Schloss Birlinghoven History
Birlinghoven Castle (Schloss Apotheke) is a unique
monument of cultural history from the period around the turn of the century. It is one of the
few residential castles erected especially to house an art collection.
As in other 19th century structures, a key feature here is the
combination of various elements from historical architecture, sculpture, arts and crafts to
make one complete work of art.
In the Middle Ages, the Birlinghoven seat was a
two-part moated castle located in the Lauterbach valley before the mouth of the Pleisbach.
Shortly after 1900, a residence was built in place of the manor house on an island. One of the
two post-medieval wing structures of the gatehouse was extended in the 19th century.
The new Birlinghoven Castle was designed after the fashion of an
English country mansion in the years 1900 to 1902. It was erected above the old castle in a
commanding position, with a view of the Siebengebirge hills and liberally appointed with old
works of art. It was built by Theodor Damian Rautenstrauch, and the plans were supplied by
Cologne architect Edwin Crones.
The red clay bricks required for the construction work were imported
especially from England. They were shipped up the Rhine, reloaded onto horsedrawn carts at
Beuel, north of where the Kennedy Bridge now stands, and then brought to Birlinghoven. Other
material for the castle building was obtained from a stone factory of the day at
Birlinghoven.
Following Theodor's early death, the property passed to his brother
Eugen von Rautenstrauch, Cologne banker and sponsor of that city's Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum
for Ethnology.
In 1917, the Schloss Birlinghoven was bought by Privy
Councillor of Commerce Dr. Louis Hagen of Cologne and extended to include a chapel, which was
dedicated in 1920. In 1932, the castle passed to his daughter Elisabeth, who was married to
Clemens Freiherr von Wrede at Melchede Castle, Arnsberg district.
In December 1967, the Federal Republic of Germany, represented by
Federal Minister for Scientific Research Dr. Gerhard Stoltenberg, purchased the castle and
grounds.
Schloss Birlinghoven and the Arts
Birlinghoven Castle was endowed by its builder with
numerous old works of art, some of which can still be seen there today.
This is true of the collection of paintings in the big Central Hall
(Mittelsaal). The works are hung tier upon tier in the Great Hall (Grosser Saal). Other
paintings are on display in the Red Hall (Roter Saal) and elsewhere in the castle.
The curving staircase is bordered by a wrought-iron lattice railing,
mid-18th century, said to be from Berlin.
The high octagonal Great Hall has two fireplaces with heavy chimney
pieces in red marble, featuring angel's heads in white marble, certainly Italian work of the
17th century. Mounted behind the fireplace are two identical 17th century cast-iron plates
depicting the Judgement of Paris.
In the wall niches opposite we find two figures from Late Antiquity,
Minerva and Mercury, which have been extensively restored and retouched. They are from the
Palazzo Giustiniani Bandini in Rome. The room adjoining on the south, the Green Hall (Grüner
Saal) has a marble basin with a dolphin in white marble, 62 cm high, certainly 17th century
Italian.
The Eastern room, the Red Hall, has some exquisitely carved panelling,
dated 1699, presumably the back of the choir stalls from a church in the Belgian province of
Limburg. Set between pilasters with ornamentally framed cartouches are angel's heads in full
relief.
Schloss Birlinghoven Collection of
Paintings
The collection of paintings is primarily of Italian and Dutch work
from the 16th to the 18th century. There are also a large number of portraits. The paintings do
not appear to have any underlying theme.
Alongside cycles like those from the Heisterbacher Hof in Königswinter
and the illustrated months belonging to the work of Peter Candid and the four Italian ruin
landscapes in the Great Hall, we find mythological and Biblical representations, like the
fiddling Orpheus, probably from Genoa, 1610 to 1620, Venus and Adonis, presumably a French copy
based on Titian, as well as the representation of Bathseba, close to Guercino, in the Red Hall,
and the Massacre of the Innocents in the Great Hall.
Schloss
Apotheke Map&Location
Address: Birlinghovener Straße 8, 53757 Sankt Augustin, Germany. Get directions using this
map:
View Larger Map
|