Burg Hohenzollern

Description

"Burg Hohenzollern" in #Bisingen, the ancestral seat of the House of Hohenzollern, crowns an isolated 855m peak in Baden-Württemberg's Swabian Jura. The first medieval castle rose around 1040 but was destroyed in 1423 after a prolonged siege by Swabian cities. A stronger second castle was built 1454-1461, serving as a refuge through the Thirty Years' War and later occupations, though it decayed by the late 18th century. The present neo-gothic revival structure, erected 1846-1867 by King Frederick William IV of Prussia and designed by Friedrich August Stüler, blends English gothic elements with Loire Valley château influences. Conceived as a romantic family memorial rather than a home, its dramatic hilltop architecture features towers, bastions, the ornate Eagle Gate, and a U-shaped palace with grand halls and chapels.