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Gärten Burg Kronberg
Gärten Burg Kronberg
Easter-Oct.: Wed-Fri 1-5 pm; Sat 1-6 pm
families 8€, members of the Burgverein free
Built around 1200 as an imperial castle, Burg Kronberg became the ancestral seat of the Imperial Barons of Cronberg. After the family line died out in 1704, the complex fell into increasing disrepair until it was gifted to Empress Victoria Kaiserin Friedrich in 1892. The widow of the 99-day Emperor Frederick III began the extensive restoration of the castle, where she lived until her death. Her daughter, Landgravine Margaret of Hesse, completed the work.
Today's castle complex represents architectural styles from the Hohenstaufen era to the Renaissance and is nestled within diverse gardens and natural landscapes. Through the large castle gate, a romantic view opens up of the late medieval middle castle and the Hohenstaufen castle towering above it. The upper castle retains its defensive walls and impressive keep; those who climb it are rewarded with a breathtaking panoramic view.
In the walled meadow courtyard, a hawthorn tree stands out, recorded by the German Dendrological Society as the largest in Hesse. The so-called pentagonal tower, a fortified residential tower from the 12th century, has housed the stele group "The Upright Ones" by the artist Matthias Schmidt since 2018. The figures were carved with a chainsaw from a beech tree that had fallen on the castle grounds.