Bad Homburg is an attractive and historic town north of Frankfurt, situated at the foot of the…read moreTaunus hills. The name Homburg means 'Hohenburg', and refers to the castle which dominates the upper part of the town, with its distinctive 14th-century keep, known as the White Tower.
Although there has been a castle here from around the 12th century, the present (and rather more comfortable) Schloss dates mostly from the rebuilding carried out by Paul Andrich in 1678 for Landgrave Friedrich II. This originally two-storey palace was the first new addition to be built after the Thirty Years War. Both the palace and grounds were subsequently enlarged over the next two centuries, into the substantial complex we see to-day.
In 1888 Kaiser Wilhelm II declared Bad Homburg's Schloss an Imperial summer residence, and construction of the huge Imperial Church next door began. His mother Victoria, the old emperor's widow (and Queen Victoria's eldest daughter) lived there for several years, and King Edward VII was also a frequent guest, enjoying the healthy pleasures of the local spa, and the more dubious pleasures of the Casino, opened in Bad Homburg in 1842. It was here that he asked a local hatmaker to make him a hat with a distinctive narrow brim which we now know as the Homburg.
Although much of the palace complex is now given over to offices, one wing houses a small collection of artistic and domestic items from the 17th to the 19th centuries, and it is possible to climb the tower in summer for spectacular views. The extensive landscaped grounds and gardens are also open to the public. Opening times change according to each season see website for details.
