Hohenzollern Castle and Lichtenstein Castle

Our last day trip from Stuttgart, before checking out of our hotel, was to go see two scenic castles within driving distance. The first castle we went to was Hohenzollern Castle. It was first built in the 11th century but was ruined in a siege. Then it was rebuilt in the 1400s before falling into disrepair in the 1700s and then it was finally was rebuilt again in the 1800s. From the parking lot, we had a steep climb to get to the castle. Although we were told there wouldn't be any English tours that day, we were lucky enough to stumble in at a time when lots of visitors wanted an English tour :-) We were glad not to have to go in on a German tour with an English guide book to help us get the gist of things. The castle was beautiful and ornate in the inside, as expected. On the outside, I especially liked the courtyard:




The castle had two chapels attached to it (all the castles seem to have chapels in them), and they weren't marked with a no photography sign, so we took advantage. This chapel is from the 1400s as it was never destroyed, like most of the rest of the castle.


Later in the day we drove to Lichtenstein Castle. It was built in the 1100s and then the 1300s, and finally again in the 1800s. We came on a weekday and this castle only has weekend tours in the winter, so we settled for a nice walk around the grounds.

Here are some of our favorite shots:




We had to sneak through a gate and field to get this shot, but we think the gorgeous view was worth the effort. Note how the castle was built right on the edge of a very steep cliff, almost as if it grew out of the mountainside: