Gusti at the "old" duke's 

Who on earth is Gusti? It’s obvious! A clever little owl who knows an incredible amount about the “fairytale castle” on Karlsberg and its forest park, invites children and their parents on a journey of discovery, and has written it all down in an easy-to-understand little booklet. Today, much of the splendor of the castle and its vast park in the dense forest surrounding Karlsberg has vanished, but if you keep your eyes open, there’s plenty to explore in hidden corners. Where the prince—whose name, by the way, was Duke Karl II of Pfalz-Zweibrücken—used to drive from the castle to the park over 200 years ago in his magnificent carriage, wearing a powdered wig, there are now ponds, fountains, and the remains of numerous buildings along the way waiting to be discovered. A good starting point to set off with Gusti is the Karlsberger Hof parking lot in Homburg-Sanddorf. The first destination is the Karlsberg Pond with its small fountain, and if you look closely, you can spot the little fish in the clear water. On the right bank, the path leads past a Kneipp basin and the Karlsberg spring, then uphill to the Orangery. Not only did many people live here, but in winter it was also home to the orange and lemon trees that adorned the gardens in summer.From here, a path leads straight to the former castle park, “Karlslust.” This path is still called Appelallee today, as apple trees once lined the route and the prince used to rattle past them in his carriage. Karlslust once housed a full-fledged zoo with all manner of exotic animals, such as monkeys, lions, dromedaries, and bears. Today, the only remnant of the former zoo is the so-called “Bärenzwinger” (Bear Pit), circular like a circus tent, with a small island in the middle surrounded by water and small huts along the edge, which surely housed more than just bears. A little further down lies the Schwanenweiher (Swan Pond), where swans were certainly not the only ones to swim in the past. A stone’s throw away lies the “Tosbecken,” a nearly circular, somewhat ornate water basin. Why is this basin—now reconstructed in rusted steel and containing rather little water—actually called the Tosbecken? Because in the prince’s time, abundant water flowed down from the mountain into the basin via artificially constructed steps and apparently bubbled and foamed vigorously—in other words, it roared.