Hohenzollern Castle

I’ve visited Hohenzollern twice so far (2020 & 2023) and both times, this Castle leaves me in awe. Everything about it is out of this world, and yet, you can easily go up to its halls and wander about. But which castle is this one? Let’s see.

Hohenzollern Castle is the ancestral home of the House of Hohenzollern. The first castle was constructed in the early 11th century and over the years, even though the House of Hohenzollern split, the castle remained in the Swabian branch which later acquired the throne. Unfrotunately, the castle was completed destroyed in 1423 after a siege that lasted several months by the free imperial cities of Swabia.

The second castle, a much larger one, was constructed from 1454 to 1461 and served as a refuge for the Catholic Hohenzollerns. By the 18th century, however, it lost its strategic importance and fell into disrepair.

The third castle, the current castle one can visit, was built between 1841 and 1867 as a family memorial by Hohenzollern scion King Frederick Willian IV of Prussia. The architect based his design on English Gothic Revival architecture and the Chateaux of the Loire Valley. No member of the family was a resident and none of the three German Emperors even occupied the castle. In 1945, it became the home of the former Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany but only for a short time.

Today, Hohenzollern is one of the most visited castles in Germany. It is privately owned by the House of Hohenzollern and two-thirds belonging to the Brandeburg-Prussian branch and the balance of the Swabian branch.

Since 1952, the Princess Kira of Prussia Foundation has used it for an annual summer camp for children. In 2014, parts of the thriller-horror film A Cure for Wellness were filmed at the castle.