The Sentinel

A statue just outside the second gateway of the Cochem Castle in Germany. That's the Mosel river in the background, with a low-lying cloud just creeping up the valley. The castle was built around 1020, although very little of the original stonework remains after the castle was set on fire, undermined and eventually blown up by the French troops in 1689. It was rebuilt between 1874-1877, and although they kept as true to the original as possible, the outer appearance of the castle was given an in vogue Gothic look while the insides were kept in their initial medieval style.