Hohenheim

Why go

The former ducal palace anchors a landscape that now belongs to university life. You can connect its surroundings with the historic Exotischer Garten and newer landscape garden, or focus on the separate botanical garden. This suits an interest in how a courtly estate became a place of study.

What to look for

• Parkland frames the former ducal palace.
• The historic garden walk passes the Spielhaus and Römisches Wirtshaus.
• Distinct botanical and woody-plant garden areas surround the university.

The full story

Hohenheim's palace and gardens grew from Duke Carl Eugen's transformation of an older estate. After acquiring it in 1768, he gave it to Franziska Leutrum von Ertingen. Work from 1772 reshaped the manor and its English-style garden, which included small versions of historic buildings and exotic planting. Construction of the present palace began in 1782 and stopped after the duke's death in 1793. A different purpose arrived in 1818, when King Wilhelm I established an agricultural school here. That institution became the University of Hohenheim. The change helps explain the combination you encounter today: a former courtly residence alongside gardens used for botanical collections. The Landesarboretum and botanical garden have distinct identities within that wider setting. Reading Hohenheim as an estate turned campus makes more sense than expecting an uninterrupted sequence of palace rooms.

Useful to know

• Include the Landesarboretum within your Hohenheim outing; it is part of the same garden landscape.
• For state rooms, consult the university's public-event and guided-tour programme.

Your next visit

Estimated · Declared scenario and planning estimates; no live opening, weather, queue or booking service.