Arenenberg Castle

Arenenberg Castle was built at the beginning of the 16th century by Sebastian Geissberg, the mayor of Constance, on the site of a former farmhouse called Narrenberg. The current name only became established in the 18th century. In 1585, the estate, then owned by Hans Konrad von Schwarach, was elevated to a 'Freisitz' (free seat). After several changes of ownership, the von Streng family acquired the castle in the 18th century. In 1817, the exiled Queen Hortense de Beauharnais, daughter of Empress Joséphine and wife of Louis Bonaparte, purchased the castle. She had it rebuilt, removing battlements and turrets, and created a landscape park. Her son Louis Napoleon, the later Emperor Napoléon III, spent part of his childhood and youth here and planned his 1836 coup attempt at Arenenberg. After Hortense's death in 1837, Louis Napoleon sold the castle in 1843. In 1855, Empress Eugénie, his wife, bought the property back as a birthday gift and donated it to the Canton of Thurgau in 1906.

Arenenberg Castle is located in Salenstein, in the district of Kreuzlingen, Canton of Thurgau, Switzerland, at an altitude of approximately 448 m above sea level.

Today, Arenenberg Castle serves as a museum. Visitors can explore the originally furnished rooms, which display numerous art objects from the Empire period. A small neo-Gothic chapel stands in front of the castle entrance. The former farm buildings now house an agricultural education and consulting center. The castle park, restored in 2008, offers a circular path with views of Lake Constance and includes a hermitage and an observation pavilion.

• Salenstein Castle (Castle), approx. 0.4 km away
• Luisenburg Castle (Mannenbach) (Castle), approx. 0.8 km away
• Eugensberg Castle (Salenstein) (Castle), approx. 1.3 km away
• Relling Castle (Ermatingen) (Castle), approx. 1.7 km away