Wolfenstein has other meanings. See Wolfenstein (disambiguation) for other uses. This article is about the castle. You may be looking for the very first Wolfenstein game - Castle Wolfenstein
Castle Wolfenstein as appears in main menu of Xbox port of RtCW
Castle Wolfenstein (German: Schloss Wolfenstein) is the setting of Castle Wolfenstein, Wolfenstein 3D, Return to Castle Wolfenstein and Wolfenstein: The Old Blood. The game series is named after it. Castle Wolfenstein does not appear in the 2009 Wolfenstein, though the city of Isenstadt has a Castle of its own.
Castle Wolfenstein
The first appearance of Castle Wolfenstein is in the game of the same name. There are several different versions of the game and different artwork portrayals of the exterial of the castle both from artwork and ingame images. In Beyond Castle Wolfenstein, the Allied Soldier moved on to Berlin, in an attempt to kill Adolf Hitler.
Wolfenstein 3D
Wolfenstein 3D (DOS)/Third Encounter
Castle Wolfenstein on Wolfenstein 3D storyboard
The first episode in the game, Escape from Wolfenstein, starts out with B.J. Blazkowicz in Castle Wolfenstein, and the first episode is all about making his escape. The end boss for the episode is Hans Grösse, a large, dual Chain Gun-wielding opponent. Upon defeating Grösse, B.J. exits the castle and concludes the episode. It's implied that Castle Wolfenstien lies outside of Germany proper according to the official Hintbook, he 'returns to Germany' after his escape to take on Castle Hollehammer.
Original Encounter/First/Second Encounter
Original Encounter Scenario on 3DO Wolfenstein selection screen.
The 6th mission of the Mac Family games has B.J. traveling to Castle Wolfenstein to attempt the assassination on Hitler. This marks his 'original encounter' with the Fuhrer.
After the blows the allies have dealt to his plans over the previous month (most recently at Castle Heidenheim), Hitler waged desperate, brutal war upon the allies. He began attacking civilian targets and had to be stopped. He had fallen back to his last stand, in the legendary Nazi keep known as Wolfenstein. B.J. was ordered to seek him out and stop his destruction. He was ordered to terminate Hitler, because millions of lives lay in the balance (while it seemed initially successful, Hitler survived, and started his next operations to spread the Nazi across Europe). Blazkowicz would later right the Fuhrer again in Episode 3 of Wolfenstein 3D/the 3rd Encounter (Mac Family).
Spear of Destiny
The back box art of Spear of Destiny states that the Spear is "secured in the impregnable Castle Wolfenstein". This appears to be merely a mistake, as numerous other sources name Castle Nuremberg as the setting.
Return to Castle Wolfenstein
The castle at the start of the game
A map of Castle Wolfenstein
Castle Wolfenstein is located in the Harz mountains of Northern Germany, and is the property of Heinrich Himmler. Wolfenstein was used by the Nazis as a base as they searched for the burial site of Heinrich I. It was also a prison facility and featured its own torture room for interrogating prisoners. The castle was only accessible by a tram station that connected it to the nearby village of Wulfburg. The castle looms on a mountain above both Wulfburg and the other nearby village of Paderborn.
The castle's newly designed prison/dungeons were believed to be escape-proof until OSA agent B.J. Blazkowicz escaped from his cell and fought his way to the tram station before escaping the castle itself (according to the RTCW strategy guide B.J. had escaped the prison at least once before during the events of Wolfenstein 3.D., and this was his second time infiltrating the castle, see Operation Return to Castle Wolfenstein). Many Nazi guards and officers were killed during the skirmish which led to the base being reinforced.
By the time Blazkowicz returns, the castle had been invaded by zombies, presumably as a side effect of the ceremony designed to resurrect Heinrich. The original garrison had either fled or were killed during the attack. A large number of Black Guards and Elite Guards were attempting to clear the castle of the undead. Heinrich Himmler may have been in the castle at the start of the attack but escaped and was able to witness Heinrich's resurrection. Blazkowicz was forced to fight his way through both the invading undead and the high-level Nazis on his way to the Dig Site to sabotage their operation and kill Heinrich I.
According to the strategy guide, the name "Return to Castle Wolfenstein" is literally a reference to Wolfenstein 3D and B.J.'s previous escape from the castle, see Operation Return to Castle Wolfenstein and Welcome Back, Soldier.
MachineGames
Trivia
- Castle Wolfenstein is inspired by Castle Wewelsburg, the castle of Heinrich Himmler which lies near Paderborn district in real-life. It was a center for Nazi occultism.
- The castle also was likely inspired by castle Schloss Adler from Where Eagles Dare. The Schloss Adler was itself based off the Hohenwerfen Castle in Austria.
- Despite castle's name being "Wolfenstein" (English: Wolfstone) it almost never refers to wolves in any way in any game in the series. The animal that seems more related to the castle is boar which sculptures are seen in some places in Wolfenstein: The Old Blood. The only thing connected to the castle and wolves is the name of the first part of The Old Blood: called Rudi Jäger and the Den of Wolves, which takes place in the Castle Wolfenstein and refers Kampfhunds as these animals.
- if the player Interacts with an out-of-place human skull within one of the bedrooms in the castle itself in The Old Blood, B.J will pick it up and then say “Alas, Poor Yorick.”. this is a reference to Hamlet, a play by William Shakespear.
See also
References
Gallery
Return to Castle Wolfenstein
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