The great castle of Thuron well merits its name of “the Throne Castle;” it stands on the heights above Alken, which is a considerable village at a short distance from Brodenbach.
At Alken.
At Alken, and in the vicinity, many Roman coins, coffins, and pieces of armour, have been found; so it is probably a place of considerable antiquity. It is sheltered by a bold rock that juts into the stream, and was connected with the castle of Thuron by a line of towers, which still remain standing in the surrounding vineyards.
On the preceding page we have given a sketch of one of the little chapels, with a line of shrines on each side of the steps that lead up to it; these shrines and chapels form a leading feature in the Moselle scenery. Nestled under the side of the hill on which the great castle of Thuron stands, this little chapel, with its sharp-pointed spire, is in fine contrast to the huge cliff and massive walls; but there is a look of age about it and the old houses near which renders the whole scene in perfect keeping.
On leaving the river to explore our way up to Thuron, we enter one of those beautiful valleys into which the hills so constantly break; a clear trout-stream runs through it, and the mountains close it in on all sides.
One or two labourers are past, a “good day” exchanged, and then we commence the ascent, which is long and steep. The path lies through a wood, and not a single person did we meet in our walk, after leaving the valley, until on the top of the hill we found some wood-gatherers. Here the castle with its two towers appeared; it is the most stately ruin we ever saw, very extensive, grandly placed, and so inaccessible, that when we arrived at the base of its outer wall we could not get in.
Thuron Castle.