Schloss Hotel Kronberg

When intelligent money meets the history of royalty, we acquire a collection of art, architecture, fine craftsmanship and the splendor of a magnificient structure maintained close to its original state. Tucked away in a beautiful pastoral setting is the Schloss Hotel. Built in 1889-1894 this palace near Kronberg was the creation of Empress Friedrich, (Victoria). She married Friedrich III, later to become King of Prussia and German Emperor, more commonly known as Kaiser.

Victoria was the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria born in 1840 at Buckingham Palace. The couple became engaged in 1855 while Frederick was on a visit to Balmoral. Victoria was just fourteen, while her future husband was a young man of twenty-four. The marriage was both a love match and a dynastic alliance. The Queen and Prince Albert hoped that Victoria's marriage to the future King of Prussia would cement close ties between London and Berlin, and possibly lead to the emergence of a unified and liberal Germany. At the time of their wedding, Londoners chanted "God save the Prince and Bride! God keep their lands allied!"

When Friedrich finally came to the throne, he reigned for only 99 days. Victoria, had the castle built in memory of her late husband in the hills near Kronberg, not far from Frankfurt. As a talented and gifted artist in her own right, she was a patron of the arts and learning, She surrounded herself with beautiful tapestries, fine china and porcelain, classic works of English literature and sufficient of her own sketches and artwork to belie the creative intelligence of this gifted lady.




Throughout her married life and widowhood, Victoria kept in close touch with other members of the British Roayal Family, particularly her younger brother, the future King Edward VII. She maintained a regular correspondence with her mother. According to the Royal Encyclopedia, some 3,777 letters from Queen Victoria to her eldest daughter have been catalogued, as well as more than 4,000 from daughter to mother. Many of her letters detailed her concern over Germany's future under her son. Victoria was diagnosed with inoperable breast cancer in 1899 while visting her mother at Balmoral. She suffered excruciating pain during her last years. In the fall of 1900, she died in her German estate. The Germans of Kronberg had become very fond of her, albeit she could still not speak their language after many years in Germany.