This is one of our favorite castles in Germany. It is positioned atop an extremely large hill in the Southern part of Germany, and while you drive there and park, you will still have to walk (uphill) for about 30 minutes from the parking lot to the castle itself. They do offer shuttle buses as well, for those that need the assistance.
The hike up the hill was definitely worth the effort though! As soon as you’ve passed the 3 drawbridges and the spiral ramp, you are met with the most beautiful and magnificent view! From atop the tower, you can see probably at least, 26 km in all directions. While we were there, we even saw multiple airplanes and helicopters fly by, most definitely giving an aerial view to some sightseers.
As part of the ticket purchase, you are allowed to tour the castle, as well as visit the treasure room, and even go down into the casemates. We started by touring through the castle. We were welcomed by a warm fireplace with a large shield hanging above it. The shield was filled with nails as a result from an organization of nails during WW1 that would raise money by offering people to have a nail pounded into
a piece of wood in exchange. The room also had a very ornate and complex family tree painted on all 4 walls. Super cool!
The next room was a grand and majestic hallway, like the hall of a big cathedral. It even had marble stone as the supporting pillars. Inside of this hallway was 8 to 10 tables that could seat 5 to 6 people. It was designed as a banquet hall for guests.
Another highlight of the castle was the “Blue Room”, also known as the Queens quarters. It had many great paintings of the queen and her relatives inside of gorgeous gold frames.
After touring the main part of the castle, we waited in line to enter the treasure room. Within the room, were various different items and relics, including a small woman’s midriff overcoat in royal blue. It was interesting because it would have been revealing to some extent, and I didn’t think princesses wore revealing clothes back then.
In addition to all the gold and silver medals, cups, and plates, was a giant golden goblet, which had a 3D model of the castle on it. It was clearly used too, because some of the finer structures of the castle were a bit bent.
*Photo Credit Below
Other highlights included a beautiful diamond and ruby necklace, I would love to have that! Last but not least, was the king’s crown, scepter, and snuff box, residing within the castle safe. The crown was certainly very fancy. It had a diamond covered cross on the top which sat atop a huge sapphire. The rest of the crown also had diamond, gold, and other precious gems and metals on it.
Finally, we checked out the casemates of the castle. These weren’t discovered until around the year 2003. The castle has a bit of a history, because it was destroyed and rebuilt three times, and it wasn’t even until the year 2003 or so, that during the 3rd rebuilding the construction crews stumbled into the secret hidden casemate caverns. Within the casemates, some of the family dishes, porcelains, and various busts are now stored. Then, after walking down a flight or two of stairs, we found ourselves in some tunnels which were basically raw stone on all sides.
You can think of it like the caste and its foundation were built onto this hill, and the casemates were below even the castle foundation, several meters underground. They were well and truly hidden as well as fortified.
They were used for a few different things. One of the most important roles was to be used by castle defenders. They allowed the defenders a way to secretly enter and exit the castle, even while under attack to get more food or execute missions. At some points, it seems they were also used for general storage.
The most important thing about the casemates is that they were created because gunpowder and cannons were becoming huge weapons in war, and so the castle needed some kind of defense system that would be strong enough to survive canon fire. It is said that this shelter is stronger and more protective than some of the fallout shelters we have for bombs today!
The last major part of the castle to see was the bastion/rampart. This is essentially the top of the wall that surrounds the castle and provided defense and lookup for residents of the castle. Many castles we have experienced up to this point allow limited access to this element of them, so it was super amazing to get to walk around the entire thing. Plus, since the castle is on top of a very large hill, you get a literal 360 degree view of the countryside. We could see so far in all directions, it was absolutely breath-taking!
With that all said and done, we took a few final photos and headed back to Triberg. We super loved this castle. It was unique, gorgeous, and offered a lot of room to explore and experience the history of the castle. If you ever find yourself in the south-western part of Germany, this castle is a must see. You will not be disappointed!
Travel with us to Hohenzollern in the video below!
Left to right: Crown. Discover Travel in Europe on a Budget with Bargain Travel Europe. Under: http://www.bargaintraveleurope.com/12/Germany_Hohenzollern_Castle_Swabia.html; Blauer Salon (Blue Room). Roland Beck. Burg Hohenzollern. Unter: https://www.hohenzollern-orte.de/poi/schauraeume_und_kunstsammlung-22311/ Markgrafenzimmer. Roland Beck. Burg Hohenzollern. Under: https://www.hohenzollern-orte.de/poi/schauraeume_und_kunstsammlung-22311/; Chalice inside the treasury of Hohenzollern Castle, Hechingen, 7 November 2009, Zairon. Under: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hechingen_Burg_Hohenzollern_Schatzkammer_Taufkelch.jpg