Learn Hardcore German: Damals war die Burg für mich riesig, und ich hatte Angst vor dem hohen Turm. - Back then the castle seemed huge to me, and I was afraid of the tall tower.

German main clauses normally follow the verb‑second rule: one element (time, place, subject, etc.) comes first, and the conjugated verb is in second position.

In your sentence:

Damals = element 1 (time)
war = element 2 (verb)
die Burg… = everything else

Starting with Damals puts emphasis on the time in the past (“at that time…”). Starting with Die Burg would put a bit more focus on the castle itself.

So:

Damals war die Burg für mich riesig – Focus on back then.
Die Burg war damals für mich riesig – Focus slightly more on the castle (but the difference is subtle).

What is the difference between damals and früher?

Both refer to the past, but the nuance is slightly different:

damals = “at that time”, usually referring to a specific period or situation that is somehow clear from context.
- Example: Damals, als ich ein Kind war, war die Burg für mich riesig.
früher = “in the past / formerly / in earlier times”, often more general or less sharply defined.
- Example: Früher hatte ich Angst vor hohen Türmen. (I used to be afraid of high towers.)

You could say Früher war die Burg für mich riesig, but damals sounds a bit more like you’re pointing to one particular time in your life.

Why is it die Burg but dem hohen Turm? Why do the articles change?

Two different things are going on:

Gender (grammatical)
- Burg is feminine: die Burg (nominative singular).
- Turm is masculine: der Turm (nominative singular).
Case
- die Burg is the subject of the verb war → nominative: die Burg.
- dem hohen Turm comes after vor, and vor in this meaning (“afraid of something”) always takes the dative case.

Dative singular for a masculine noun:

Article: dem (from der)
Noun: Turm → stays Turm

So:

Subject: die Burg (feminine, nominative)
Object of vor: dem Turm (masculine, dative)

Why is it für mich riesig and not just riesig or sehr groß?

All three are possible, but they say slightly different things:

Die Burg war riesig.
→ The castle was huge (stated more like an objective fact).
Die Burg war sehr groß.
→ The castle was very big (a bit more neutral than riesig).
Die Burg war für mich riesig.
→ “The castle was huge for me,” emphasizing that from the speaker’s perspective as a child it felt huge, even if in reality it might not be.

So für mich adds the nuance: “in my perception / in my eyes.” That matches nicely with the idea of remembering childhood impressions.

Why is riesig without an ending, while hohen has an -en ending?

This is the difference between:

Predicative adjectives (after sein, werden, bleiben, etc.)
- No endings, no matter the gender, case, or number.
- Die Burg war riesig.
  - riesig describes the subject via the verb war → predicative adjective → no ending.
Attributive adjectives (directly in front of a noun)
- They take an ending that shows case, gender, and number.
- dem hohen Turm
  - dem = masculine dative singular article
  - hohen = adjective agreeing with Turm → takes -en
  - Turm = noun

So:

riesig: predicative → no ending.
hohen: attributive before Turm in dative → -en ending.

Why do we say ich hatte Angst vor and not something like ich war ängstlich von?

German uses a fixed expression:

Angst haben vor + Dativ = “to be afraid of”

So:

Ich hatte Angst vor dem hohen Turm.
Literally: “I had fear of the high tower.”

Alternatives exist but are different:

Ich fürchtete den hohen Turm. – More formal/literary, using the verb fürchten.
Ich hatte Furcht vor dem hohen Turm. – Less common in everyday speech.
Ich war ängstlich – “I was anxious / timid” (describes your general state, not fear of a specific thing, unless you add more).

Ich war ängstlich von dem Turm is wrong:

ängstlich von is not used, and von is not the right preposition for fear here. Use Angst haben vor + Dativ or sich fürchten vor + Dativ.

Why is it vor dem hohen Turm and not vor den hohen Turm or vom hohen Turm?

It’s vor dem because of:

The preposition vor
- Here it means “afraid of (something)” → it always takes dative with Angst haben vor.
- Dative masculine singular → dem.
Why not den?
- den is accusative masculine singular.
- That would be used with vor in a directional sense (“in front of, to a position in front of”), e.g.:
  - Ich gehe vor den Turm. – I walk to a position in front of the tower.
But in Angst vor dem Turm, there’s no movement, no direction → dative (dem).
vom hohen Turm
- vom = contraction of von dem (= from the).
- Angst von dem Turm or Angst vom Turm is not idiomatic.
- For fear, German uses vor, not von: Angst vor …

Why is the tense war and hatte (simple past) and not ist gewesen and habe gehabt (present perfect)?

Both are grammatically possible, but the style is different:

Präteritum (simple past):
- Damals war die Burg… und ich hatte Angst…
- Preferred in written narratives, stories, books, and often also in spoken German in the north of Germany (especially with sein, haben, and modal verbs).
Perfekt (present perfect):
- Damals ist die Burg für mich riesig gewesen, und ich habe Angst vor dem hohen Turm gehabt.
- Sounds heavier and is rarely used this way in good written style.
- Perfekt is common in spoken German for most verbs, but with sein and haben, Germans still often use war, hatte in speech too.

So the original sentence is in a natural, narrative style: telling a past story using war and hatte.

Could we drop the second ich and say …, und hatte Angst vor dem hohen Turm?

In careful standard German, you normally repeat the subject when you start a new clause with und and a finite verb:

…, und ich hatte Angst vor dem hohen Turm. ✔

If you say:

…, und hatte Angst vor dem hohen Turm.

it sounds more like a shortened, somewhat informal style, and is more natural in spoken language or very casual writing where the subject is obvious. But in normal written German, especially for learners, it’s better to keep ich:

und ich hatte Angst… is the safest and most correct version.

Why is it der Turm in the dictionary, but dem hohen Turm in the sentence?

Dictionaries give nouns in the nominative singular, so you see:

der Turm – masculine nominative singular.

In the sentence, the noun appears in a different case:

After vor (with the meaning “afraid of”), we must use dative.
Dative masculine singular changes the article to dem.

So the forms are:

Nominative: der Turm (dictionary form)
Dative: dem Turm → plus adjective → dem hohen Turm

The noun itself (Turm) doesn’t change; only the article (and the adjective ending) show the case.

Can I say die Burg war früher für mich riesig or die Burg war damals sehr groß für mich instead?

Yes, both are possible, with small differences in tone:

Die Burg war früher für mich riesig.
- More general “earlier in my life” feeling; not tied to one specific moment.
- The word order is still fine: früher can stand there.
Die Burg war damals sehr groß für mich.
- Replaces riesig with sehr groß (more neutral).
- Keeps the idea of a specific time (damals).
- für mich can move around a bit; for example:
  - Damals war die Burg für mich sehr groß. (very natural)
  - Damals war die Burg sehr groß für mich. (also possible)

The original Damals war die Burg für mich riesig is just slightly more vivid and emotional because of riesig and the strong childhood-perspective für mich.