48 Palaces to Explore in Germany

A majestic palace upon a rocky hill on the south-western slope of the Thuringian Forest, Germany. It was the summer residence of the Dukes of Saxe-Meiningen and is surrounded by 160 hectares of English landscape garden, which contain, among other objects of interest, a cavern 300 metres long, through which flows a large and rapid stream. It was one of the famous attractions in this area and also it gives an idea about the ancient lining style of the Dukes.

The Augustusburg and Falkenlust Palaces were built at the beginning of the 18th century in Brühl. It is a UNESCO cultural World Heritage Site since 1984. It was used as a building for guests of the state by the German President till 1994, as it is not far from Bonn, which was the capital of the Federal Republic of Germany at that time.

Babelsberg Palace is located in the eponymous park in Potsdam. For more than 50 years, it was the summer residence for royals. It was placed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990. The building, designed in the English Gothic revival style, was built in two phases over the period 1835–1849.

This 114-hectare park is located in the north-east of Potsdam, bordering on the Tiefen See lake on the River Havel. It was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990. The park was created in rolling terrain sloping down towards the lake.

Bentheim Castle is an early medieval hill castle from the 11th century. The castle hosts a museum and surrounded by beautiful parks that will give you a historical and relaxing experience. It is located in Bad Bentheim, Lower Saxony, Germany.

One of the oldest inhabited castles in Germany, located on a rocky outcropping ovelooking Lake Constance. Portions of the castle are open visitors on self-guided tours. The remainder of the castle is occupied by the descendants of Karl Mayer von Mayerfels from Munich who bought the castle in 1877.

Cecilienhof Palace is located in Potsdam, Germany, built in 1917 in an English Tudor manor house's layout. Cecilienhof was the last palace established by the House of Hohenzollern that ruled the Prussia Kingdom and the German Empire until World War I. Cecilienhof Palace was the location of the Potsdam Conference in 1945, in which the leaders of the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States made important decisions affecting the shape of post World War II Europe and Asia.

The palace was built at the end of the 17th century and was greatly expanded during the 18th century. It includes much lavish internal decoration in baroque and rococo styles.

The Reichsburg Cochem (Cochem Castle) had its first documented mention in 1130. In 1151, it was occupied by King Konrad III, who declared it an Imperial castle. In 1688, the castle was overrun by French King Louis XIV's troops in the course of the Nine Years' War or War of the Palatine Succession, and the following year, they destroyed it. The castle complex long lay in ruins and in 1868 it was bought by the Berlin businessman Louis Fréderic Jacques Ravené and then reconstructed in the Gothic Re

Dresden Castle was a residence for the kings of Saxony as well as kings of Poland. The castle was rebuilt after it got destroyed in the World War II and became a tourist attraction, housing a museum complex and an art library. It is located in Dresden, Germany.

Eltz Castle is a medieval castle nestled in the hills above the Moselle River between Koblenz and Trier, Germany. It is still owned by a branch of the Eltz family that lived there in the 12th century, 33 generations ago. The castle is one of the only three castles on the left bank of the Rhine in Rhineland-Palatinate which has never been destroyed. The castle sits on a 70-metre (230 ft) rock spur.

Granitz Hunting Lodge is located on Rügen Island near Binz's seaside resort. With over 200,000 visitors a year, it is the most famous castle in the state. The lodge lies in the middle of the forested Granitz ridge, built on the highest hill in East Rügen, 107 m above sea level. From the observation platform, 145 metres above sea level, on the roof of the tower, there is a panoramic view in all directions, especially over the south and east of Rügen.

A complex of royal buildings on Herreninsel, the largest island in the Chiemsee lake. The island, formerly the site of an Augustinian monastery, was purchased by King Ludwig II of Bavaria in 1873. The king converted the premises into a residence, known as the Old Palace (Altes Schloss). From 1878 onwards, he had the New Herrenchiemsee Palace (Neues Schloss) erected, based on the model of Palace of Versailles. It was the largest, but also the last of his building projects, and remained incomplete

The childhood residence of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, built by his father King Maximilian II of Bavaria. It is located in the German village of Hohenschwangau. Hohenschwangau was the official summer and hunting residence of Maximilian, his wife Marie of Prussia, and their two sons Ludwig (the later King Ludwig II of Bavaria) and Otto (the later King Otto I of Bavaria).

Ancestral seat of the imperial House of Hohenzollern. The third of three hilltop castles built on the site, it is located atop Mount Hohenzollern. The third, and current, castle was built between 1846 and 1867 as a family memorial by Hohenzollern descendant King Frederick William IV of Prussia. No member of the Hohenzollern family was in permanent or regular residence when it was completed.

Built in 1715 by Margrave Charles III William of Baden-Durlach, after a dispute with the citizens of his previous capital, Durlach. The city of Karlsruhe was planned with the tower of the palace at the center and 32 streets radiating out from it like spokes on a wheel, or ribs on a folding fan, so that a nickname for Karlsruhe in German is the "fan city"

It is a castle above the town of St. Goarshausen and was first built around 1371 by Count William II. The castle stands on a ledge looking downstream from the riverside at St. Goar. It was bombarded in 1806 by Napoleon and rebuilt in 1898. It is privately owned and not open to visitors.

The Marburger Schloss is a castle in Marburg, built as a fort in the 11th century, and became the Landgraviate of Hesse's first residence. The building is used as a museum since 1981, and as an event venue. It sits on top of a hill.

Gothic Revival style fairy tale castle of Württemberg. The castle was inspired by the novel Lichtenstein (1826) by Wilhelm Hauff and was built in 1840–1842. The ruins of the medieval castle that inspired the novel are a few hundred meters away. The castle is located on an escarpment that marks the northwestern edge of the Swabian Alps.

Smallest of the three palaces built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria and the only one which he lived to see completed. The gardens surrounding Linderhof Palace are considered one of the most beautiful creations of historicist garden design.