Hohenzollern Castle

Listen first. Up here, the wind moves through the pines on the slopes below, and your footsteps echo off grey stone. Mist often sits in the valleys at dawn, so the castle seems to float above a white sea. Towers, turrets and battlements rise from the very top of a lone, cone-shaped hill. On a clear day, the green fields of the Swabian countryside stretch out in every direction. This is Hohenzollern Castle, and it stands on the hill that gave a dynasty its name.

The hill itself is worth a moment. It rises a little more than eight hundred metres above sea level, at the edge of the Swabian Jura. That is a long limestone upland in southwest Germany. Because the hill stands apart from the ridges behind it, it is visible from far away. That made it a natural place for a fortress. It also made the castle a landmark for travellers on the roads near Bisingen and the nearby town of Hechingen.

The family that built here became one of the most powerful in European history. The Hohenzollerns started as regional counts in Swabia during the Middle Ages. Over the centuries, one branch moved north and rose to rule Brandenburg, then Prussia. Eventually, Prussian Hohenzollerns became German emperors in the nineteenth century. Another branch stayed in Swabia, and members of that line later became kings of Romania. So this quiet hilltop is, in a sense, the family's starting point.

Here is the first surprise. The castle you see today is not medieval. It is the third castle on this summit. The first one was a powerful fortress, but in 1423 an alliance of Swabian imperial cities besieged it. After a long siege, the defenders gave up, and the attackers destroyed the castle completely. Historical accounts describe a fortress so thoroughly broken that almost nothing was left standing.

A second castle rose on the same spot later in the fifteenth century. It was larger and stronger than the first. For a time, it served as a fortress during the wars that crossed this region. But the centuries were not kind to it. By the end of the eighteenth century, the buildings were falling into ruin. Only one part of that older complex survives today — the small chapel of Saint Michael, inside the walls.

The story of the present castle begins with a visit. In 1819, the young Prussian crown prince, the future King Friedrich Wilhelm IV, came to see the ruins of his ancestors' home. The place made a deep impression on him. Years later, as king, he decided to rebuild it. He wanted a castle that honoured the family's roots, and also one that looked like a medieval dream.

Construction ran from 1850 to 1867. The main architect was Friedrich August Stüler, a leading Prussian architect of the time. He worked in the Gothic Revival style. That means a nineteenth-century return to the pointed arches, slender towers and decorative stonework of medieval Gothic buildings. The result is less a true fortress and more a romantic image of one. Yet the walls and gun positions were also designed with real military planning in mind.

Notice the way you approach the castle. The entrance road does not climb straight up. Instead, it winds around and through a series of ramps and gates. This design forced attackers to move slowly while defenders watched from above. Look for the eagle above the main gateway. It is a heraldic symbol of the dynasty. As you walk, the views open and close, so each turn shows you a new side of the castle.

Inside, the rooms carry the polish of a royal residence. There are rich wood panels, painted ceilings, family portraits and long halls with tall windows. A family tree in one of the halls traces the Hohenzollern line back through many generations. The family still owns the castle today. Ownership is shared between the Prussian branch and the Swabian branch. That shared ownership itself shows how the two lines have stayed connected across centuries.

The treasury holds some of the most interesting objects. The Prussian royal crown made for Kaiser Wilhelm II is kept here. There are also personal items connected to Frederick the Great, the eighteenth-century Prussian king. One well-known object is a snuffbox. According to a popular story, it stopped a bullet aimed at him during a battle. Whether every detail of that tale is true, it has been told about this little box for a very long time.

Here is the second surprise. For several decades after the Second World War, the castle served as a resting place for royalty. The coffins of Frederick the Great and his father, King Friedrich Wilhelm I, were brought here from Potsdam during the upheaval of the war years. They stayed on this hill until 1991. After German reunification, both kings were returned to Potsdam, near Berlin. Frederick the Great was finally buried there, as he had wished.

Step out onto the walls and the bastions if you can. From here, the countryside is laid out like a map. You can see small villages, church towers, farm fields and the dark lines of forest. On cloudy days, weather moves across the plain very quickly. You can sometimes watch rain fall on one village while sunlight lands on the next. It is easy to see why a ruling family once chose this point to watch over its land.

Before you leave, stand still for a moment in the courtyard. Look up at the towers against the sky, and at the old chapel of Saint Michael, the one part that remembers the earlier castles. Around you, the newer stones of the nineteenth century carry a king's idea of the past. As you walk back down the winding road, turn around once. The castle will look different again — smaller, quieter, and still watching over the hills.