Kronberg Castle — Attraction in Kronberg im Taunus

Loved this ruin. We saw a lot of abbey and castle ruins on our trip to Germany and I liked this one the best. They were unassuming and offered a pleasant surprise around every corner. Hardly anyone else there even though it was summer. The entrance is tucked away in a neighborhood but there’s good signage. On the way, you will find a stumble stone (brass plate on the street) that honors a victim of World War Two. The ruins do not open until 1 pm. There is also an exhibit in the main building but it is only open sometimes and not the day we were there. We could walk into the first room and see a very well done model of the complex. It was started by the Romans and added on/destroyed over the centuries. We were given a paper with the important points in English. The staff also spoke excellent English and there was a tiny gift shop with souvenirs. Outside there are clean restrooms and a few picnic tables. Inside the complex offers amazing view of the city especially from the Roman tower (the square one). The site costs just a few euro to enter. There is a café but it was closed the day we were there. The grounds were beautiful gardens and forest. Well worth the visit to this ruin and to the old city of Kronberg which is an easy 20-30 minute train ride from the Frankfurt Main Station. There is no parking at this location and it is not ADA accessible.

Do not confuse this historic location with the Kronberg Castle Hotel. Those are two very...

I did not expect too much before visiting this castle after having seen a few stunning castles across Germany. It ended up to be a pleasant surprise. Similar to most castles, there are the usual structures. However, I like the way they restored the buildings that you get a rusty and nostalgic feel. The ruins of the time are evident. The views are spectacular with Frankfurt on one side and Taunus on the other and villages around. You can climb up the Freiturm to have different viewpoints as well. There is also a display of a few wooden human figure sculptures in a small room in the Oberburg. A short footpath allows you to walk around the Oberburg and the garden if you like. Unfortunately I missed the guided tour to the inside rooms of the Mittelburg and could not see them as they only had 1 at 1430 on the day I visited. I also missed the Museum Stadtgeschichte which opens only on Saturday, Sunday and holidays. So plan your date and time of visit if you want to see the whole thing. Lastly, a word of caution, the place is yet to improve their mobility...

We had the strangest experience here. According to their website, the castle should have been open on Thursday, the day we were there. We entered the courtyard and made our way to the garden to take some pictures, it was a beautiful place. When we went inside, there were 2 people just sitting and staring at us and didn't welcome us or anything, so I said hello, and they both said hello back. We walked around some more and about 10 minutes later, the same man from before came to us and told us we couldn't be there as they were only open on Saturdays and Sundays and that we needed to leave, even though their website said they were open and that tours were being given every hour. Not sure if there was a misunderstanding or what, but it felt really...