Ploen Castle and Prinzeninsel Island

The city of Plön stands on the rather large Lake Großer Plöner See in the heart of the Holstein Switzerland natural park (Naturpark Holsteinische Schweiz). It is curious that in many countries natural parks are compared with Switzerland.




Like other cities in northern Germany, for a long time Plön was a part of Denmark in the status of a duchy. In 1633-1636, a new castle was erected and Plön even became the capital of a small kingdom. It belonged to Denmark until 1864 and served as a royal summer residence. In the middle of the XIX century, the Danish crown prince stayed in the castle for several years in a row and for him the structure was plastered in white.


After the Austro-Prussian-Danish war the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein went to Prussia. Now German princes from the Hohenzollern family began to come here, they received school education in the castle.






After World War II, a boarding school operated in the castle, which lasted until 2001, when the castle was sold to the Fielmann optical group. At the moment, a non-profit educational academy is open inside.


From the castle to the final point on the island of Prince is about 3 kilometers on foot. Along the way, you will encounter more interesting buildings. For example, the Prince's Castle (Prinzenhaus), built in the Rococo style. Initially, it was a garden house, and got its name after the the sons of Kaiser Wilhelm II studied here.






And in this red building hosts the information center of Holstein Switzerland.


Prince's Island only reachable on foot or by bicycle, and this is how it looks from above.


The island belongs to the Prussian royal dynasty of the Hohenzollern, but it is open to the public. View of the Plön Castle from the island


We reached the very edge, where the Empress's restaurant and gazebo (Pavillon der Kaiserin) are located. You can also get here on a pleasure boat (schedule), it can be seen in the previous photo from above.


Also on the island there is an equipped beach with a rescue station, toilets, a kiosk and playgrounds.


Getting there: paid parking in the city N 54 09.516 E 10 24.878, free parking near Prince Island N 54 08.968 E 10 24.093. Plön train station is 700 meters from the castle, use bahn.de.