Travel Tips

To reach the swan-castle one has to first climb the 40 metres high hill that is in the centre of town. The foothpath winds around it like a snake, giving constant different views to the tower that dominates this little cliff.
That is actually also the meaning of the townname Kleve. In low-Diets (an early form of Dutch!) steep hills were called "kliff". Now-a-days in Dutch is became "klip" and in English it is "cliff". However ... here it became "Kleve", a wonderful town.

Along the journey upwards, one also has nice views over the surrounding town and one of the most spectacular ones is to the church "Our dear lady Mary ascention". Furthermore in the distance the green hills of the Kur-park are visible.

Finally we reach the hilltop and enter the castles domain. First we see the outercourt with it's elegant gallery. Also - roofed by a glass construction - one can see the remains of the initial castle that was here around the 10th century. The tower however collapsed in the 16th century and a new castle was built. By the way, the borough that is now there dates back to 1950, as when the Nazi-regime fell and the allied forces entered Germany, the center of Kleve was found completely detroyed. An airraid had finished everything.

Through a large gate one enters the innercourt. The text over the gate says "Amts- und Lantsgericht" which points out the fact that now-a-days, the castle is in use as being one of the higher courthouses of Germany: Land Rheinland-Westfalen.
On the Innercourt the eye is immediately drawn to the fountain on which top stands a wonderful swan (again remainding the visitor of the beautiful saga of Lohengrin - see "Must see activities"). Here one can also start the climb into the tower.

After the climb into the tower and enjoying the view from the top (inside are by the way several rooms telling the geological story of this part of Europe - the first room containing Mammoth-bones and head), we start the descent down the hill again. Behind us the castle and now clearly visible that the old Romanic-style part has been mixed with a more Barok-formed palace house.

When we drive out of kleve, one more time we look back and can clearly see the tower of the swan-castle above everything else. With the saga of the swan-knight Elijas Lohengrin in our mind ... we drive back home to Arnhem.