Rediscover Bad Homburg Palace

Anyone who visits Bad Homburg Palace with its extensive park takes a journey through time to past centuries. The palace was once the landgravial residence of Hesse-Homburg, later the summer residence of the last German emperors and empresses. The keep of the medieval castle, the White Tower, still watches over the Baroque palace complex and is today the most prominent landmark of the spa town of Bad Homburg vor der Höhe.

The King’s Wing with its appartments of the last German imperial couple is one of the outstanding sights of the palace complex. The living and representative rooms were reopened in 2021 after ten years of extensive repair and restoration and reflect the state of the time around 1918. As an authentic testimony to imperial residential culture, the historic room corridors are unique in Germany. Visitors gain intimate insights into the private lives of Emperor William II and Empress Auguste Victoria, who used the palace as the summer residence of the Hohenzollern dynasty.

Main staircase to the Imperial Rooms in Bad Homburg Palace

The main staircase to the Imperial Rooms in the King’s Wing

Foto: Michael Leukel, 2021

One of the social rooms: the assembly hall

One of the social rooms: the Assembly Hall

Foto: Michael Leukel, 2021

The Empress’s toilet room

The Empress’s toilet room

Photo: Michael Leukel, 2021

The Emperor’s study with the so-called saddle seat

The Emperor’s study with the so-called saddle seat

Foto: Frank Röth, 2021

The Telephone Room in the Imperial Rooms

One of the visitor highlights: the Telephone Room

Photo: Michael Leukel, 2021

Two Dynasties in One Palace

A visit to the English Wing, on the other hand, takes you back to the era of the Hessian landgraves. Between 1622 and 1866, the palace was the seat of the Landgraves of Hesse-Homburg, who had a decisive influence on the appearance of the palace complex. Landgrave Frederick II, probably the most important ruler of the dynasty, had the Baroque palace built from 1679 onwards. The later Landgravine Elizabeth also contributed her ideas to the design of the complex. The princess, who came from the English court, came to Homburg in 1818 and realised her passion for gardening, which can still be experienced today in the palace park.

A newly opened accompanying exhibition entitled “From Landgrave’s Seat to Imperial Palace. 1622 – 1866 – 1918” complements the visit to the palace and sheds light in individual showrooms on the cosmos formed by the rulers and the court at the time of the monarchy.

View of the exhibition on the castles and world of Wilhelm II and the legacy of the Wilhelmine era

A visit to the free accompanying exhibition completes the visit to the palace.

Photo: Uwe Dettmar, 2021

A walk through the 13-hectare palace park invites you to take a leisurely stroll and offers a variety of insights into the garden design of past centuries. It leads to exotic plant collections, impressive woody plants, historical fruit varieties, effective sight lines and monuments. A walk up the White Tower also offers impressive views of the Frankfurt am Main skyline and the Taunus Mountains. You are invited to rediscover the entire ensemble of Bad Homburg Palace.