Kronberg Castle

The town's landmark was founded during the Hohenstaufen period. Today, all that's left of the oldest part, the so-called upper castle, is a ruin (with the exception of the keep), dating back to the first decades of the 13th century. Around 1500, the original half-timbered houses of the ‘middle castle’were replaced by the grand, solidly built stone houses of the Flügel and Kronen dynasties, the lords of Kronberg". As for the lower castle, its gatehouse and the chapel (which was completed in 1342) still survive today. The chapel contains the burial place of the House of Hesse and the last resting places of several Kronberg knights and their wives. The ancient Gothic kitchen boasts barrel vaults, a draw well and a hearth on stone pillars. In the late Middle Ages and during the Renaissance, the inhabitants learned to appreciate the idea of cosiness and began to install heaters. A chivalric domestic culture began to take hold.

Emperor Wilhelm II gifted the castle to his mother, Empress Frederick, in 1891, and this great patroness of the city saved parts of it from further decay. After her death, her inheritance passed to her daughter Margarete and her husband, Prince and later Landgrave Friedrich Carl of Hesse. In November 1992, the town acquired the castle and the entire grounds. When the "Burgverein" (castle association) and corresponding trust were set up, restoration proceeded in leaps and bounds. Today, large areas are once again open to visitors, and guided tours of the rooms, which have been restored to their original style, are offered on a regular basis.

The history of Kronberg Castle is the subject of the permanent exhibition, which can be visited in the north wing of the middle castle. It sheds light on the life of the Lords of Kronberg (who inhabited the castle until the extinction of the family in 1704), and informs about the subsequent use of the castle, and its structural rescue and modification by Victoria Empress Frederick.

Special attractions of the museum are the faithfully reproduced armour of Hartmuth VI of Kronberg from the 14th century and the Gothic kitchen with its large fireplace, well and all kinds of utensils.

The museum and interior of the castle can be visited only as part of a guided tour.