“ The original castle, of which some parts—including a portion of the above-mentioned palace (Landgrafenhaus) —still exist, was built by the landgrave Louis “the Springer” (d. 1123) , and from this time until 1440 it remained the seat of the Thuringian landgraves. Under the landgrave Hermann I., the Wartburg was the home of a boisterous court to which minstrels and “wandering folk” of all descriptions streamed ”

“ It was restored in the 18th century in the questionable taste of the period; but its present magnificence it owes to the grand-duke Charles Alexander of Saxe-Weimar, with whom at certain seasons of the year it was a favourite residence. ”