Germany has more castles than almost any other country in the world — from Ludwig II's fairy-tale Neuschwanstein to the hilltop stronghold of Eltz, the Reformation fortress of Wartburg, and the Hohenzollern ancestral seat. Most castles are day-trippable from major cities, with the Rhine and Moselle valleys offering clusters that reward a slower multi-day exploration.
Hohenschwangau Castle
The former royal residence of the Bavarian Wittelsbachs, set across an Alpine lake from Neuschwanstein with painted halls and a swan motif throughout.
Neuschwanstein Castle
Germany's most famous fairy-tale castle, built for King Ludwig II above Hohenschwangau with Alpine views near Füssen.
Heidelberg Castle
Romantic red-sandstone ruins above Heidelberg's old town, with terrace views over the Neckar River and one of Germany's classic city panoramas.
Wartburg Castle
A UNESCO World Heritage hill castle above Eisenach, inscribed in 1999 and associated with Martin Luther's Bible translation.
Linderhof Palace
The only one of Ludwig II's palaces completed in his lifetime, a jewel-box Rococo retreat in the Graswang valley with gilded rooms and terraced gardens.
Eltz Castle
A storybook medieval castle hidden in a forested Moselle-side valley, still associated with the same family for centuries.
Hohenzollern Castle
A dramatic hilltop castle on the Swabian Alb, associated with the Hohenzollern dynasty and visible for miles above the countryside.
Charlottenburg Palace
Berlin's largest and most magnificent Baroque palace, set in formal gardens with a lavish interior, porcelain collection, and romantic parkland.
Bellevue Palace
The official residence of the German President, an elegant neoclassical palace in Berlin's Tiergarten park overlooking the Spree.
Berlin Palace (Stadtschloss)
The reconstructed Stadtschloss in Berlin's Mitte district, now home to the Humboldt Forum museum and cultural complex.
Schönhausen Palace
A Baroque palace in Berlin's Pankow district, former summer residence of Prussian queens and later the official guest house of East Germany.
Sanssouci Palace
Frederick the Great's exquisite Rococo palace in Potsdam, a UNESCO World Heritage site surrounded by terraced vineyards and vast parkland.
Nymphenburg Palace
The sprawling Baroque summer residence of the Bavarian rulers on Munich's western edge, with canal-side gardens, a porcelain museum, and the famous Gallery of Beauties.
Munich Residenz
The former royal palace of the Bavarian monarchs in central Munich, one of Europe's grandest city palaces with the Cuvilliés Theatre and the Treasury.
Ludwigsburg Palace
One of Germany's largest surviving Baroque palaces, with 452 rooms, sprawling gardens, and a celebrated pumpkin festival in autumn.
Schwetzingen Palace
An 18th-century Electoral Palatinate summer palace famous for its ornate mosque garden, a rare example of Islamic-inspired Rococo garden architecture in Germany.
Köpenick Palace
A Baroque water palace on an island in the Dahme River, housing Berlin's Arts and Crafts Museum and set in a tranquil riverfront park.
Neues Palais
Frederick the Great's grand late-Baroque palace at the western end of Sanssouci Park, a sandstone statement of Prussian power built after the Seven Years' War.
Cecilienhof Palace
An English-style country palace in Potsdam, built for the last Crown Prince of Prussia and site of the 1945 Potsdam Conference between Truman, Stalin, and Churchill.
Löwenburg Castle
A romantic artificial medieval ruin built for Landgrave Wilhelm IX of Hesse-Kassel, set within the UNESCO Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe with furnished interiors and valley views.
Marburg Castle
A hilltop castle above Marburg's medieval Altstadt, founded by the Landgraves of Hesse and now housing a university museum with Gothic and Renaissance halls.
Marienburg Castle
A neo-Gothic fairy-tale castle built for King George V of Hanover in the 19th century, with towers, battlements, and woodland views south of Hanover.
Celle Castle
One of northern Germany's finest half-timbered and Renaissance-style palace complexes, seat of the Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg with a Baroque theatre inside.
Wolfenbüttel Castle
The second-largest surviving Weser Renaissance palace in Germany, with a fairy-tale tower, a courtyard arcade, and the famous Herzog August Library next door.
Schwerin Castle
A fairy-tale castle on an island in Lake Schwerin, called the 'Neuschwanstein of the North' with its golden towers, gardens, and lakeside setting.
Güstrow Palace
A jewel of Renaissance palace architecture in northern Germany, with a banquet hall ceiling by Flemish artists and formal gardens.
Ludwigslust Palace
A restrained late-Baroque palace in rural Mecklenburg, known as the 'Versailles of the North' for its canal, gardens, and the golden hall of the palace church.
Augustusburg Palace
A magnificent UNESCO Rococo palace in Brühl with a grand ceremonial staircase by Balthasar Neumann, set in a sweeping ornamental park.
Benrath Palace
A symmetrical pink Rococo water palace on the southern edge of Düsseldorf, surrounded by a canal, French gardens, and a historic park with a small lake.
Drachenburg Castle
A neo-Gothic private villa on the Drachenfels hill above the Rhine, built for a 19th-century banker with panoramic views over the river valley.
Marksburg Castle
The only hill castle on the Middle Rhine that has never been destroyed, a complete medieval fortress with original interiors above the river town of Braubach.
Reichsburg Cochem
A dramatically reconstructed hilltop castle above the Moselle town of Cochem, with neo-Gothic interiors, tower views, and vineyard slopes all around.
Stolzenfels Castle
A Prussian Rhine castle rebuilt in Gothic Revival style, given as a gift to Crown Prince Frederick William IV, with terraced gardens and river views.
Saarbrücken Castle
A Baroque palace rebuilt after WWII in central Saarbrücken, housing the Saarland Historical Museum with regional and coal-mining heritage exhibits.
Montclair Castle
A restored hilltop castle in the Saarland forest above Mettlach, a former seat of the Archbishops of Trier with a museum, tower views, and woodland trails.
Dagstuhl Castle
A ruined medieval hill castle in the Saarland forest, surrounded by a moat and now a free-access hiking destination with tower remnants and woodland views.
Dresden Castle
The historic residence of the Electors and Kings of Saxony in Dresden, housing the Green Vault treasury, the Turkish Chamber, and the prints cabinet.
Moritzburg Castle
A Baroque hunting palace on a symmetrical island in a man-made lake, built by Augustus the Strong for lavish court festivities near Dresden.
Colditz Castle
A Renaissance hill castle above the Mulde river, famous as the WWII Allied officers' POW camp where dozens of escape attempts were made, documented in books and films.
Wernigerode Castle
A fairy-tale neo-Gothic castle on a hill above the Harz town of Wernigerode, with a fully furnished interior, towers, gardens, and views over the Harz mountains.
Quedlinburg Castle
A Romanesque castle and collegiate church on a sandstone ridge above the UNESCO-listed old town of Quedlinburg, with medieval crypt frescoes and treasury.
Falkenstein Castle
A well-preserved high medieval hill castle in the eastern Harz, with a furnished knight's hall, a deep well, and forest trails through the Selke valley.
Gottorf Castle
The largest princely palace in Schleswig-Holstein, seat of the Dukes of Gottorf, with the Gottorf Globe, Baroque state rooms, and the Schleswig-Holstein State Museums.
Glücksburg Castle
A white Renaissance water castle on the Flensburg Fjord, seat of the House of Glücksburg whose members include the Danish and Norwegian royal families.
Eutin Castle
A Renaissance palace in the Holstein Switzerland lake district, seat of the Prince-Bishops of Lübeck, with a palace park, lake views, and a surrounding Altstadt.
Friedenstein Castle
One of Germany's largest early Baroque palaces, built on the site of a medieval fortress in Gotha, with the Schlosspark, the Ekhof Theatre, and the ducal museum.
Schwarzburg Castle
A historic hill castle in the Thuringian Forest, seat of the Princes of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, with a museum, gardens, and forest hikes in the Schwarzatal valley.
Weimar Castle (Stadtschloss)
The city palace of Weimar, residence of the Dukes of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, with the Goethe and Schiller collections and the classical facade on the Ilm river.
Bergedorf Castle
The only surviving medieval castle in Hamburg, a moated water castle in the Bergedorf district housing a local history and regional museum.
Schloss Johannisberg
A hilltop palace and winery in the Rheingau, one of Germany's oldest Riesling estates with a neo-Gothic palace, wine cellars, and views over the Rhine.
Würzburg Residence
A UNESCO World Heritage Baroque palace, one of Europe's finest, with Balthasar Neumann's celebrated staircase and Tiepolo's largest ceiling fresco.
Herrenchiemsee Palace
Ludwig II's unfinished homage to Versailles, built on an island in Lake Chiemsee with a Hall of Mirrors that outdoes the original and no expense spared.
Mannheim Palace
One of the largest Baroque palace complexes in Europe, the former residence of the Electors Palatine, spanning an entire city block in central Mannheim.
Karlsruhe Palace
The fan-shaped Baroque palace at the centre of Karlsruhe, built for Margrave Karl Wilhelm of Baden-Durlach, with 32 radiating avenues and the Badisches Landesmuseum.
Sigmaringen Castle
A dramatic castle perched on a Danube valley rock, seat of the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen princes, with weaponry collections, state rooms, and a frescoed chapel.
Wilhelmshöhe Palace
The main palace of the UNESCO Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe in Kassel, housing the Antiquities Collection and the world-class Old Masters picture gallery.
Rheinsberg Palace
Frederick the Great's 'youth' Rococo palace on a lake in the Ruppin countryside, where he spent his happiest years before becoming king, with terraced gardens and a famous literature museum.
Zwinger
Augustus the Strong's Baroque festival palace and Orangery in Dresden, housing the Old Masters Picture Gallery, the Porcelain Collection, and the Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon.
Pillnitz Castle
A Chinoiserie-style summer palace on the Elbe river, built for Augustus the Strong with sweeping roofs, river terraces, and a botanical garden.
Bruchsal Palace
The Fürstbischöfliches Residenzschloss in Bruchsal, featuring Balthasar Neumann's magnificent Baroque staircase, one of the finest in southern Germany.
Glienicke Palace
Karl Friedrich Schinkel's classicist summer palace on the Havel, part of the UNESCO Prussian Palaces ensemble, with a famed casino wing and park by Lenné.
Schloss Nordkirchen
The 'Westphalian Versailles' — a magnificent moated Baroque palace in Münsterland, surrounded by a grand canal, formal gardens, and an orangerie.
Heidecksburg Palace
The magnificent Baroque residential palace of the Princes of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, crowning the hill above Rudolstadt with opulent state rooms and a celebrated stucco ballroom.
Plön Castle
A Renaissance castle on a lakeside promontory in Plön, one of the largest castle complexes in Schleswig-Holstein, surrounded by the Holstein Switzerland lake district.
Biebrich Palace
A Baroque and Rococo palace on the Rhine in Wiesbaden-Biebrich, former residence of the Dukes of Nassau, with terraced gardens along the riverbank.
Explore more of Germany
Beyond the castles, discover Germany's cities, hiking trails, and top museums.