Our Mission

For over 75 years, the State Castles and Gardens in Hesse have been looking after unique testimonies to the state’s history. They are passed on from generation to generation as cultural heritage. They include former princely residences, places of monastic culture, ensembles of garden art and many individual monuments.

What We Stand for

The State Castles and Gardens of Hesse preserve a historical heritage that belongs to all of you, the citizens. As a subordinate authority of the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and the Arts, we are the service provider for 48 properties throughout the state that span 2,000 years of history. Some of them are part of the Cultural Heritage of Humanity, awarded by the United Nations Organisation (UNESCO).

Our legally mandated task is to guard this communal treasure of cultural assets. We preserve and look after palaces, gardens, parks, monasteries, castle ruins, architectural gems and individual works of art, research them and contribute them to the development of the state. We make the places and facilities accessible to you with educational offers and also for recreation.

Garden impressions
Foto: Michael Leukel, 2019
Steinau Palace, southern gatehouse

Foto: Michael Leukel, 2020

Seated figure of Trajan

Photo: Michael Leukel, 2018

Homburg36

Foto: Alexander Paul Englert, 2020

Hanau-Wilhelmsbad State Park, pyramid

Foto: Michael Leukel, 2019

Ruins of Ehrenfels Castle, slope path

Foto: Michael Leukel, 2019

Einhard's Basilica Michelstadt-Steinbach
Foto: Michael Leukel, 2020
Junker-Hansen Tower

Foto: Michael Leukel, 2019

Niederwald rittersaal

Foto: Kilian Schönberger, 2016

Weilburg obere orangerie

Foto: Michael Leukel

We Give History a Future.

Our actions are based on these priorities:

  • We want to inspire people for the traces of the past and offer them places for experience, inspiration and recreation.
  • We have a stake in the fact that monuments and their settings create identity and give society a sense of cohesion.
  • We protect not only material but also ideal values.
  • We act in a progressive way because we protect the environment, work sustainably and look ahead methodically and scientifically.
  • We anchor monument conservation in the public consciousness as a contribution to the culture of remembrance: We need history and it needs us.

Current Topics (in German)