Whether splendid, romantic or fairytale-like ― there are countless palaces in Germany.
Let our Flying Guide take you to seven particularly beautiful ones.
We start with Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam.
Together with a whole series of palaces and parks nearby,
it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1990.
The pleasure palace in Rococo style is only small, but world famous.
It was the favorite place of Frederick the Great.
Here the Prussian king could retreat
and spend the summer without any cares – which in French is "sans souci" – hence the name.
It is not only the palace that is worth seeing, but also its surroundings.
For centuries, the most important master builders and garden designers have worked here
to create a masterpiece of palace and garden architecture.
Our Flying Guide now takes us to Heidelberg Castle.
The ruins tower majestically above Heidelberg's old town and the Neckar River.
Numerous authors, including Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Mark Twain, were so fascinated
that they raved about the town with its romantic castle ruins in their works.
From the 13th century the castle was the seat of the reigning electors.
The destruction of the castle began in the 17th century with the Thirty Years' War.
It suffered attacks, lightning strikes, fires and demolitions.
The ruins were used as a quarry.
It was not until the 19th century that romanticists rediscovered the place.
Today the castle is a tourist magnet.
Schwerin Castle is no less impressive.
It's located on an island in the middle of the city of Schwerin,
surrounded by a romantic lake landscape.
The magnificent residence, built in a Neo-Renaissance style,
for a long time belonged to the dukes and grand dukes of Mecklenburg.
Today it is not only a museum,
but also the seat of the state parliament of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
It gets its ring-shaped form from a rampart of a Slavic castle built in the 10th century.
The castle contains 600 rooms, 11 floors and 24 chimneys.
Marienburg Castle near Hanover
is one of the most prominent Neo-Gothic architectural monuments in Germany.
George V, King of Hanover, gave it to his wife Marie as a birthday present.
Today the castle is a museum with historical furniture, paintings
and antique treasures of the Welf dynasty.
Our Flying Guide continues its flight to Sigmaringen Castle,
which belongs to another high-ranking aristocratic family.
To this day, it is the residence and administrative seat of the Hohenzollerns.
In the course of their long family history, several lines have emerged,
including the Brandenburg line, which bore the Prussian kings
and, after 1871, German emperors.
Sigmaringen Castle has a long history.
It was first mentioned in 1077.
Since then, the building has been remodeled many times,
so that several epochs and styles merge together.
The residential palace in Ludwigsburg:
Actually, only a small hunting lodge and pleasure palace
was to be built here for the dukes of Württemberg, who resided 12 kilometers away in Stuttgart.
But things turned out differently and the palace grew
into one of the most beautiful Baroque complexes in 18th century Germany.
It houses several museums that display various themes from history and craftsmanship.
Among them the family life of the high aristocracy and its table culture with ceramic art.
The surrounding park with its many flowerbeds and water features is also worth seeing.
Our Flying Guide's final destination for this journey is Lichtenstein Castle,
90 kilometers from Ludwigsburg.
Its location on the steep slope of the Swabian Albs is also impressive.
A fairy-tale castle with a dreamlike view.