Schlosshotel Horneck

The mighty Horneck Castle towers impressively above the Teutonic Order town of Gundelsheim. Since 2020, it has been resplendent in new splendour and, in addition to the Transylvanian Cultural Centre, now also houses a castle hotel with 32 rooms.

The current use of the second largest castle on the Neckar is preceded by an eventful history: it became important and well-known from 1420 as the residence of the Teutonic Master and the third headquarters of the Order after Riga and Marienburg. After being destroyed in the Peasants' War in 1525, it was rebuilt in 1533 in the Renaissance style and some 200 years later transformed into the Baroque palace that still exists today.

Owned by the Kingdom of Württemberg through secularisation in 1805, it was used as barracks. From 1824 onwards, it was privately owned and became the seat of the Hornegg Castle Brewery. From 1891 to 1939, under the medical direction of Prof. Dr. Roemheld, it was converted and furnished in the Art Nouveau style and became a well-known sanatorium, which counted among its spa guests such high nobility as Queen Charlotte of Württemberg, film stars like Gustav Gründgens and Marianne Hoppe as well as boxing world champion Max Schmeling.

An American military hospital shortly after the Second World War, a pulmonary sanatorium from 1946 to 1960 and "Heimathaus Siebenbürgen" (Transylvanian home), including a home for the elderly and nursing home, from 1960 to 2015, it haThe mighty Horneck Castle towers impressively above the Teutonic Order town of Gundelsheim. Since 2020, it has been resplendent in new splendour and, in addition to the Transylvanian Cultural Centre, now also houses a castle hotel with 32 rooms.