Burgmuseum Kronberg

Kronberg Castle in the Taunus rises above the town of Kronberg in the Hochtaunuskreis, Hesse, and combines a high-medieval upper castle with a striking free-standing tower, a late-medieval castle chapel, and an early modern middle castle that has palace-like features and was simply known as "the palace" until the nearby Schloss Friedrichshof was built in the 19th century.

The hilltop castle was erected on a spur of the Altkönig at about 285 m above sea level; from there a wide view opens over the Rhine-Main region to the Odenwald and Spessart, and to the north toward the Taunus heights with Falkenstein and Schloss Friedrichshof. The complex is part of the local network of hiking trails and is incorporated into the Taunusklub’s 3-Castles Trail.

The foundation is uncertain; structural evidence dates the first building phase to around 1170 in the Staufer period, and the name Cronberg appears for the first time in 1230. Probable functions of the castle included protecting imperial possessions, securing Frankfurt and the royal palace, and monitoring an important trade route. From the 13th century the site developed into a Ganerbenburg in which several branches of the family occupied separate residential quarters. The castle chapel, dating to about 1342, served as the families’ burial place and contains tombs of the House of Hesse; the chapel was damaged in the Second World War, and the chancel is not open to the public.

Three construction periods are particularly formative in the building fabric: high and late medieval work up to around 1505, large-scale alterations in the early 17th century, and extensive restorations and additions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that shaped the complex as a public museum. Significant elements of the upper castle include the massive free-standing tower with a square footprint (8.4 × 8.4 m), whose present height of over 43 m and characteristic form date from alterations around 1500, as well as the rebuilt pentagonal tower with thick defensive walls and rare embrasures. The gate tower with its Romanesque round arch and the chapel space are identifiable, although not all areas are accessible to the public.

The middle castle, with its west and north wings, forms the central courtyard; a kitchen, flag tower, octagonal tower and a historic draw-well (known since 1367) demonstrate the functional layout. A defensive wall-walk and the so-called Prinzenturm were added in a historicizing manner. After the Cronberg lines died out, the castle changed ownership several times and experienced a variety of uses, including functioning as a school and military occupation.

Since the end of the 20th century a castle association, the town and a foundation have overseen preservation, restoration and interpretation. Major renovation phases took place at the beginning of the century and from 2012 to 2017; the Coat of Arms Hall reopened in 2016, and the exhibition room above it in 2017. External areas such as the Prinzengarten and the yew grove are maintained with historical orientation and ecological care. Today the castle presents itself as a multi-layered cultural monument of considerable landscape and historical significance.