Schillingsfürst combines a striking castle with museums covering princely history, art, technology, and language. It also offers two very different routes: the Via Romea is a pilgrimage route crossing several countries on its way to Rome; the 107-kilometer Wörnitz Cycle Path begins at the source of the Wörnitz in Schillingsfürst and ends in Wassertrüdingen. When planning a stay, you can choose between cultural attractions in town and a longer-distance cycling route.
The Castle and Princely History
The Baroque castle of the Princes of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst is a landmark of the town. The castle museum focuses on the history of the German Empire under Wilhelm II and the significance of the Hohenlohe, Sayn-Wittgenstein, and Radziwill families to the princely house of Schillingsfürst. Paintings, ceiling paintings, tapestries, furniture, and porcelain illustrate these themes. The Liszt Museum explores the friendship between Franz Liszt and Cardinal Gustav Adolf zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst; Liszt visited him several times in Schillingsfürst.
The castle is also home to the Museum of the French Foreign Legion, the Legion’s only official museum outside France. Its exhibition traces the Legion’s origins, from recruitment in Schillingsfürst in 1792 to the founding of the Légion étrangère in 1831. Alongside the history of the princely house, it highlights an international historical connection and its development over time.
Art, Language, and Everyday History
The Ludwig Doerfler Museum houses the life’s work of Schillingsfürst artist Ludwig Doerfler (1905–1992). It is also a cultural meeting place for temporary exhibitions, artists’ symposia, musical performances, and readings by philosophers. In the Museum’s Haus der Heimat, the Museum of the Yenish Language presents an exhibition on the heritage of the Yenish language. The subjects offer different perspectives: an artist’s life’s work, changing cultural events, and the history of a language.
At the Brunnenhaus Museum, you can explore the domestic culture of the rural population in the 19th century in the former rooms of the well keepers. The historic ox-powered water-lifting system is part of the town’s technological history: built in 1702, it supplied water to the castle of the Princes of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst for centuries. The Schillingsfürst water tower served a different purpose. Built in 1902 in the Wilhelminian lighthouse style, it supplied water to the town until the 1970s. Inside the brick tower, a spiral staircase passes motifs by French painter Michel Leroux on its way to the very top. The two structures thus represent different functions: supplying water to the castle and supplying water to the town.
Pilgrimage Route and Cycle Path
The Via Romea places Schillingsfürst on an international pilgrimage route. It runs from Norway through Denmark and Stade near Hamburg to Rome, passing through Rothenburg, Schillingsfürst, Feuchtwangen, and Dinkelsbühl. The association responsible for the route has revived the original pilgrimage path. The Wörnitz Cycle Path offers a different scale: the 107-kilometer route begins at the source of the Wörnitz in Schillingsfürst, passes through Dinkelsbühl and follows the Wörnitz, and ends in Wassertrüdingen. When choosing a travel theme, the key consideration is the kind of route you want: a pilgrimage route with a broad European scope or a cycling route with a specified start and finish.
Guided tours of the castle museum are available during opening hours and by request. As arrangements may change, please check before your visit.
Discover more destinations: Dombühl, Diebach, Arberg, Dinkelsbühl, Heilsbronn, Aurach, Feuchtwangen, Wolframs-Eschenbach.
Go to the main travel overview: Ansbach.
