Hohentübingen Castle rises from the 372 m high Schlossberg as a mighty Renaissance four-wing building with round towers. The lords of Tübingen, who were raised to the rank of counts palatine in the 12th century, resided here until they sold the castle and town to the counts of Württemberg in 1342.
As the residence of the Württemberg dukes, Hohentübingen Castle lost its importance as early as the 16th century. Of particular art-historical value is the triumphal arch of the main portal, built in 1607. It is considered a masterpiece of the late Renaissance. As early as the middle of the 18th century, the university took over the first rooms in the castle and in 1816 the Württemberg King Wilhelm I transferred the entire castle to the university. The Knights' Hall temporarily housed the university library with around 60,000 volumes at the time, an observatory was set up in the north-east tower, and a chemical laboratory was set up in the castle kitchen, which can be visited today as the "castle laboratory" (see "Guided tours of museums and collections").
The barrel in the castle cellar, built in 1549 by Duke Ulrich, is considered the oldest preserved giant wine barrel in the world and is officially listed in the Guinness Book of Records. It measures about 6.80 meters in length and about 4.70 meters in height. Its capacity is about 84,000 liters and was filled with wine twice. Truly an attraction! Can be visited only in the winter months.
