Anyone Visit Castle Hohenzollern? Worth it?

Definitely worth a visit but not if travelling from Vienna or Turin.

We enjoyed our visit a couple summers ago. We visited from Stuttgart, and were glad we did.

Although the mountain top has had castles there dating back a thousand years, the current castle was built in the mid-1800s as a residence for Kaiser Wilhelm I. So, as far as authenticity is concerned, it is kind of like Neuschwanstein. Still, it is very impressive. I'd see it (I did).

It's easy to get to it by train, but mind the schedule. There are buses from the station to the base of the castle (and a shuttle up the hill) several times in the morning and back in the afternoon. They are coordinated with the trains. If you don't catch the bus, it's a long walk to the castle.

Use the Bahn schedule website to find the connections. Use "Burg Hohenzollern, Hechingen" as the destination.

Visited last September and certainly worth a visit and well to combine with Schloss Lichtenstein (not Liechtenstein the country!). Hohenzollern has English guided tours, Lichtenstein German only but will explain in English briefly and they will give you an explanation on paper too. Had not the time to visit Schloss Sigmaringen and saw it only from the outside, but must be worth a visit too.

After the defeat of Napoleon (who spreaded around the ideas of Enlightenment and French revolution throughout Europe) there was serious social, political and religious unrest. As an extreme conservative response nobility wanted to restore their position to the situation before the French Revolution and with that stimulated by Romanticism came a renewed interest in the Medieval Period the time their position was undisputed. So not really medieval this kind of castles there is a historical background worth to know about.

I've visited twice. It is rather awkward to visit by train/bus with only a few buses per day. Great view from the castle. The interior is ok. I think it is most impressive as a silouette on the mountaintop.

Where are you coming from? Are you visiting nearby Tuebingen?

"As an extreme conservative response...." Yes, well put Wll, it was the Age of Metternich (das Zeitalter Metternichs) after 1815, ie the age of reaction, until the next big blow up in 1848 with the forces of nationalism, liberalism, and militarism unleashed by the French Revolution.

I'm not sure about the age of reaction ending in the 1800's, there are plenty of Metternichs out and about lately.

Klemens von Metternich the chairman of the Congress of Vienna. One of the leading figures whose ambition was restoring the dominant position of nobility.

Yes, indeed Wil. I read up a little more on Metternich. A minor but interesting fact about the prince is that, in spite of his arrogant nature and his reputation for being an awful bore, he was married to a beautiful woman. It gives all us ugly men a glimmer of hope.

That marriage was arranged, question if they were really happy, but never give up hope :).

It is rather awkward to visit by train/bus with only a few buses per day.

Awkward? If you look up the schedule on the Bahn website, like I suggested above, you will find an IRE (3255) leaving Stuttgart at 10:15. It gets to Hechingen at 11:19. The bus stop is right there next to the train and you have 6 minutes to get on. So the bus is coordinated with the train's arrival. The bus gets you to the base of the castle hill, where there is a regular shuttle to the top, at 11:48. There is another train/bus connection leaving Stuttgart at 12:15, getting to the castle hill at 13:48. Unless you come back on the 18:35 bus, that's a little late to start at the castle.

There are two buses back, at 16:05 and 18:35. If you take the 10:15 train from Stuttgart, that gives you over 4 hours at the castle, which should be plenty of time. The living area of the castle is only accessible via a 45 minute guided tour. The 16:05 bus back has a 15 min transfer in Hechingen and gets back to Stuttgart at 17:43.

So you have a 45 minute tour of the inside, spend no more than 30 minutes on the outside and twiddle your thumbs for a couple of hours. Sorry, I think that's awkward.

Whether it's awkward or not is immaterial. If you're into Prussian history, seeing the place, being there is worth it. Forget the other factors.