Perched high above Lake Constance and nestled in large parklands, this elegantly furnished castle was once the residence of the last emperor of France. In what is now the Napoleonic Museum, the original furnishings have been preserved, and the palace gardens have recently been restored.
There have been fortifications in what is now Arenenberg since the middle of the 15th century. Arenenberg was owned by well-heeled families before it was sold to Hortense de Beauharnais, the adopted daughter and sister-in-law of Napoleon I. She had it rebuilt in the French Empire style and lived there from 1817 with her son Louis Napoleon, later Emperor Napoleon III, who, according to reports, is said to have spoken the Thurgau dialect in addition to French.
The interior of the castle is decorated with wallpaper, furniture and paintings in memory of Napoleon I. The original furnishings have largely been preserved and all of the castle’s rooms are freely accessible.
The 13-hectare park was designed by French landscape architects. They laid the foundations for a wonderful park with numerous installations such as grottoes, a hermitage, an ice cellar and a fountain.
