Heiligenberg Castle, Heiligenberg, Germany

Schloss Heiligenberg is a Renaissance-style castle owned by the Fürstenberg family. It is located on a plateau 730 metres above sea level, with views down onto the Bodensee and the Alps. It was first built in the Middle Ages - in 1250 count Berthold of Heiligenberg built a burgh on the site, which was bought in 1277 by count Hugo of Werdenberg. Under the counts of Werdenberg-Heiligenberg, the castle expanded during the late Middle Ages.

Through countess Anna of Werdenberg's marriage to count Friedrich zu Fürstenberg in 1516, the burgh passed to the house of Fürstenberg in 1535 - it is still owned by that family today. Shortly before his death in 1559, Friedrich decided to remodel the castle in the Renaissance style. The building as it is seen today dates to count Joachim (1538–1598), who from 1560 to 1575 rebuilt the late medieval burgh into a 'schloss', with a Renaissance-style courtyard and an extended ballroom wing to the south.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Bernd Korz (2 years ago)
Ich war sehr beeindruckt. Man fühlt sich in der Zeit zurückversetzt

Bernd Korz (2 years ago)
I was very impressed. You feel relocated in time

Cécile CRONNIER (3 years ago)
Magnifique chapelle et grande salle du château également. Nous avons vu également un salon, la cuisine et deux pièces. Nous avons eu une explication écrite en français mais la visite s'est faite en allemand. Nous n'avons malheureusement pas compris les anecdotes mais les guides étaient très sympathiques.

Cécile CRONNIER (3 years ago)
Magnificent chapel and large hall of the castle as well. We also saw a living room, the kitchen and two rooms. We had an explanation written in French but the visit was done in German. We unfortunately did not understand the anecdotes but the guides were very friendly.

Kerstin Schlegel (3 years ago)
Interressante Führung, es sind nur Teile vom Schloss zur öffentlichen Besichtigung frei gegeben, trotzdem sehenswert

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The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.

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