Rated Castles in Germany

Like Hohenzollern Castle in Southwest Germany, Burg Eltz will more than satisfy your kids' desire to see a real fairy tale castle. It not only looks the part with its towers and access over a narrow bridge, but the setting is perfect, too, atop a 70-meter-high rock outcrop surrounded by dense forest. Soaring stone walls and towers, pointed turrets, sharply pitched roofs, and red half-timbering make Burg Eltz an unforgettable sight against the forested hillside.

One of the principal landmarks of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site, Marksburg is the only one of the 40 hill castles in this stretch of the river that has never been destroyed or fallen into disrepair.

Built in the Middle Ages as a secure stopping place for emperors and their entourages on hunting trips to the Hartz Mountains and subsequently expanded in the late Gothic style, Wernigerode Castle was transformed into a Renaissance fortress in the 16th century.

The Old Town of Nuremberg is dominated by its castle, a fortification that's among the most important surviving medieval fortresses in Europe. Home of German kings and emperors for more than 500 years, Nürnberger Burg – despite serious damage in World war II and post-war reconstruction – still looks much as it has through the centuries. First mentioned as a royal property in 1050, it became a major scene of royal activity and Imperial Diets throughout the time of the Holy Roman Empire and later monarchies.

The impressive castle that sits above the charming town of Marburg has its origins as early as AD 1000 and is one of Germany's earliest hillforts. The castle that crowns the town today dates from the 13th century and was a principal residence of the Landgraves of Hesse until 1604.

Hailed in its UNESCO World Heritage Site citation as "an outstanding monument of the feudal period in central Europe," Wartburg Castle is also important as the place where Martin Luther translated the New Testament into German. The importance of that work extends far beyond its religious significance: the translation marked the beginning of a unified and accessible written German language.

The massive red sandstone Heidelberg Castle is one of the best surviving examples of German Renaissance architecture. It stands in a commanding position on the hillside directly above the Old Town in Heidelberg, almost 200 meters below, forming a backdrop visible from almost any point in town or along the Neckar River.

Unlike many other castles, which sit atop steep hills or perch on rocky crags for defense, Schwerin Castle is almost entirely surrounded by water. Only a bridge connects it to Schwerin, the capital of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in northern Germany.

The third castle to stand on top of this mountain in Baden-Württemberg, Hohenzollern Castle is the ancestral home of the imperial family of Germany, the House of Hohenzollern. Their monarchy ended with the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II at the end of World War I, and many of the dynasty's royal artifacts are displayed here, including the Prussian royal crown and items belonging to Frederick the Great.

Conceived in the mind of "Mad" King Ludwig of Bavaria as a fantasy retreat from the world, Nueschwanstein incorporates myth, Romantic literature, grand opera, and Teutonic chivalry in its architectural and decorative palette. The result is a cross between neo-Romanesque and neo-Gothic mixed with fairy tale, an exuberant concoction of spires, turrets, battlements, and pitched roofs set atop a rocky crag surrounded by forest.