Germany · Ruin
Festung Hohentwiel
Hohentwiel Castle is the extensive ruined fortress on the summit of the extinct volcanic cone Hohentwiel above Singen in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Once a ducal seat and later a fortified state stronghold and penitentiary, it was deliberately slighted in 1801 and today survives as a large, vegetated ruin open to visitors and used for festivals.
Its prime
1790
Today
Ruin
As it stood in 1790
The shape it held in its prime.
Perched on the steep rocky peak of a dead volcano, the fortress spreads across terraces and cliffs with long pale-grey curtain walls linking a series of rectangular inner enclosures and ruined domestic ranges. A large round cliff-edge bastion dominates the southern scarp; a tall square keep/ducal tower rises within the inner ward. Many buildings are reduced to wall-frames and foundations, grassy courtyards and trees grow inside the enclosure, and lower outer baileys step down the wooded slopes.
Its story
The story of Festung Hohentwiel.
First mentioned in 915, the fortress on the extinct volcano Hohentwiel was a ducal seat in the Early Middle Ages and an ordinary castle in the High Middle Ages, passing through noble families including the House of Zähringen. From the early 16th century the House of Württemberg took hold and made it a ducal seat once more.
Expanded into the state fortress of Württemberg, Hohentwiel withstood five sieges in the Thirty Years' War, all unsuccessful. Later a state penitentiary, it was slighted in 1801 during the War of the Second Coalition. At nine hectares it is now Germany's biggest castle ruin open to tourists, drawing over 80,000 visitors a year and an annual festival.
Step inside
9 places to explore in 1790.
The record describes 9 distinct spots at Festung Hohentwiel — including 1 interior: former penitentiary block. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more photos, more angles and more rooms of the immersive experience.
Create History
Recreate Festung Hohentwiel with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1790 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate Castle to Explore →Whose castle
Clans who held Festung Hohentwiel.
The families that held Festung Hohentwiel for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.
Zähringen
Among the noble families who possessed the mountain in the Middle Ages was the House of Zähringen.
Württemberg
Ducal seat and later state fortress of the House of Württemberg from the early 16th century until slighted in 1801.
