Ingelheim Imperial Palace

Welcome to Ingelheim Imperial Palace

The proximity to the Rhine and the expansive view of the Rhine plain may have been particularly appealing to Charlemagne when he had the magnificent imperial palace built 15 kilometres west of Mainz towards the end of the 8th century.

The imperial palace served a further 17 kings and emperors as a temporary seat of government. In the archaeological zone, which today extends over an entire residential area, impressive ruins still bear witness to the splendour of the former monumental building. The foundations of the rest of the complex lie underground, but are well known thanks to intensive archaeological research and have been made visible as markings in the modern pavement. In this way, the former extent of the entire complex can be impressively experienced. The imperial palace in Ingelheim is characterised by its unique layout for the early Middle Ages, which incorporates elements of Roman-antique villa and palace architecture. Charlemagne saw himself as a successor to the Roman emperors, and everyone who visited him in his palace should know this if possible.

From April to October, a public guided tour of the Imperial Palace takes place on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month. Group tours can also be booked. Pre-booking is required!

A signposting system with an accompanying booklet enables visitors to tour the Imperial Palace of Ingelheim on their own and leads to all points of historical interest where the history of the Imperial Palace can be traced. The stations are colour-coded according to the five building phases of the palace's history. For each construction phase there is a focus station with detailed information on site. The accompanying booklet is available in printed form as a brochure in the museum at the Kaiserpfalz.

In addition, there is the KAISERPFALZ APP, which is available free of charge in Google Play and the AppStore (to be found under the keyword "Kaiserpfalz Ingelheim"). The app also offers audio texts, picture galleries and digital reconstructions of the palace. The karolinger-route website also offers a lot more information. There, for example, you can compare the current state of the complex with the reconstructions using overlays. Discover all the monuments in the Imperial Palace Archaeological Zone with a virtual 360° tour. This means that the Imperial Palace can be experienced digitally anywhere and at any time.

The wedding room in the Heidesheimer Tor offers an impressive location for the "most beautiful day of your life". It promises a mixture of historic walls combined with modern architecture and comfort.

Source: DataHub Rheinland-Pfalz