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Hohenzollern Castle in Hechingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany photo by A.Savin

Top 10 Interesting Facts about Hohenzollern Castle

Hohenzollern castle which has been the ancestral of the Imperial house of Hohenzollern castle.  The castle which has been located atop Mount Hohenzollern above and south of Hechingen ,on the edge of the Swabian Jura of central Baden- Wurttemberg Germany.

It was built by Hohenzollern Scion  who was the crown prince Fredrick William IV of Prussia. He travelled through southern of Germany enroute to Italy in 1819. Scion had wished to learn about his family roots. He climbed to the top of Mount Hohenzollern.

The construction of the castle began 1850.It had been  funded entirely by the Brandenburg- Prussian and the Hohenzollern-Simaringen the lines of the Hohenzollern family. In 1867 was when the construction of the castle had been  completed. It was under Fredrick William IV’s brother King William I.

After its constructed it was not entirely occupied. But the castle was  used primarily as a showpiece. None of the Hohenzollern Kaiser of the German Empire lived there.

 Here are Top 10 Interesting Facts about Hohenzollern Castle

1. Hohenzollern Castle has been located on top of a mountain in the south western Germany

Hohenzollern photo by Unknown author

The castle has been one of the multiple castles, which has been  built on top of the mountain in Germany. It has been located on Mount Hohenzollern at a height of 855 meters above the sea level in the Swabian Jura. This is a mountain range in the German state of Baden-Wurttemberg which is located in the utmost south western corner of the country.

2. The castle has been  one the most visited castle in Germany

Hohenzollern castle which is one of the most visited castles in Germany. It receives about 400,000 visitors a year. Although the castle’s spot make it difficult for the visitors to get there. Many of the people pay a visit every year.

The castle includes a decent restaurant and a beer house for the visitors. And also there are many cultural events that take place like theaters and open air cinemas.

3. Hohenzollern castle which has been  the third castle to be built on the site

Hohenzollern. castle photo by böhringer friedrich

The magnificent location a top of the mountain has been the perfect strategic location to build a fortified structure. The first and second castles which have been  the original castles to be built in the High Middle Ages. The castles which have been  built by the counts of Zollern.

This third  and current castle which was built between 1846 and 1867 as a family memorial by Hohenzollern scion. Architect Fredrich August Stuler who based his design on English Gothic Revival Architecture and the Chateaux of the Loire Valley.

4. The castle has been the home to many artifacts and graves of the Hohenzollern Dynasty

The Hohenzollern made the castle their new family seat. This was after the world war I. Many family members had died during those times. Like Crown Prince Wilhelm and his wife Crown princess Cecille who had been  buried in the Hohenzollern castles.

In addition to that the bodies of Fredrick William I and his don Fredrick II  the Greats had been preserved in the castle. But between 1952 and 1991 , they had  moved back to Potsdam after the unifications of Germany in 1991.

The most prominent artifacts one can see in the castle include the Imperial crown of Wilhelm II, an intact dress of Queen Louise, an intact uniform of Fredrick the Great and latter from George Washington to Baron Von Steuben.

5. Architect Fredrich August drew his inspiration from a popular style in England

Hohenzollern Castle gate photo by Runner1928

The king had hired one of the most  renowned architects at the time in Germany. A man who has been  known as Fredrich August Stuler. He was in charge of multiple projects involving the churches and castles and other monumental structures in the 19 century.

Some of his most notable work include the Neues Museum Berlin, the Electoral palace in Koblenz and Schwerin castle in which their looks are similar to Hohenzollern castle.

The castle which had been  designed in an English Gothic Revival architectural style with multiple influences from the castles . 

6.The Hohenzollern castle has been  privately owned by the Hohenzollern family for almost a thousand years

Hohenzollern castle which is the dynastic home of the royal dynasty of house of Hohenzollerns. It has been located on top of the mount Hohenzollern in the region of Swabia Germany. 

The Hohenzollern who have been  known as merely Zollern. They were a house of local nobles  who had settled in the region. In the 14th century the dynasty split into different branches and many member lefts the area of their origin.

During the kingdom of Prussian rise in the 18th century the Hohenzollern family became more affiliated with the  region of Prussia  and Brandenburg. The Swabian branch had kept the possession of the ruined castle for centuries. This was  until it was redesigned and reconstructed by the King of Prussia Fredrick William Iv.

7. It was never meant to become  a Royal residence

Hohenzollern Castle in Hechingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany photo by A.Savin

Hohenzollern castle was never constructed to serve a purpose as a residence for king  and Emperors of Germany. This is most interesting fact about the castle.

The castle which can be described  as the  prime example of Romantic Movement of the 19the century. Even though it had the design itself that didn’t exaggerated elements.

The longest of any monarch stayed in the castle was a couple of months. This was Crown Prince Wilhelm and his wife Crown Princess Cecilie after their flight from Potsdam during the world war II. Both of them were  had been buried there, this is because their estate in Branden burg was occupied by soviet union after the war.

8. The castle has been destroyed and reconstructed multiple times  throughout history

Hohenzollern castle which was first constructed in the 11th century . It has faced many reconstruction throughout the history. The first castle was the biggest castle in the region for longest time. But it had been  destroyed during a siege in 1423. The second one which was built in the 15th century and was initially  was resided by the members of the dynasty.

It was used as a military base  for brief period during the Thirty years war. And still had  lost its importance since it was not properly maintained for long time .Thus it caused many parts of the castle to be demolished.

In the 19th century Fredrick William IV of Prussia ordered the reconstruction of the castle with a neo- gothic design. It was the third and final castle that has been standing  up to date  as a fine piece of the 19th century architecture and a heritage of Hohenzollern Dynasty.

9. The castle  which acted the seat of the Brandenburg- Prussian rulers Prussian kings and Germany’s Kaisers

Hohenzollern castle photo by Hans J. Mast

The illustrious Hohenzollern Castle in Swabia is a prominent historical monument to a dynasty that has written history. This was the seat of the Brandenburg-Prussian rulers, Prussian kings and Germany’s Kaisers. Today, the House of Hohenzollern promotes a heightened awareness for German history and its cultural legacy.

10. The current castle which fated back to halfway the 19th century

The destiny of Hohenzollern castle had changed in the year 1819 because of the remarkable journey. When Crown Prince Fredrick William IV of Prussia climbed the mount Hohenzollern to learn about his family. Prince Fredrick William IV came with the idea to completely rebuild the ruined the castle.

He clearly fell in love with the amazing sunset that he experienced standing on top of the castle’s ruins during his youth. He never forgot it after he became King and finally made concrete plans to make his dream come through in the 1840s.

The current castle was built between 1846 and 1867 and was completely financed by the Hohenzollern family, who still owns the castle until today.