Postcards From Germany: Hohenzollern Castle

Today’s Postcard From Germany comes to you from Hohenzollern Castle.

Here are some facts, thanks to Wikipedia: It “is the ancestral seat of the imperial House of Hohenzollern. The third of three castles on the site, it is located atop Berg Hohenzollern, a 234 m (768 ft) bluff rising above the towns of Hechingen and Bisingen in the foothills of the Swabian Alps of central Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

Apparently, the first fortress on that same mountain was built in the 11th century. This last rendition was created between 1846 and 1867 as a family memorial. Sheesh! Most people nowadays just do a photo collage.

Here’s what it looks like when you approach:

Here’s what it’s like to hike up to it:

It’s not that easy to photograph the place, either! There’s so MUCH castle on so little ground atop the hill, there’s no just standing back a little farther to snap a shot of the whole thing.

To my mind, the way to approach it is to think about how you want to tell the story of the place. How does it affect you? What do you feel or enjoy about the place, what do you find funny or curious? What do you find grand? That leads to all kinds of different compositions.

Thinking about that made me want to do this short video about that very thing, and the three distances to make sure you cover: