Fortified with a multitude of towers and turrets,
Hohenzollern Castle sits in splendour almost 900 metres above the
Swabian Alb. This is a storybook fortress from the heyday of the
neo-Gothic. On a balmy summer evening in 1819, the 24-year-old Prussian
Crown Prince saw the crumbling walls of his forefathers' castle and
decided to have it rebuilt. The future king Friedrich Wilhelm IV of
Prussia was a clever, enterprising man with a passion for the fine arts.
His heart belonged to the Middle Ages, which led him to commission
leading Berlin architect Friedrich August Stüler to rebuild the castle.
Stüler sought inspiration from medieval architecture in France and
England, where the Gothic Revival or neo-Gothic style was very much in
vogue. Building work began in 1852 and the restoration was completed in
1867. There are 140 rooms in the castle, most notably the library with
its murals, the King's bedroom, a family tree hall and the Queen's Blue
Salon. This has a stunning gilded coffered ceiling, an exquisite
marquetry floor and portraits of Prussian queens. Prussian memorabilia
displayed in the royal treasury includes the crown worn by Kaiser
Wilhelm II. A painted Hohenzollern family tree adorns the walls of the
castle's entrance hall. The Prussian kings, German emperors and their
descendants are documented through to the present day. Nearby
attractions: don't miss Ulm Münster, whose spire is the tallest in the
world at just over 161 metres. Most of the building work was completed
between 1377 and 1543 and it has retained its original character to this
day. The town of Villingen-Schwenningen has a medieval centre, an
early-Gothic minster, a late-Gothic town hall, the Franciscan Museum and
a town hall to discover.
As the finale and another highlight performance of their 2012 Incantato Tours, Phoenix Girls Chorus' prime ensemble "Cantabile" will give two concerts at Hohenzollern Castle on Friday, June 22, first at 2:30 pm and then at 3:15 pm, thus supporting the local Prinzessin-Kira-von-Preussen-Stiftung.
As the finale and another highlight performance of their 2012 Incantato Tours, Phoenix Girls Chorus' prime ensemble "Cantabile" will give two concerts at Hohenzollern Castle on Friday, June 22, first at 2:30 pm and then at 3:15 pm, thus supporting the local Prinzessin-Kira-von-Preussen-Stiftung.
