walked through the old draw bridge entrance, known as Ehrenberger Klause which is a fortified building. There is a musuem you can visit housed within the walls of Ehrenberger Klause, walk over the bridge and visit the surrounding sights. We decided to go for the bridge only (and the ruins are free for everyone to visit once you are on top) which costed us € 14,- per person (entrance fee for the bridge and for the ride back and forth).

We decided to take the rail going up. This one was very cool looking! In about 2 minutes it takes you right up to the foot of the Ehrenburg castle ruins.

Of course we first went to the the highline 179. The bridge is built in 2004 and is 406 meters long and 113 meters from the ground. Yes, you read that right. You are 113 meters above the ground in the air! Standing at the beginning of the bridge cannot be described in words, only in pictures.

The walk is not for people who are afraid of heights. And the bridge is wobbly the more you get to the middle. But the views are awesome!

Once you reach the end you can visit Fort Claudia if you want. You can exit through the gate on the other side and come back to the bridge only once. There is an amazing viewing point towards the ruins and from the other side of the bridge.

Once back I decided to have a look at the ruins of the castle. A lot of the inner and outer walls still remain, and they made a nice pathway which guides you through the entire ruins. Pretty neat to see this medieval castle from up close! You start at the outer gate which dates back to the year 1629-1632.

After that it is a nice short hike through a castle which first origin dates back to 1290! Most of the fortifications date from the 1600’s. The view towards the mountain range is also pretty nice!

Back at the lower level of the castle you can enter the armory which has a movie about the history of the time the castle is from for kids, and the history of the castle and its surroundings is explained in great detail. Certainly worth a quick stop before you take the ride back to ground level to educate yourself about the history of this magnificent place.

We spend around 2 to 3 hours enjoying the views, bridge and ruins before we went back to our car to continue our journey. Definitely recommend stopping here if you are in the area!