Schloss Heiligenberg (Heiligenberg)

The family of the counts of Heiligenberg had their origins in castle ‘Altheiligenberg’, which was located to the west of the current castle.[1] Today, there are only some small remains of this castle in the forest.[1] Around 1250, count Berthold von Heiligenberg constructed a new castle on the current location, which was initially named ‘Neuheiligenberg’.[1] It was bought by count Hugo von Werdenberg in 1277.[1] The counts of Werdenberg-Heiligenberg further enlarged and expanded the castle in the late Middle Ages, while Altheiligenberg was abandoned after 1300.[1]

In 1516, countess Anna von Werdenberg (1498-1554) married count Friedrich II von Fürstenberg (1496-1559).[1] Through this marriage, the castle passed to the House of Fürstenberg in 1535.[1] The family owns the castle till the current day.[1][2][3]

Shortly before he passed away, count Friedrich decided to convert the castle into a renaissance dwelling.[1][4] In the 1550s, he started with demolishing most of the medieval castle, except for parts of the northern wing.[4] His son, count Joachim (1538-1598), was responsible for most of the new work.[1][4] Between 1560 and 1575, he created a four-wing complex with a beautiful renaissance court yard.[1][4] The older parts of the castle were covered by a renaissance façade.[1] These structural changes gave the castle its current Renaissance-style appearance.[1] The work was directed by master builder Hans Schwarz.[1]

Inside the south wing overlooking the Bodensee, the Knights' Hall (German: Rittersaal) was constructed between 1580 and 1584, one of the most magnificent ballrooms of the late German Renaissance.[1][4][5] The room is, together with the knight's hall in Schloss Weikersheim, one of the few surviving state rooms of this time.[1] The richly carved coffered ceiling hanging from the roof structure was created by Jörg Schwartzenberger from Meßkirch.[1][2] The chimney structures on the sandstone chimneys on the narrow sides with niche and column figures were created in 1584 and probably come from Hans Morinck.[1]

Next to the Knight's hall, there is the narrow and richly decorated castle chapel.[1][6][7][2] It extends over three floors with stained glass windows from the 14th century, which originally come from the Dominican church in Konstanz.[1][2] It is also considered to be a jewel of the German renaissance. Below the altar is a coffin said to contain the remains of Pope Felix I .[1]

After 1598, Heiligenberg Castle was no longer used as a permanent residence.[1] During the Thirty Years' War, the castle only narrowly escaped destruction.[1][4] If a fuse had not failed, it would have been blown up by the retreating French crew.[1]

The Heiligenberg branch of the House of Fürstenberg died out in 1716.[1] The castle was inherited by another branch of the family, whose main residence was in Donaueschingen. Heiligenberg castle was only used occasionally, like from 1817 tot 1822, when princess Elisabeth zu Fürstenberg was living in the castle.[1]

During the 19th century, various major renovations were performed to restore the knight's hall and the chapel.[1][4]

Heiligenberg was, from the mid-19th century, the principal home of Prince Alexander of Hesse, his wife, Countess of Battenberg, and their five children, the second of which, Prince Louis, became First Lord of the Admiralty in England, married a granddaughter of Queen Victoria and whose second son became Earl Mountbatten of Burma. All his life, Mountbatten recalled many happy family gatherings at Heiligenberg.

Until 2013, the Fürstenberg family used the castle as a summer residence for themselves and their guests.[3] Hereditary Prince Christian zu Fürstenberg has lived in the palace with his family since 2013.[3] For this aim, the east wing was renovated and turned into a liveable space.[3] Part of the castle could be visited by the general public as part of a guided tour.[3] Since 2022, the castle became the main residence of Christian's family.[3] At the same moment, the decision was made that the castle would only be open to the general public on special occasions such as Open Monument Day.[3]