 Architect Bruno Schmitz drew up plans in accord with the late 19th century tradition of imperial grandeur, realized in massive stone structures like the Bavarian Walhalla memorial, the Hermannsdenkmal in the Teutoburg Forest, or the Niederwalddenkmal near Rüdesheim.The monument sits among the ruins (the upper and lower castle) of the medieval Imperial castle of Kyffhausen, that, built beginning around 1,000 CE, reached its maximal extent during the reign of the Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick I Barbarossa.Curious evidence of the medieval imperial castle has been preserved, such as the world's deepest castle well of depth.