Dennenlohe Castle

Dennenlohe Castle is over 900 years old. The history of the current Baroque castle began in 1734, when the architect Leopoldo Retti of the Margrave of Ansbach created the entire complex with its garden.

The first owner was the imperial councilor Paul Martin Freiherr Eichler von Auritz. Already in 1825, the Augsburg banker Johann Gottlieb Freiherr von Süßkind bought the estate. In 2010, the castle was in the possession of the eighth generation of the von Süßkind family.

In the 1990s, the castle was completely renovated with the help of the Bavarian State Office for Monument Protection.

The estate houses a vintage car museum, the former stables a restaurant, the former pigsty a flower and gift shop, and the historic riding arena a gallery. The castle park is the largest rhododendron park in Southern Germany with over 13 hectares and is recognized as a botanical garden.

At Dennenlohe Castle, the German Garden Book Prize has been awarded annually in April since 2006, and since 2011, a European Garden Book Prize for European garden books, including licensed prints in German. Dennenlohe is the headquarters of the Bavarian Garden Network, which organizes tours through Bavarian gardens.