Hohenzollern Castle

Hohenzollern Castle (German: Burg Hohenzollern [bʊʁk hoːənˈtsɔlɐn] ) is the ancestral seat of the formerly imperial House of Hohenzollern. The third of three hilltop castles built on the site, it is located atop Mount Hohenzollern, above and south of Hechingen, on the edge of the Swabian Jura in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The name derives from Söller (terrace), from the Latin solarium.

The first castle on the mountain was constructed in the early 11th century. Over the years, the House of Hohenzollern split several times, but the castle remained in the Swabian branch, the dynastic seniors of the Franconian-Brandenburgian cadet branch that later acquired its own imperial throne. This castle was completely destroyed in 1423 after a ten-month siege by the free imperial cities of Swabia.

The second castle, a larger and sturdier structure, was constructed from 1454 to 1461, and served as a refuge for the Catholic Swabian Hohenzollerns, including during the Thirty Years' War. By the end of the 18th century, it was thought to have lost its strategic importance and gradually fell into disrepair, leading to the demolition of several dilapidated buildings.

The third, and current, castle was built between 1846 and 1867 as a family memorial by Hohenzollern scion King Frederick William IV of Prussia. Architect Friedrich August Stüler based his design on English Gothic Revival architecture and the châteaux of the Loire Valley. No member of the Hohenzollern family was in permanent or regular residence when it was completed, and none of the three German Emperors of the late 19th and early 20th century German Empire ever occupied the castle. In 1945, it briefly became the home of the former Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany, son of the last Hohenzollern monarch, Kaiser Wilhelm II.

Text adapted from “Hohenzollern Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Hohenzollern Castle ranks #54 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #4 of the 492 mapped in Germany. Founded 1454, it is older than 48% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 434 atlas entries founded in the 15th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 62,784 times in the last 60 days, more than 100% of the atlas. 2 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Stuttgart, 53 km away. See how Germany compares in the castle statistics.

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