ホルゲンツェルの洞窟・トップ16

The castle is privately owned and cannot be visited. However, a walk through the castle courtyard is always worthwhile.

Beautiful complex, definitely worth a tour.

Always worth a visit

Always worth a visit

Great view of Heiligenberg Castle and the surrounding area of Lake Constance. When the weather conditions are good, you can see a wonderful Alpine panorama.

The bishop's castle was first mentioned by the Markdorf and Homburg knights around 1300. In 1414, control of Markdorf passed to the Prince-Bishop of Constance. From 1510, Hugo von Landenberg had the castle on the city wall expanded into an impressive residential tower and is said to have used it as a residence between 1529 and 1531. The so-called Knight's Hall on the top floor probably dates from this time (today used as a conference room and ballroom). His successor was Reich Vice Chancellor Balthasar Merklin. As a result, the castle repeatedly served as a summer residence for the bishops of Constance. In 1536, Cardinal Prince-Bishop Markus Sittich had the garden laid out at the castle. Under Prince-Bishop Johann Franz Schenk von Stauffenberg, the three middle floors of the tower were given a Baroque design around 1730. At around the same time, he had the so-called nave extension, the New Palace, built along the western city wall between the residential tower and the lower city gate. In 1737 the castle barn was rebuilt on the southern city wall. After secularization it was owned by the Grand Duchy of Baden. The castle buildings passed to private owners in the middle of the 19th century. Since 1985, the ensemble of Bishop's Castle, New Castle and former castle barn (rebuilt in 1984 while preserving the medieval city wall) has been used as a hotel. In October 2015, a feasibility study commissioned by the city of Markdorf on the use of the ensemble as a town hall was presented to the public. The local council's building decision to move the town hall to the Bishop's Palace was overturned by a referendum in December 2018 (Wikipedia).

The tower can be visited at any time, the ascent is very adventurous. The key hangs on the left above the door. The light switch is located in the entrance area of the tower. Very important: switch off the light again after the visit, lock the door and hang the key back!

Wonderfully located up high with a great view of Lake Constance... Fantastically beautiful at sunset ☀️👍