Schlosshotel Kronberg

Listen first to the gravel. It crunches under every step as you approach, a slow, even sound in the quiet of the park. Old trees stand around you, and through them you see dark stone, steep roofs, and the warm brown lines of timber framing. The air here in the Taunus hills feels a little cooler than the city air of Frankfurt, only a short drive away. This is Schlosshotel Kronberg. Long before it took guests, it had another name, and one very determined owner.

The house was first called Schloss Friedrichshof. It was built in the late 1880s and early 1890s for Victoria, the eldest daughter of Britain's Queen Victoria. She married into the Prussian royal family as a young woman. In 1888 her husband became German Emperor as Frederick the Third. He was already very ill with throat cancer, and he reigned for only ninety-nine days. After his death, his widow became known as the Empress Frederick. She named this house after him.

Here is the first surprise. This was not a castle that grew over centuries. It was a new house, planned as a home for a grieving widow. She did not simply approve the designs. She was closely involved in them, and her own taste is everywhere. The architect was Ernst von Ihne, who also designed major buildings in Berlin. But visitors often feel that the real author of the place was the Empress herself, with her strong opinions on every room.

Look at the outside walls. You see a mix of styles. There are German Renaissance elements, like gables, towers and carved stone. There are also lines that feel English, with half-timbering and the comfort of a large country house. That mix matches the woman who lived here. She was a British princess who spent most of her adult life in Germany. She never fully belonged to either court, and this house carries both worlds in its stone and wood.

Her life in Germany was not easy. She held liberal political ideas, and many at the Prussian court distrusted her as too English. Her relationship with her eldest son was very difficult. That son was Wilhelm the Second, the last German Emperor. When her husband died, Wilhelm acted quickly to secure his father's papers. The Empress had learned from that moment. In Kronberg, she built a private world, filled with the art, books and furniture she loved.

She collected paintings, sculpture and decorative objects throughout her life. She was also a capable painter herself. Many objects linked to her collection and to the family still remain in the house. As you move through the public rooms, notice the paintings on the walls and the dark wood panelling. Notice the library, with its rows of old bindings. The rooms feel lived in rather than staged, because for years this really was a family home.

Now the second surprise, and it reads like a spy story. The Empress died here at Friedrichshof in 1901, after a long illness. Before her death, she wanted her private letters taken safely out of Germany. Her godson, Frederick Ponsonby, was in Kronberg with the British royal party. He took boxes of her letters back to England. Many years later, he published a selection of them. That book gave the world a direct view of her side of the story.

After her death, the house passed to her youngest daughter, Princess Margarethe. She had married into the House of Hesse, one of the old princely families of Germany. Kronberg became a home for that branch of the family. Their lives were marked by the great wars of the twentieth century. The family lost sons in battle, and the quiet park around you did not stay untouched by the events of those years.

At the end of the Second World War, the American army took over the house. It became an officers' club. Then came one of the strangest episodes in its story. The Hesse family had hidden jewels and valuables in the building. A small group of American officers found them and stole a large part of the treasure. The theft was later discovered. The officers were tried and sent to prison, but not everything was ever recovered.

In the 1950s, the house began a new life as a hotel. It is still owned by the family foundation of the House of Hesse. That is unusual. Many grand houses in Europe were sold, divided or emptied. Here, the link to the original family continues. Today guests sleep in rooms where royal visitors once stayed. Among the many relatives who came to see the Empress were members of the British royal family, including her brother, who became King Edward the Seventh.

Step away from the walls and look at the grounds. The park was an important part of the Empress's vision. She loved English gardens, with open lawns and carefully placed trees. Today a golf course stretches across part of the land, so you may see players moving slowly over the green. There is also a formal rose garden, a favourite place for a slow walk. In spring and early summer, the scent of flowers fills the paths.

It is worth knowing that Kronberg itself has a long story. On a hill above the old town stands Burg Kronberg, a medieval castle much older than this house. Below it, narrow lanes run past half-timbered houses. In the nineteenth century, a group of painters worked here and became known as the Kronberg painters' colony. They came for the hills, the light and the views of the plain below. The Empress shared their love of this landscape.

Before you go, stand for a moment at the edge of the lawn and turn back toward the house. Look at the towers against the sky and the dark timber against the pale stone. Think of a widow who built a home to remember her husband, and who guarded her letters to the end. Then listen again to the gravel under your feet, and to the wind moving through the old trees, as you walk away.