Where is the original Hohenzollern Castle?

On an 855-metre peak above Hechingen, south of Stuttgart, in Baden-Württemberg. The present building is Gothic Revival and dates from the mid-19th century.

Where is Frederick the Great buried?

In Potsdam, on the upper terrace of Sanssouci, as he had wished. His wish was only fulfilled in 1991.

Hohenzollern castles: which ones are open all year?

1 are listed as open all year: Oranienburg Palace. The others open in season, and winter hours are often shorter.

Hohenzollern castles: how much is admission?

Across the 11 places whose prices we know, adult admission ranges from €8 to €14. 1 are free to enter.

The Hohenzollern castles

22 châteaux listed

22 castles and palaces of the dynasty, from Swabia to Brandenburg, with admission prices and opening seasons.

On an 855-metre peak above Hechingen, south of Stuttgart, Hohenzollern Castle is the ancestral seat of the house that produced the burgraves of Nuremberg, the electors of Brandenburg, the kings of Prussia and the German emperors. The present Gothic Revival building dates from the mid-19th century and is the third on the site. The Swabian branch of the family lived at Sigmaringen, above the Danube.

In Franconia the burgraves of Nuremberg made the Cadolzburg their residence around 1250. The Plassenburg above Kulmbach was a Hohenzollern residence and fortress, and Colmberg Castle stayed in their hands for nearly five hundred years.

In Brandenburg, Oranienburg was built in 1651 to 1655 for Louise Henriette of Orange, wife of the Great Elector. Charlottenburg, begun in 1695 for Sophie Charlotte, was enlarged under Frederick I and Frederick the Great, whose queen Elisabeth Christine spent her summers at Schönhausen. Jagdschloss Stern is a modest hunting lodge built in 1730 to 1732 for Frederick William I.

Caputh, the oldest surviving pleasure palace from the Great Elector’s time, was embellished from 1671 by Electress Dorothea; Frederick William I had some 7,500 Dutch faience tiles laid there. The same king spent the autumn at Königs Wusterhausen, from August to November, and held his Tobacco Council there in the evenings.

As crown prince, Frederick the Great spent “the happiest time of his life” at Rheinsberg, where his brother Henry later held a court of the muses. As king he made Sanssouci his summer residence and asked to be buried on its upper terrace, a wish fulfilled only in 1991. The New Palace, the last he built in his park, was meant to show Prussia’s strength after the Seven Years’ War; Wilhelm II, the last emperor, made it his favourite residence.

Frederick William II built the Marble Palace in 1787 to 1793, Frederick William III bought Paretz in 1797, and Frederick William IV built the Orangery Palace in Sanssouci Park between 1851 and 1864. At Babelsberg, summer home of the future Emperor Wilhelm I, Bismarck was appointed minister-president in 1862. The Berlin Palace, destroyed in 1950, regained its façades between 2013 and 2020.

The places, one by one

From the best known to the most discreet. Prices are for one adult; the season comes from the opening periods each place publishes.

Hohenzollern Castle
Bisingen, Baden-Württemberg
The dynasty’s ancestral seat; the present Gothic Revival castle dates from the mid-19th century.
Season not published
Opening hours and access
Sanssouci Palace
Potsdam, Brandenburg
Frederick the Great’s summer residence; he has been buried on the upper terrace since 1991.
Adult admission: €14Season not published
Hours to be confirmed
Opening hours and access
Charlottenburg Palace
Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, Berlin
Built from 1695 for Sophie Charlotte, enlarged under Frederick I and Frederick the Great.
Adult admission: €12Season not published
Hours to be confirmed
Opening hours and access
New Palace
Brandenburger Vorstadt, Brandenburg
Frederick the Great’s last palace at Sanssouci, after the Seven Years’ War; Wilhelm II’s favourite residence.
Adult admission: €14Season not published
Hours to be confirmed
Opening hours and access
Sigmaringen Castle
Sigmaringen, Baden-Württemberg
Residence of the princes of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, the Swabian branch.
Season not published
Opening hours and access
Berlin Palace
Bezirk Mitte, Berlin
Residence of the electors, kings of Prussia and emperors, its exterior rebuilt in 2013 to 2020.
Season not published
Opening hours and access
Babelsberg Palace
Babelsberg, Brandenburg
Summer home of the future Emperor Wilhelm I; Bismarck was appointed minister-president here in 1862.
Season not published
Opening hours and access
Rheinsberg Palace
Rheinsberg, Brandenburg
Where Frederick the Great, as crown prince, spent “the happiest time of his life”; later his brother Henry’s court.
Adult admission: €14Season not published
Hours to be confirmed
Opening hours and access
Stolzenfels Castle
Koblenz, Rheinland-Pfalz
A ruin given to Crown Prince Frederick William, rebuilt as a Gothic Revival summer residence by 1842.
Season not published
Opening hours and access
Plassenburg
Kulmbach, Bayern
A former Hohenzollern residence and fortress above Kulmbach.
Season not published
Opening hours and access
Schönhausen Palace
Pankow, Berlin
Summer residence of Queen Elisabeth Christine, wife of Frederick the Great.
Adult admission: €8Season not published
Opening hours and access
Orangery Palace
Brandenburger Vorstadt, Brandenburg
Built in 1851 to 1864 for Frederick William IV, at the north end of Sanssouci Park.
Season not published
Opening hours and access
Marmorpalais
Nördliche Vorstädte, Brandenburg
Summer residence built in 1787 to 1793 for Frederick William II.
Adult admission: €8Season not published
Opening hours and access
Burg Cadolzburg (Cadolzburg Castle)
Cadolzburg, Bayern
Residence of the burgraves of Nuremberg from around 1250.
Adult admission: €8Season not published
Hours to be confirmed
Opening hours and access
Burg Colmberg (Colmberg Castle)
Colmberg, Bayern
Held by the Franconian Hohenzollern for nearly five hundred years.
Season not published
Opening hours and access
Oranienburg Palace
Oranienburg, Brandenburg
Built in 1651 to 1655 for the Great Elector’s wife, enlarged by their son Frederick III.
Adult admission: €8Open all year
Opening hours and access Tickets
Castle Caputh
Schwielowsee, Brandenburg
The oldest surviving pleasure palace of the Great Elector’s time, embellished by Electress Dorothea from 1671.
Adult admission: €8Season not published
Hours to be confirmed
Opening hours and access
Schloss Königs Wusterhausen (Königs Wusterhausen Castle)
Königs Wusterhausen, Brandenburg
Autumn residence of Frederick William I, the Soldier King, and his Tobacco Council.
Adult admission: €8Season not published
Hours to be confirmed
Opening hours and access
Jagdschloss Letzlingen
Gardelegen, Sachsen-Anhalt
The last surviving Hohenzollern castle in Saxony-Anhalt, remodelled for Frederick William IV.
Season not published
Opening hours and access
Tangermünde castle
Tangermünde, Sachsen-Anhalt
Its main building is the work of Elector Frederick III, later king of Prussia.
Season not published
Hours to be confirmed
Opening hours and access
Paretz Palace
Ketzin/Havel, Brandenburg
Estate bought in 1797 by the future Frederick William III for family life with Queen Louise.
Season not published
Opening hours and access
Jagdschloss Stern
Südost, Brandenburg
Hunting lodge built in 1730 to 1732 for the Soldier King, Frederick William I.
free admissionSeason not published
Opening hours and access

The map

The 22 places on this page. Tap a point to open its page.

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Frequently asked questions

Where is the original Hohenzollern Castle?: On an 855-metre peak above Hechingen, south of Stuttgart, in Baden-Württemberg. The present building is Gothic Revival and dates from the mid-19th century.
Where is Frederick the Great buried?: In Potsdam, on the upper terrace of Sanssouci, as he had wished. His wish was only fulfilled in 1991.
Hohenzollern castles: which ones are open all year?: 1 are listed as open all year: Oranienburg Palace. The others open in season, and winter hours are often shorter.
Hohenzollern castles: how much is admission?: Across the 11 places whose prices we know, adult admission ranges from €8 to €14. 1 are free to enter.