Schlossspaziergang Hohentübingen

The castle:

The first known castle at this place dates back to the 11th century. It was first mentioned in 1078 being in a siege, which is also the oldest record of Tübingen. Today's castle is newer and has been rebuilt several times, its current look mostly dates back to the 16th and 17th century. Since 1816 the castle is entirely used by the university. Since 2002, large parts of the castle are occupied by the university museum, which shows some of the oldest findings of prehistoric human history and a lot of other interesting items. If you have enough time to spend, it's definitely worth a visit.

The Cache:

You'll do a walk through the castle along five stages and the final, which all should rather easy be to find and show you most of the interesting outdoor points of the castle. It's not a round trip, so you aren't forced to go back, but you can easily do it as a round trip starting from the old city. A good starting point would be here and you should plan for about an hour (or more if you want to take a closer look on the castle and viewpoints).

Please note:
- Leading over several stairs, this walk is not suitable for any kind of vehicle like strollers, wheelchairs or bikes.
- Stages 2 to 4 are accessible daily between 7 AM and 8 PM. The gates are closed over night.
The final box is outside of the castle, but should better be searched only during daytime anyway.

Vehicles should be left behind before climbing the castle mountain. Don't even try to find a car parking place in the old city, use the car parks outside instead. For bikes you might be able to find a bit of space at the upper end of streets "Neckarhalde" or "Haaggasse".

The Stages:

Stage 1: Lower Gate
N 48°31.177° E 9°03.128

This gate dates back to 1606 and it mostly known forthe coat of arms of Duke Friedrich I of Württemberg, featuring the motto of the Order of the Garter. Apart from this it features quite a selection of weaponry - the duke wanted to show that he is quite capable of defense. In the line of smaller items above the portals you'll find three cannons, two of them are equipped with a small supply of cannonballs.

How many cannonballs are available (both heaps counted together)? This two-digit number is A.

Now pass the lower gate and walk up to the platform. Do not cross the upper gate yet.

Stage 2: Castle Gardens
N 48°31.176 E 9°03.115

The castle gardens platform features the remains of a 19th century observatory and magnificient views into three directions: South, to the Swabian Alb mountain range, North, to the lower city and the Schönbuch hills, East, to the upper city with the main church Stiftskirche. Go to the eastern viewpoint at the coordinates, look to the main church, and then look to the lower right for a large buiilding with a distinctive yellow-orange and white half-timbered facade. On this facade you'll find a large object, as high as the entire floor. What kind of object is it?

- the coat of arms of Duke Friedrich I. (same as at the lower gate) => B = 1
- a motto of a peace movement => B = 3
- a sundial => B = 5
- an oriel with a tackle block => B = 7
- a lion made of stone => B = 9

Now you may pass the upper gate.


Stage 3: Castle court
N 48°31.175 E 9°03.035

At the coordinates you'll find two informational plates, one of stone and below that one of transparent plastics (only in german). We are interested in the new one. It describes that the nearby tower has been the "central point" (Zentralpunkt) of some work which is still of some meaning for us geocachers. When took this place?

=> It took from 1818 to 18CD.

Opposite to the gate you have entered the court through are several passages. Take the left one and go upstairs.

Stage 4: Western bastion
N 48°31.177 E 9°02.976

NOTE: As of late 2018, stage 4 is not legally accessible but closed off because of unstable walls and falling stones. Go as far as you can and find a large sign with a rather long text at the fence which explains the closure. It includes the words "Westbastion" and "gesperrt" in the title.

x = number of letters of the first word on the entire text
y = number of letters of the last word in the entire text
E = x - y - 1

Whenever the fence may vanish and they make the bastion accessible again, you can use the original question:

At the coordinates you'll find a standing stone object which could be used as a small table. It's socket is...

- a circle => E = 0
- a half circle => E = 2
- a square => E = 4
- a hexagon => E = 6
- an octagon => E = 8

Now, go back to the court and from there take the small passage (in the same wall) labelled "Schänzle / Wurmlinger Kapelle". After passing two tunnels and the castle moat, you'll reach a point where you can sometimes watch archers - and look for the last number on another small platform.

Stage 5: Schänzle
N 48°31.146 E 9°02.907

At the highest point around here you'll find a stone with an engraved geometrical symbol. Is it...

- a spiral => F = 2
- an equilateral triangle => F = 3
- a cross => F = 4
- a pentagram (five pointed star) => F = 5
- a hexagon => F = 6
- an infinity symbol (lying eight) => F = 8

Final: ???

To check your numbers, you can add up all numbers and from the sum, take the sum of the digits. The result should equal C+F.

You'll find the final box at:

N 48° 31.[A+C-3*B][D][E]
E  9° 0[B+C-2*F].[D+E][A-B-F][B-C]

To get back to the old city, it's best to use the Kapitänsweg starting at the red-white gate (see also additional waypoints). If you refuse to follow this recommendation, you are responsible yourself for any increase in terrain ratings ;)