Castle Tours

Hohenzollern Castle, Hechingen, Germany

(click on Hohenzollern for a pictorial of our day)

Today we went on a tour of Hohenzollern Castle. It is about 30 miles from Stuttgart and takes about 45 minutes to get there from our house.

The existing castle is the third castle erected on this hilltop overlooking Hechingen. Records show the first castle was built here in 1025 and was destroyed fter a 10-month siege in 1423 involving a family feud. A second, larger and sturdier castle was constructed from 1454 to 1461. By the end of the 18th century, however, the castle was thought to have lost its strategic importance and gradually fell into disrepair, leading to the demolition of several dilapidated buildings. Today, only the chapel remains from the medieval castle. These remains or what was left of the grand castle were in ruins when Frederick first saw them in 1819. And finally rebuilt the 3rd time with the corner stone being laid in 1852

King Frederick William IV rebuilt this castle following a dream from his childhood to live on these elevated hilltop grounds of his ancestors. See as a prince, he visited these grounds (1819) and was so impressed by the romantic castle ruins that he ordered its reconstruction. But the rebuild did not start right way. Between 1850 and 1867 the king’s dream was finally realized. Following the romantic ideal of that era they built one of the most imposing neo gothic castles in Germany.

The Hohenzollern castle rises from atop a 855 meter high mountain overlooking the Swabian Alb. Its bastions and paramounts offer a breathtaking panorama over the countryside. The splendid halls and rooms have been furnished by Prince Louis Ferdinand or Prussia (1907 - 1994) with valuable art work pertaining to the kings of Prussia and the emperors of Germany. Besides the artwork there are crown jewels, gold and silver-smith works and original garments worn by Frederick the Great and Queen Louise housed here.

There are 2 chapels on the castle grounds, St. Michaels chapel dates back to the 15th century and the Protestant Christ Chapel built during the rebuild of the castle. The stain glass windows in St. Michaels are from the 13th century and are the oldest know depiction of the Hohenzollern heraldry (coat of arms). The coat of arm colors are black and white and many of the outside decorations carried this same color scheme.

We took the shuttle bus up to the castle from the parking lot but decided to walk down the mountain (855 meters is about .5 miles; straight down). It was a beautiful day (high was only 81), the skies were blue and there were big white puffy clouds floating by all afternoon. We had a snack (pommes) sitting under shade tree on the terrace prior to our tour. There was an English speaking tour guide who shared the history and family stories during the 45 minute tour.

It was an unforgettable afternoon!