Many of us are unable to travel for this year’s summer holiday. If you can’t get away, then we invite you to join our interactive road trip through Germany!
Experience our local sights and the history without having to wait in the crowd of tourists or book a place on the beach via an app.
Germany is mainly known for its castles and palaces. Follow us along one of the most popular castle roads in Germany, which brings history to life on almost 73 kilometers with six castles and palaces. Take a seat in the car or on your bike – the route is also suitable for this purpose – and set off on your adventure!
Castle Mannheim
Our road trip starts with a little highlight in Mannheim, which is located in the beautiful state of Baden-Württemberg. The Mannheim baroque castle was built between 1720 and 1760 and was the residence of the elector at that time. (An elector is like a prince or duke who participated in choosing the king). The castle is especially known for its rich interior decoration. The knight’s hall especially is considered as the heart of the castle. With a length of its display facade of 440m it is one of the largest castles in Europe.
Castle Schwetzingen
The mosque in the palace garden.
About 17 kilometers further on is the Schwetzingen Castle. It was built as a moated castle in the 14th century. It was then rebuilt in 1655 by the elector at this time after its destruction in the Thirty Years’ War. In the 18th century, Elector Carl Theodor dedicated himself to the completion of the castle – which had been destroyed and rebuilt up to that point in the wake of wars of succession – and left the castle as a total work of art. In addition, a mosque can be found in the palace garden of Schwetzingen, which was a fashionable trend in many places at this time, but also showed Elector Carl Theodor as a tolerant and cosmopolitan ruler.
Castle Heidelberg
Another 15 km further on is the world famous Heidelberg Castle. Since the 19th century, it has stood for the epitome of romanticism. Initially this castle served as a fortress before and was first mentioned in a document in 1255. In the course of the centuries, it was further and further rebuilt as a castle and in the following years it was always found somewhere between destruction and reconstruction. This, however, brought many different electoral princes and also their styles with it, so that besides elements of the Renaissance, late Renaissance and Historicism, also Gothic elements can be found. Today the castle is one of the most famous ruins in the world.
The tour continues along the Neckar river. Beside castles and palaces such as the Dilsberg Castle in Neckargemünd, the Hirschhorn Castle in the village of the same name and the castle ruins in Eberbach. The Castle Road lives up to its name and offers many different sights. Even the towns themselves convince with their medieval charm and hospitality!
We think Germany is worth a trip! Do you have ideas for a road trip in Germany? Write to us and we will publish your ideas in a blog with maps! We are looking forward to your suggestions!
