Audio Guide of the Hochburg castle ruins

The digital tour of the stronghold

On the occasion of this year's 50th anniversary of the Verein zur Erhaltung der Ruine Hochburg e.V., MAQNIFY was commissioned to design a digital tour of the castle grounds.

On 22 January 1971, at the invitation of the district administrator, Dr Lothar Mayer, 39 people met in the meeting room of the district administration office to found the association with the wish that the new association would become an instrument for preserving the past in the interests of the future. They wanted to preserve what was once great and significant and had shaped the face of our close-knit homeland.

The stronghold was first mentioned as "Hachberg" Castle in the 12th century. From then on, it was in various forms of ownership - for a long time, the Margraves of Baden and the Hachberg collateral line owned and used the castle. The castle's heyday began in the 17th century, when Margrave Georg Friedrich von Baden had it converted into a fortress.

The new audio tour now introduces visitors to the fascinating history of the former margravial fortress of Hachberg. The stronghold can be visited free of charge all year round.

In consultation between MAQNIFY and Axel Brinkmann, a member of the association, a total of nine stations were identified for an audio tour of the castle ruins. With input from Rolf Brinkmann, head of the working group, Axel Brinkmann and Anna Zimmermann, members of the association, MAQNIFY created and recorded an entertaining audio programme for each station. Together with suitable visual material by Anna Zimmermann, showing, for example, historical drawings or the castle stations that have been preserved today, the content was then put together to form a tour.

Visitors can now call up the relevant information at nine stations by scanning the QR codes attached to the information signs. The tour starts at the defence tower on the Hochburg domain and continues through the Rothgattertor gate and the main gate via the upper castle courtyard to the bastion. However, each of the nine stations can also be called up as an independent contribution, so the stations can also be marvelled at independently of the tour.

The digital tour in three languages

The tour, including audio tour, is now available not only in German, but also in English and French. This means that the exciting history of the stronghold of Emmendingen can now also be explored by international guests at 9 stations at their own pace.