Foundation: Prince Josef Friedrich Wilhelm of Hohenzollern-Hechingen

The foundation stone for the park was laid by Prince Josef Friedrich Wilhelm of Hohenzollern- Hechingen (1717 - 1798). At the end of the 1780s, he had a pleasure garden house built in the garden zone to the south of the town: the core building of today's Villa Eugenia. At the same time, a court gardener's house was built on the west side of the pleasure garden house, which is now privately owned, and the garden itself was laid out. Since 1750, the landscape garden style coming from England was known on the continent, and the princely garden was consequently oriented towards it.

The foundation stone for the park was laid by Prince Josef Friedrich Wilhelm von Hohenzollern- Hechingen (1717 - 1798). In the late 1780s, he had a pleasance house built in the garden area to the south of the town: the core building of today's Villa Eugenia. At the same time - in which the garden itself was laid out as well - another house was built for the court gardeners on the west side of the pleasance house. It is now in private hands. Since 1750, the landscape garden style from England was known across the continent, and the princely garden was consequently oriented towards it.

Continued development: Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Constantin and Princess Eugenie

When hereditary Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Constantin Hermann Thassilo of Hohenzollern-Hechingen and Eugénie Hortense Auguste Napoléone de Beauharnais, Princess of Leuchtenberg, married on May 22, 1826, they were looking for a residence in Hechingen that would suit their status and decided on the pleasance house. After extensive construction and expansion procedures during 1832-1834, they finally moved from their temporary residence in the Lindich Castle to the newly built stately residence in the Princely Garden. Thereupon it was renamed "Villa Eugenia" after the princess.

At this time, the most crucial phase of the Princely Garden's further development began. Between 1830 and 1844, several buildings were built or reconstructed uniformly in the classicist architectural style. The Billiard House also dates from this period and today is called "Weißes Häusle", which translates to "the little White House". In 1837, the prince had the orangery built at the northern property line. It was planned by Friedrich Weinbrenner. In 1839, this was followed by the construction of the new kitchen building. It later became the senior forestry officer's office and is now privately owned.

Likewise, the outdoor facilities were substantially changed and expanded. The garden gradually developed into an English landscape park. Private land had already been acquired in 1826, and in 1841 the park was considerably expanded under Prince Constantin through the purchase of the Silberburg Garden. From then on, the design principles of landscape artist Herman von Pückler-Muskau that served as the main inspiration were followed even more strictly. The princely garden was now almost five hectares in size.

Change of ownership: administration through the Sigmaringen lineage

The design process came to a standstill due to fundamental disruptions in the history of the House of Hohenzollern-Hechingen: In 1847, Princess Eugenie died, and as a result of the revolution of 1848/49, the prince and his court emigrated to Silesia in 1850. In 1848/49, King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia gave in to the urging of the two Hohenzollern princes after long resistance and agreed to take over their lands. On December 7, 1849, the treaty of cession to Prussia was signed. Finally, King Friedrich Wilhelm IV personally signed the ratification document on February 11, 1850. With this, the seizure of the Hohenzollerns' ancestral lands was sealed. The two copies of the princes' ratification documents have been preserved and are kept in the State Archives in Sigmaringen and in the Hohenzollern State Museum in Hechingen.

With the transfer of the Hohenzollern ancestral lands to Prussia, the Sigmaringen lineage took over the administration of the princely garden and all buildings in it. The park was opened up to the public. In this course, numerous of the narrow paths throughout the garden were dissolved, and short connections passable for vehicles were created. These modifications changed the appearance of the Princely Garden to a considerable extent. In 1879, the previously existing Garden Directorate was dissolved, and a Garden Inspectorate was established. As a consequence of this decision, the park began to decay.

City of Hechingen becomes the owner of the Princely Garden

Today, the city is also in charge of the preservation of the tree population, as since June 12, 1987, it has owned the entire Princely Garden - with the exception of the fenced-in plot of Villa Silberburg, which is in private hands.

As city authorities acknowledged the value of the park, it was decided in 2017 to revive the garden's historical appearance. Therefore, the park maintenance concept by Albrecht Schaal, a landscape architect from Frankfurt am Main, is being implemented. This is to counteract the negligence of the park between 1930 and 2016. The goal is to gradually restore the park's condition of 150 years ago.