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Burg Hohenzollern

21 August 2018 / 24 Comments

Burg Hohenzollern in Germany - on top of a mountain

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Burg Hohenzollern in Germany is located high up on a mountain, and you have to pass through countless gates before reaching the actual castle. We found a good place to park the motorhome and took the opportunity to explore the castle, both inside and out.

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Burg Hohenzollern in Germany

We drove to Burg Hohenzollern in Germany because it looks so cool in pictures, and it was no less cool in real life! We had been to the charming village of Appenzell in Switzerland and arrived here at 17.00. Burg Hohenzollern is located on a high hill in Baden-Württemberg, south of Hechingen in Germany and 60 km south of Stuttgart.

The castle was originally built in 1061, but certainly as a particularly glamorous house at that time. The first time it was referred to as a castle was in 1267 and even then it was referred to as "the most beautiful castle in Swabia".

The castle was destroyed in 1423 due to constant warfare and was rebuilt in 1454-1461 as a fortress. It did not help and was again destroyed during the Thirty Years' War. By the early 19th century, Burg Hohenzollern was a ruin and almost forgotten. In 1819, Frederick had an idea to rebuild the castle. The castle was restored in the romantic neo-Gothic style under King Frederick William IV of Prussia 1846-1867, formerly the Duchy of Swabia. Can it be left standing now?

Burg Hohenzollerna

National Museum in Stockholm

What do they have in common? Friedrich August Stüler, who designed the castle as it looks today, also designed the cool Schwerin Castle south of Wismar. He also designed the St Mark's Church in Berlin, St Nicholas Church in Potsdam and our beautiful National Museum in Stockholm on commission, 1850-1863. Friedrich's greatest work is considered to be the Neues Museum in Berlin, with columns and beautiful paintings with an Egyptian flavour.

A photo taken under better weather conditions, photo: Pixabay

The castle is incredibly cool on the high mountain Hohenzollern, (High Mountain) and it seems completely impregnable. You get up to the castle by going around, around in a circle, through one gate after another. In between, you have to cross a few fallen bridges over moats and some dark tunnels. Because Burg Hohenzollern is situated as it is, you can see 100 kilometres in good weather.

Hohenzollern borg
Hohenzollern Tyskland
Borg Hohenzollern

Visiting Burg Hohenzollern

From the car park you can walk up to the castle, which is not very far, but quite steep and therefore relatively demanding. If you want, you can take a shuttle bus up to the entrance instead. After going through all the gates, you arrive at a large courtyard. Here you will find a restaurant with a café garden, the chapel of St Michael and you can also buy tickets to visit the interior of the castle.

The castle is still owned by the family and is presented as a private museum, which means that you have to adapt to the owner's wishes. For example, the use of drones is not allowed, photography is not allowed inside the castle, and you have to walk around with special felt slippers on top of your shoes.

Prince George Frederick of Pussia owns the castle and has family ties going back 1000 years. Cool to own such a big castle today as a private person!

Borggård Hohenzollern
Kanon Hohenzollern
Tyskland Hohenzollern

What is in the castle?

Over the course of 1000 years, highnesses and majesties, queens, princes and emperors have left their mark here. In the castle there is a treasury (Countess's Hall) as it should be in a castle, and here you can see the Prussian royal crown.

It is made for Wilhelm II - German Emperor and King of Prussia in 1888, with lots of diamonds, pearls and in gold of course. There is also Queen Louise of Prussia's beautiful silver embroidered dress, and the snuff box that saved Frederick the Great's life.

Hohenzollern

Events at Burg Hohenzollern

The castle hosts parties several times a year. Here you can join the weekend with falcons, Easter celebrations and the first and second Advent. They also have events like adventure exhibitions and outdoor theatre. The castle is perfect for games and events with panoramic views of the landscape.

Felt slippers, photo: Burg Hohenzollern.

Visit to Borgen

We had to pay €12 per person to visit the interior of Burg Hohenzollern. If we understood everything correctly, during the low season, and on weekdays during the high season, guided tours of the rooms are included. On weekends during the summer, however, you have to walk around on your own (to avoid crowding). This made the tour of the (relatively few) rooms not really feel affordable, but maybe it's different if you get the guided tour. Some of the rooms are fantastic!

The Blue Salon and the Hall of the Counts are the most beautiful in the castle. photo: Burg Hohenzollern, Hall of the Counts

RV park at Burg Hohenzollern

We arrived at Burg Hohenzollern in the evening, and stayed in the top car park, closest to the castle. In this car park, among many parking spaces, there are four spaces specifically for motorhomes, and the price per day is 4 euros. If these four spaces are full, you can also park in the lower car park, where there are quite a few spaces.

Hohenzollern ställplats

See more in Germany

If you want to see several castles, Sleeping Beauty Castle is a real highlight. Read about Fairytale castle in Germany - Neuschwanstein in Germany. Drive via A7 which takes 2 h 34 min and is 200 km from Hohenzollern.

All our top tips about Germany. Click on the image!

Facts about Burg Hohenzollern

  • Country: Germany
  • Language: German (some also speak English)
  • Currency: Euro
  • Price mode: A bit cheaper than Sweden
  • Residents: Hechingen 19 000 (2017)
  • Time difference: None
  • Emergency number: 112
  • Religion: Christianity
  • El: Like Sweden
  • Water: Drinking beard
  • Tourist Office: Information Centre at the entrance of Burg Hohenzollern

Journey to Burg Hohenzollern

  • FlightsFrom Stockholm to Munich there are flights every day with most airlines. We like Norwegian which usually has good prices and it takes 2 h 15 min by direct flight.
  • Car from MunichCar hire in Munich and you drive via the A8 and it takes 2 h 41 min and it is 288 km to Burg Hohenzollern.
  • Parking: It will cost you 4 Euros per day (2018) for parking.
  • Train from Munich to Hechingen takes between 3 h-4 h and costs about 30 Euro. From Hechingen train station, special buses HVB Wiest + Schürmann run just for Burg Hohenzollern.

Guide: opening hours and prices

  • Opening hours in summer (16/3 - 31/10): 10.00-17.30.
  • Opening hours in winter (1/11 - 15/3): 10.00-16.30. Closed 24-12 and 31-12.
  • Prices: 12 euros (2018) in the castle itself and on weekdays guided tours are included. There is no charge to walk around the mighty castle, and by that we mean in the castle but not in the halls.
  • Call and book: Ticket office Burg Hohenzollern +49 7471 2428

Tips

Hohenzollern Castle is located in southern Germany, close to the borders with Switzerland and France. There are two car parks on the way up, and the highest one also has parking spaces.

There are also buses the last stretch that can be smart to take, if you are not trained. It was quite a tough walk uphill from the car park. There are about 350,000 visitors here every year so go early or late.

Food and drink

  • Hohenzollern Castle has a castle restaurant with a café and beer garden. Here you can eat local products from the region.
  • Restaurant KupferpfanneSchadenweilerstrasse 41, Hechingen.
  • Poseidon Zollerblick, Schlatter Str. 20, Hechingen.
  • LidlStettener Halde 13, Hichingen.

Accommodation

  • Hotel Café Klaiber at Obertorpl. 11 is a family hotel in the city centre.
  • Hotel Restaurant Lamm at Römerstrasse 29.
  • Hotel Gasthof Mohren at Schloßstrasse 18.

Pitch and camping 

  • Parking at Burg Hohenzollern has no actual address but you can stay with a campervan for 4 euros per night (2018).
  • Zollernalbcamping at Niederhechinger Str. 41, Hechingen. Drive via K7110 which takes 14 minutes and is 7.5 km.

The top image in this post is a photo from Pixabay.

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21 August 2018 6:00
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20 Comments

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  1. Lena - good for the soul says:

    What an amazing place. How powerful it looked! Too bad about the campsite!

    Hug Lena

    21 August 2018 - 6:11

    Reply

  2. Lennart says:

    Lovely view from the castle!

    21 August 2018 - 7:49

    Reply

  3. Mr Nils-Åke Hansson says:

    Great place on the hill.

    21 August 2018 - 8:18

    Reply

  4. Ama de casa says:

    WOW! What a castle! And a shuttle bus works almost as well as the Little Train 😉.

    No, it doesn't always turn out as planned. Remember once when we were camping in Denmark and discovered that tokens were needed for the hot water in the showers AFTER we had bathed, and especially AFTER the reception had closed. Yep. That was where you could buy the tokens... It was a cold experience. Had I not taken a sauna, I would have respectfully ignored taking a shower 🙂

    21 August 2018 - 8:48

    Reply

    • Comment by post author

      Helena says:

      This is exactly what is tricky with tokens!!! Often they forget to tell you and then you discover it when you stand there naked, preferably after the reception has closed (has happened to us too).

      21 August 2018 - 12:21

      Reply

  5. Mr Steve says:

    There was both a high point (the castle) and a low point (the campsite) this time.

    21 August 2018 - 9:07

    Reply

  6. Renate's travels says:

    Wow, what a sight with the castle on top of the hill! Exciting place 😀.

    21 August 2018 - 10:18

    Reply

  7. Reiselinda says:

    We can never get enough of German castles and fortresses. We haven't been here though, so we'll have to put it on the list.
    It's a shame when things go wrong, but in this heat I suppose a cold shower would be nice too?

    21 August 2018 - 11:53

    Reply

  8. Britt-Marie Lundgren says:

    Everyone makes a mistake when it comes to campsites. Not fun, but usually quite affordable.
    Another cool castle we have never heard of. We will give Germany a proper chance in the future and not just pass it on our way home or away...

    21 August 2018 - 12:51

    Reply

    • Comment by post author

      Helena says:

      Agree, affordable! We have also thought like you and mostly passed Germany, but there is a lot of interesting things to see there! Becomes a more fun trip when you do not just pass by 🙂 .

      21 August 2018 - 13:02

      Reply

  9. Ditte says:

    What an exciting castle! And if you are in the neighbourhood, a visit is quite obvious. Thank you for the visit here because I don't think I will get here on my own. Very nice pictures!
    Good luck with your next campsite!

    21 August 2018 - 14:51

    Reply

  10. BP says:

    This castle is widely known because of its fantastic location. Absolutely incredible. Good thing you could take a shuttle bus all the way.
    Osis with the campsite. So heavenly stingy with tokens for hot water and non-functioning wifi on such a large campsite is terrible, I think. A bit typical for Germany, which is light years behind Sweden in terms of internet.

    21 August 2018 - 20:40

    Reply

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