Hohenzollern Castle (German: Burg Hohenzollern [bʊʁk hoːənˈtsɔlɐn] ) is the ancestral seat of the formerly imperial House of Hohenzollern. The third of three hilltop castles built on the site, it is located atop Mount Hohenzollern, above and south of Hechingen, on the edge of the Swabian Jura in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The name derives from Söller (terrace), from the Latin solarium. The first castle on the mountain was constructed in the early 11th century. Over the years, the House of Hohenzollern split several times, but the castle remained in the Swabian branch, the dynastic seniors of the Franconian-Brandenburgian cadet branch that later acquired its own imperial throne. This castle was completely destroyed in 1423 after a ten-month siege by the free imperial cities of Swabia. The second castle, a larger and sturdier structure, was constructed from 1454 to 1461, and served as a refuge for the Catholic Swabian Hohenzollerns, including during the Thirty Years' War. By the end of the 18th century, it was thought to have lost its strategic importance and gradually fell into disrepair, leading to the demolition of several dilapidated buildings. The third, and current, castle was built between 1846 and 1867 as a family memorial by Hohenzollern scion King Frederick William IV of Prussia. Architect Friedrich August Stüler based his design on English Gothic Revival architecture and the châteaux of the Loire Valley. No member of the Hohenzollern family was in permanent or regular residence when it was completed, and none of the three German Emperors of the late 19th and early 20th century German Empire ever occupied the castle. In 1945, it briefly became the home of the former Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany, son of the last Hohenzollern monarch, Kaiser Wilhelm II. Among the historical artifacts of Prussian history contained in the castle are the Crown of Wilhelm II, some of the personal effects of King Frederick the Great and various paintings of the Hohenzollern dynasty. The museum used to exhibit a letter from US President George Washington thanking Hohenzollern relative Baron von Steuben for his service in the American Revolutionary War.
Geography
Hohenzollern Castle is a hilltop castle located on the mountain Hohenzollern, an isolated promontory of the Swabian Jura 855 metres (2,805 ft) (NHN) above sea level, 234 metres above and to the south of Hechingen, Germany, approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) south of Stuttgart, capital of Baden-Württemberg. This mountain lends its name to the local geographic region, der Zollernalbkreis, and is known among locals as Zollerberg (Zoller Mountain), or simply Zoller.
History
First and second castles Only written records exist of the original Alemannic settlement located for its strategic importance of the tribe leaders. Again, only written records exist of the original castle built in the Middle Ages approximately 1040 built by the Counts of Zollern. Although the House of Hohenzollern itself finds its first mention in 1061, the castle is first mentioned as "Castro Zolre" in 1267, without any mention of the castle beyond its name, though contemporary sources praised it as the "crown of all castles in Swabia." In 1423 the castle was totally destroyed after a year-long siege by the Swabian League of Cities. Construction on a second, stronger castle began in 1454. It was captured by Württemberger troops in 1634 midway in the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), then fell under Habsburg control for about a century. During the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748) it was occupied in the winter of 1744/45 by French soldiers. Returned to Habsburg control after the war, it was rarely occupied and began to fall to ruin after the last Austrian owner left the castle in 1798. By the beginning of the 19th century only the Chapel of St. Michael remained usable.
Third castle
The current castle was built by Hohenzollern scion Crown Prince Frederick William IV of Prussia. Travelling through southern Germany en route to Italy in 1819, he wished to learn about his family's roots, so he climbed to the top of Mount Hohenzollern. He would write in 1844 as King:
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