The Wartburg Castle (Schloss Wartburg) is located near Eisenach, Germany.

Wartburg Castle History

Wartburg represents the claims to power and the self-assurance of the medieval landgraves of Thuringia.

During 1211 and 1227, Wartburg castle was the home of St Elisabeth of Hungary, wife of the Landgrave Ludwig IV. In 1262 the castle passed to the House of Wettin, and it belonged to the Electors of Saxony from 1423 to 1547. Martin Luther lived there from 1521 to 1522, translating the New Testament into German. In 1741 the castle came into the ownership of the Dukes of Saxe-Weimar and became a symbol of German history and culture, inspiring the work of Goethe, Liszt, and Wagner. The Wartburgfest of German student fraternities took place there in 1817.

Founded by Ludwig der Springer, the Wartburg Castle is first mentioned in 1080. Ludwig III (1172–1190) built the Landgrave’s House and the residential quarters of the castle. In 1317 or 1318 a fire seriously damaged the keep, the Landgrave’s House and Heated Chamber. The chapel was built on the first floor of the Landgrave’s House in 1320. Between 1450 and 1500 defensive passages were built on the surrounding walls, and all the buildings were plastered. Much building activity is recorded between 1549 and 1630, but in the 17th and 18th centuries, buildings fell into ruin and were demolished.

Schloss Wartburg was renovated between 1838 and 1890 by Grand Duke Charles Alexander of Saxe-Weimar (1853–1901); Moritz von Schwind decorated the residence with frescoes of the legendary song contest, depicting episodes from the history of the Thuringian landgraves and scenes from the life of St Elisabeth. Between 1902 and 1906 the Elisabeth Chamber was decorated with mosaics. The castle was extensively restored from 1952 to 1966 and became a national monument.

The castle, built on a hill, the Wartberg, was designed to control the royal road between Frankfurt am Main and Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland). It is built of sandstone and tufa, on a 140 m-long plateau. Its inner and outer baileys are separated by a ditch. The outer bailey is approached from an earthwork, across a drawbridge, and through a gatehouse in the old north tower. It is bounded to the east by the curtain wall with its defensive passage, the Elisabeth Gallery.

Adjoining the gatehouse on the west are the Knight’s House, the Governor’s House (containing the Luther Room and the Nuremberg Oriel window added in 1872), the Margarethe Gallery, and the Heated Chamber. A gatehouse between the Heated Chamber and the New Chamber separates the outer bailey from the inner bailey. On the east side of the inner bailey are the New Chamber and the keep (built-in 1859 to replace the one demolished in 1790), the new staircase, the Landgrave’s House, and the Knights’ Bath. On the west side stands the Gadem(hut), which once served as stables, arsenal, and brewhouse. In between is the well. The southern end is protected by the south tower.

The earliest building in the enclosure was a dwelling between the north and south towers. Soon afterward a keep was added, to form a three-towered castle. Remains of the earliest buildings are preserved in cellars below the Governor’s House, the New Chamber, and the Gadem; the bear cage beneath the Knights’ Bath can still be identified. The nucleus of the castle is the Landgrave’s House, to which the Landgrave Hermann I (1190–1217) added a third story.

The ground plan is rectangular, with halls and square corner rooms. The groin vaults of the Elisabeth Chamber and of the Knights’ Hall on the ground-floor rest on central supports; the dining hall between them has a massive beamed ceiling. Between the Knights’ Hall and the dining hall, a barrel-vaulted staircase leads to the first floor on which are the Landgrave’s Room (originally the audience hall), the Singers’ Hall, and the chapel. On the second floor is the Feast or Banqueting Hall.

The architectural ornament is of very high quality and is of Lower Rhenish origin, having parallels with the double chapel at Schwarzrheindorf near Bonn (third quarter of the 12th century). The side facing the courtyard, with arcaded galleries in the center, is the show façade.

The ground floor has three pairs of double arches; the first floor has three groups of five smaller arches on paired colonnettes, while the third story has four quadruple arcades with two twin round-arched arcades to the south. Between the two upper stories a round-arched frieze marks the cornice of Ludwig’s building; the latter cornice above is copied from it.

Wartburg Castle – Visitor Info

The Wartburg Castle is open for visitors daily. The castle gate closes at 20,00 during summer time (April to October) and during the winter time (November to March) at 17,00.

English Guided Tours are also available in English, daily at 13,30.

Contact details:
Tel: (+49) 36 91/25 00
Fax: (+49) 36 91/20 33 42
Email: info@wartburg.de
Official page: wartburg-eisenach.de

Schloss Wartburg Location

Wartburg Castle Address: Auf der Wartburg 1, 99817 Eisenach, Germany. Get help with directions using this map:

Schloss Wartburg Map

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The Zwinger Palace is Frederick-Augustus I’s grand and ambitious project. The palace is located in Dresden, Germany.

It is a large open square (116×107 m with apses 47.5 m deep added to the shorter sides), framed by galleries and pavilions. The architect was Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann in close collaboration with the sculptor Balthasar Permoser. It was started as an orangery, soon enlarged to serve for court festivities, and eventually converted into a museum. Its name is derived from its position in a corner of a bastion, between the inner and outer city walls.

Zwinger Palace History

Its modest beginning was as a new garden laid out in 1709 to a sketch plan by the Elector himself: a series of U-shaped terraces with stairs at the apex to connect the different levels on which orange trees were displayed.

The terraces were built over with arcaded galleries after 1711, and the addition of lateral pavilions gave its plan the form of an omega. The ground floor of the south pavilion was furnished as a grotto, and a nymphaeum was installed behind the north pavilion with a cascade and stairs from the bastion’s upper level. Niches on two sides held over life-size figures of nymphs by Permoser and his workshop.

As part of a plan to enlarge the Schloss Zwinger and give the area to its west a regular scheme, a long gallery of 31 bays was added at right angles to the south pavilion in 1714–1718. The two-story gateway at the center, the Kronentor, was loosely derived from triumphal arches and surmounted by a bulbous dome. In 1716–1718 the Wallpavillon was added over the stairs midway along the curved galleries. At the same time, frescoes were painted on the ceilings of the upper rooms in the side pavilions by Heinrich Fehling (north) and Louis de Silvestre (south).

In 1718 a matching group of side pavilions and curved galleries was added at the other end of the long gallery. This created the present plan of the Zwinger, with a large space, the Zwingerhof, for receptions and court festivities. Behind the new pavilions, with frescoes by Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini, were built an opera house and assembly rooms. The fourth side was closed with stands for spectators, which were later replaced by a wooden wall painted to resemble galleries.

The galleries are carried around the square as a continuous strip: a pilastered colonnade above a high basement with arcaded windows between the pilasters; the side pavilions have two stories of the same colonnade. This rather strict architectural system is enlivened by varied and rich architectural sculpture: keystones with masks, garlands, scrolls, and shells in the frieze and on pilasters, panels of vermiculation underneath the windows and, in front of them, fauns carrying brackets for the orange trees.

The Kronentor and Wallpavillon were treated even more richly: the former has walls set at an angle, free-standing columns, and niches with figures, while the latter has herm pilasters and concave–convex curved walls; both have broken pediments.

The pale local sandstone, the roofs painted blue with gilded ornaments, orange trees in painted ceramic pots and water running down the wall fountains all add to the general air of festivity. This is complemented by allusions to the patron, such as the Polish crown on top of the Kronentor, imperial eagles in the frieze of the north pavilion, or the figure of Hercules carrying the globe above the Wallpavillon, which refers both to the garden of the Hesperides and to the Elector’s temporary role as Reichsvikar during the interregnum of 1711.

Zwinger Palace Location

Zwinger Address: Theaterplatz 1, 01067 Dresden, Germany. Get help with directions using the map provided below:

Zwinger Palace Map

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Marksburg Castle is a castle near Braubach, Germany, dating back to 1117.

Marksburg Castle History

Originally named Burg Braubach, The Marksburg rises high above the right bank of the Rhine River, crowning a cone-shaped hill overlooking the town of Braubach. The Marksburg is the only castle on the Middle Rhine to escape destruction or ruin. The castle had some additions in the 17th and 18th centuries but maintains its medieval character.

In 1135 the castle and half the town of Braubach were given to the Archbishop of Mainz, a member of the house of Eppstein who owned the castle until 1283. The daughter of the Count of Eppstein married Eberhard von Katzenelnbogen and when she died, being the only heir from the Eppstein family, the castle became the possession of the Counts of Katzenelnbogen in 1283 and stayed in their possession until 1479.

With the death of Count Philipp the Elder in 1479, the county of Katzenelnbogen passed to the Landgraves of Hesse through the sole benefactress, the daughter, who was married to the Landgrave Phillip II. The Marksburg suffered many trials during the 30 years war and again during Louis XIV’s campaigns in the 17th century but was never captured or destroyed.

Since 1900, The Marksburg has been home to the Association for the Preservation of German Castles (Deutsche Burgenvereiningung). The Marksburg suffered its darkest hour when, in 1945, the castle came under direct shell fire by American forces fighting against Nazis hiding in the castle. Its wounds were minor.

Marksburg Castle Highlights

The Marksburg has a well-designed guided tour. After making your way through the drawbridge gate and up the path, you will come to a covered entrance with roughed-in steps carved right into the slate floor. These steps were carved with a rough surface intentionally to keep the Knight’s horses from slipping on rainy days.

After following the steps up to the courtyard, you will see the Great Battery, which houses the cannons that aim out over the lower Rhine protecting the castle and the town of Braubach.

Working around the Upper Bailey, you come to some steps that lead into the central courtyard where the tower keep rises 39 meters high. This is the heart of the castle. Giant wine barrels are located in the cellar below the Knight’s Hall. From the Knight’s Hall, you can visit the Chapel dedicated to Saint Mark, from which the castle gets its name.

There is also a castle dungeon which has lots of medieval torture devices on display and an armory displaying weapons and armor from different periods. The Romanesque Residential Apartments include furniture to show what the simple yet comfortable living conditions were like.

The Marksburg has a tavern and gift shop where they sell lots of items including a paper scale model of the castle that you cut out and glue together to make your own Marksburg. This is one of the first castles I ever visited and remains my favorite in Germany.

Marksburg Castle Visitor Info

Marksburg Castle is located along the Middle Rhine above the town of Braubach, Germany.

The castle is open to the public daily, along with its museum. A gift shop, guided tours, and a restaurant are also available here.

Contact details:

Ticket service Phone: 0049-2627-206
Email: marksburg@deutsche-burgen.org
Official website: http://www.marksburg.de/english/frame.htm

Marksburg Castle Location

Address: Marksburg, 56338 Braubach, Germany. Get help with directions using the map provided below:

Marksburg Castle Map

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Eltz Castle History

The 850 year-old Eltz Castle sits on a steep rock in one of the tributary rivers of the river Mosel – amidst one of Germany’s most unspoiled wooded ancient landscapes.

Encircled by the river Elz, which gave its name to one of Germany’s most eminent noble families, Eltz Castle has been the family home of the Lords and Counts of Eltz for more than thirty generations.

The inside of the castle is unique: the living and sleeping areas, the armory and knights’ hall, the hunting room and kitchen – all have been well preserved and furnished essentially with original contents.

Owing to clever diplomacy, Eltz Castle has survived unharmed for centuries, making it one of the few European castles never to be destroyed. The castle represents 500 years of the finest European secular architecture, resulting in its present shape at about 1600 A.D.

Its eventful history, unique architecture, and picturesque setting make Eltz Castle the epitome of a German medieval stronghold. The vault of the castle contains one of Europe’s foremost treasure coves with its renowned collection of medieval goldsmith’s work as well as many other precious objets d’art.

Eltz Castle – Visitor Info

The Castle is open daily From the 1st of April to November, between 9,30 – 17,30

Castle Tours and Treasure Vault are available for visits. A tour will last about 40 min and will begin every 10-15 min.

Ticket Info

An adult ticket is € 8.00
Reduced tickets for Children, students, and disabled visitors € 5.50 per person
Group ticket for adults (over 20 persons – € 7.00 per person
Educational groups ticket € 5.00 per person
Family ticket – € 24.00 per family

Contact Info:

Phone: +49 (2672) 9 50 50 – 0
Fax: +49 (2672) 9 50 50 – 50
Email: burg@eltz.org
Official website:;http://www.burg-eltz.de/e_index.html

Eltz Castle Location

Addres: Burg Eltz, 56294 Münstermaifeld, Germany. Get help with directions using the map provided below:

Eltz Castle Map

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Augustusburg and Falkenlust Palaces History

Augustusburg is a German Electoral castle, situated 8 km west of the Rhine, halfway between Bonn and Cologne.

Along with the Falkenlust Palace, the complex is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.

The troops of Louis XIV destroyed the medieval castle in Brühl in 1689. Elector Joseph Clemens of Cologne decided to rebuild the ruin, and in 1715 his architectural adviser, the Parisian court architect Robert de Cotte, submitted plans for the project.

No work had begun, however, when Joseph Clemens died in 1723. His nephew and successor, Clemens August, immediately took over the project, employing an experienced local architect, Johann Conrad Schlaun.

In his scheme, Schlaun incorporated much of the existing fabric. He duplicated the existing northwest tower with another in the southwest and retained the moat around the whole site, creating a C-shaped building that was open to the east.

Construction of the two-story elevation, set on a one-story base and capped by a mansard roof, was complete by 1728. Pilasters marked the centers and ends of the wings, and large windows throughout eliminated much of the wall mass, resulting in an exterior that was both monumental and open.

The interiors were done by the Bavarian court architectFrançois de Cuvilliés I. He produced elegant Rococo creations of stucco, including panels with ornamentation that rises above the ceiling coves, and smooth white surfaces.

While Cuvilliés worked inside, the gardener Dominique Girard, a pupil of André Le Nôtre, located a terrace and stair along the south wing, filled in the moat, and laid out a formal garden with a central axis that stretches from the terrace into the distant landscape.

Far from the Schloss Augustusburg, Cuvilliés built the Falkenlust Palace (1729–1734), an intimate pavilion connected to the main complex by a long allée. Closer to the castle stood the Chinese House, which did not survive, and a pavilion was built to house the porcelain collection.

From 1735 Cuvilliés decorated the centerpieces of the east and west façades, removing the towers that had marked the corners of the latter. He added long galleries to the west, establishing a deep court as a counterpoint to the eastern court of the castle.

By around 1740, when Cuvilliés had returned to Munich, the new interiors, modified façades, and landscaped setting had transformed Augustusburg castle into a contemporary Residenz.

Decoration of the castle interiors continued into the 1760s. The alterations and damage that occurred during the 19th and 20th centuries were later corrected by extensive campaigns to restore the castle and its grounds to their 18th-century appearance.

In the second half of the 20th century, due to the proximity of the castle to the then capital Bonn, Augustusburg was used as a reception hall for international state guests.

Augustusburg and Falkenlust Palaces – Visitor Info

The castles in Bruhl are open for visits. All year round many cultural events happen inside the castle’s walls. Augustusburg Castle hosts one of Europe’s biggest motorcycle collections.

Every January a big biker meeting takes place at the castle too. Besides the motorcycle museum, visitors can climb to an observation tower, and even sleep in an affordable youth hostel next to the castle.

Schloss Augustusburg Location

Schloss Augustusburg Address: Schloßstraße 6, 50321 Brühl, Germany. Get help with directions using the map provided below:

Schloss Brühl Map

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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, and 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 in 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. Another 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 chimneypieces 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 paneling, 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 is 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 Location

Address: Birlinghovener Straße 8, 53757 Sankt Augustin, Germany. Get directions using this map:

Schloss Apotheke Map

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Schlemmin Castle History

Schlemmin Castle with its towers, battlements, and bays, was built in the middle of the 19th Century. It is a building with a cellar underneath the whole of it, consisting for the most part of two stories, with the attic converted in part. The main facade is followed by a side wing to the west.

The western wing and the tower have an additional story which is not, however, converted in the tower region. The southern main entrance with a wide flight of stairs of natural stone has the form of a hexagon.

Here the attic story is formed as a pyramid roof with additional pointed windows, which border the rising battlements of the entrance facade. In the middle of the northern facade, there is another portal in the form of a generous bay with a pediment, which serves for direct access to the staircase from the side of the park.

An additional entrance to the cellar story is at the northeastern corner of the building. This part of the facade has a rectangular tower. The functional design of the building corresponds to its former prestigious character.

A restaurant is in operation at the eastern gable of the cellar story (in the immediate neighborhood of the halls). This area has an additional separate entrance as well as its own kitchen, sanitary installations, and coal-fired central heating. Otherwise, the castle is heated by means of a heating house, which is situated at the access road.

The complex further comprises the former orangery to the left of the castle, the coach house to the right, and the ice cellar behind. Behind the castle is a generously laid out park of about 15 hectares with fine old trees.

Schloss Schlemmin Visitor Info

The small village of Schlemmin with its 400 inhabitants is situated 15 kilometres south-east of Ribnitz-Damgarten.

This prestigious Schlemmin castle, which is now classified as a historical monument, lies in the middle of the village, about 100 meters from the village street. It is surrounded by a park with a stretch of running water to the east. Access is via the bitumen-reinforced village street and the castle drive. There are only very limited parking facilities on the access road.

Schlemmin is connected to the B105 road through secondary roads as well as through the first-class road from Ribnitz-Damgarten. There is regional bus traffic to Schlemmin but no railway connection. The nearest airfields are in Barth (approximately 16 km), and Rostock (approx. 40 km)

Currently, the Schloss Schlemmin is a hotel. Four suites, two tower rooms, and 23 double rooms are available for accommodation.

Schloss Schlemmin Location

Address: Am Schloss 2, 18320 Schlemmin, Germany. Get directions using the map provided below:

Schloss Schlemmin Map

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The Imperial Palace of Goslar (Kaiserpfalz Goslar) is situated in Lower Saxony, Germany, around 40 km south of Brunswick. Goslar, an Imperial Diet town whose wealth was derived from the lead- and silver mines of the Harz Mountains, was the favorite residence of the Salian emperors (1024–1125).

Imperial Palace of Goslar History

The imperial hall was originally built under Henry III, but it had to be repaired after a fire in 1065 and a partial collapse in 1132. The palace received much attention from late 19th-century patriots and revivalists: in its present form, it mostly dates from a restoration dated 1873–1879, which gave it a 12th-century character. A vast cycle of frescoes by Hermann Wislicenus, celebrating its days as an imperial residence, was added to the upper hall between 1879 and 1897.

The imperial hall at the Goslar Palace stands at the top of an eastward-facing slope, which was used for large official assemblies, and at the bottom of which the royal chapel (was built by Henry III. The elongated plan of the palace, with the hall flanked to north and south by residential blocks with chapels, is similar to the Bishop’s Palace at Bamberg in Bavaria, where royalty also stayed, although it is uncertain which building is the earlier.

The hall itself (47×15 m) has two stories: the enclosed ground floor could be heated by a hypocaust, while central piers support the vast upper story, which has two aisles and a wooden roof and was originally open to the assembly area below through windows with triple arches (now glazed). A central transept opening to a balcony marks the position of the imperial throne, midway along the building.

The staircase porch at the southern end of the hall is built over a passage at ground level, with stairways at either side. On the upper level of the main façade are two arches, each subdivided into three sub-arches, and to either side are molded doorways.
Visitor info

There is a town museum of Goslar inside the Imperial Palace. Guided tours are available daily in German and English.

The town of Goslar can be reached easily by car on A2 and A7 motorways. It is situated 90 km from Hannover and 40 km from Brunswick.

Goslar Palace Location

Imperial Palace of Goslar Address: Kaiserbleek 6, 38640 Goslar, Germany. Get help with directions using the map provided below:

Goslar Palace Map

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History of Trendelburg Castle

One of Germany’s best-preserved castles is Trendelburg Castle in the Western Mountains near Kassel. Chartered in 1301, the same year as the town that surrounds it, Trendelburg historically has held a strategic position, dominating important trade roads from Frankfurt to Kassel and Hamburg.

This picturesque 14th-century knight’s castle perches on a hilltop in the Rheinhardswald forest. The town grew up roughly within the same area covered by its ancient walls today.

The Trendelburg fortress, separated from the town by a deep ditch cut into the rocks, has weathered fires, reconstructions, reinforcements, plagues, the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648), and the Seven Years’ War (1756 to 1763). It has been pillaged, pawned, and pulverized in various eras.

The original castle was built just before its chartering in 1301, by Konrad III of Schoenberg. Through the years it was called Trindirberg, Drendenburg, Dreyndeneberch, Drenderburg, Drendelburg, and Trendelburgk. Romans probably camped here; the region paid homage to Charlemagne and fell under the influence of the Carolingians.

Throughout much of Trendelburg Castle’s history, it has been connected with the Stockhausen family, which today runs the castle as a hotel and restaurant. Martin Luther, whose family was related to the Stockhausen, once stayed here. French and English troops once made it their barracks, as did GIs during World War II.

Trendelburg Castle Location

Address: Steinweg 1, 34388 Trendelburg, Germany. Get help with directions:

Trendelburg Castle Map

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The Kaiserpfalz Gelnhausen is a former imperial palace in Germany, 45 km away from Frankfurt.

Gelnhausen Palace History

Gelnhausen Palace was founded by Frederick I Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor, who apparently planned it as part of a gradual expansion of his ancestral Hohenstaufen lands.

Situated on an island in the River Kinzig, the palace is a fortress protected by water. Next to the palace, Frederick founded a new town with a regular street plan and two markets on the great Frankfurt–Leipzig trade route.

The Imperial Palace of Gelnhausen seems to be the earliest building on the site. Dendrochronological tests have now provided a date of 1182 for one of the foundations piles driven in at the gateway of Gelnhausen Palace. Since the palace rests on approximately 18,000 to 20,000 such piles, which would have taken 15 to 20 years to drive in, this provides a relative date of the castle’s foundation year.

Gelnhausen Castle fell into decay in the 14th century because of disturbances in its foundations, and it has been a ruin for centuries. Nevertheless, almost all the plan is discernible: a surrounding wall of rusticated masonry, a gateway divided into two aisles, each of three bays, with the palace chapel above, a tower built of rusticated masonry connected to the gate-house behind the defensive wall, and the main living quarters set at an angle of 110 degrees to the gate-house.

Excavations made around 1930 revealed the foundations of a building adjoining the living quarters to the east, as well as those of a thick-walled round tower and of the castle guards’ houses.

Visit Gelnhausen Palace

You can reach the town of Gelhausen by following the A66 motorway. The Gelnhausen Castle is in ruins but they are pretty well preserved.

Kaiserpfalz Gelnhausen Location

Burgstraße 14, 63571 Gelnhausen, Germany

Kaiserpfalz Gelnhausen Map

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History of Charlottenburg Palace

The nucleus of the Charlottenburg Palace at that time called the Lietzenburg, was constructed between 1695 and 1699 on the left bank of the Spree in a rural setting (now western Berlin). It was built, with a large garden, as the summer residence of Sophie Charlotte, the wife of Elector Frederick III.

The design was done by Johann Arnold Nering. After Frederick became King Frederick I of Prussia in 1701, the palace, only 11 bays wide, was converted into a three-winged structure surrounding a cour d’honneur. He also enlarged the original wing, adding a prominent central dome, which originally contained a carillon.

The palace was renamed Charlottenburg after the early death of its patroness in 1705. When the King died in 1713, the building was not complete. Although two orangeries were originally intended on the axis of the central wing, only the western one was executed. Inside the building, the ceiling paintings were lacking, but otherwise, the rooms were sumptuously decorated.

Particularly distinguished are the mirrored Porzellan Kabinett, containing a unique collection, and the chapel, consecrated in 1708: both rooms were embellished with ceiling paintings.

The parsimony of Frederick William I prevented the completion of the palace. It was his successor, Frederick the Great, who resumed work on the building, which he chose as his residence at the start of his reign. In place of the eastern orangery, Georg Wenceslaus von Knobelsdorff built the New Wing, the decoration of which involved the participation of Johann August Nahl.

The most magnificent room in this extravagantly furnished wing was the Golden Gallery, not finished until 1747. Prominent among the paintings with which the King adorned the palace is L’Ensigne de Gersaint by Watteau, which was preserved when the palace was plundered by Austrian troops in the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763). In 1788–1791 Frederick William II had a theatre built to the west of the palace by Carl Gotthard Langhans, who also built the Baroque Belvedere in the park, and decorated the Winter Apartments.

The park was partly remodeled in the style of an English landscape garden: these alterations were continued by Frederick William III. Although the King made few changes to the palace itself, Karl Friedrich Schinkel designed a bedchamber for Queen Luise in 1809. After she died a year later, a mausoleum to her in the form of a Greek prostyle temple (1810–12) was built in the park by Heinrich Gentz and Schinkel from a sketch by the King.

During 1811 and 1814 Christian Daniel Rauch created the Carrara marble tomb, his chief early work. When the King died, the mausoleum was enlarged to accommodate his tomb, also made by Rauch, and the building was further extended after the deaths of Emperor William I and his wife Augusta, whose tombs (1894) were the work of Erdmann Encke. Next to the New Wing, Schinkel built the New Pavilion, a villa for Frederick William III.

In World War II the palace and its ancillary buildings, with the exception of the mausoleum, were largely destroyed, but rebuilding was undertaken. The Charlottenburg became a museum, which, in addition to its (heavily reduced) original inventory, contains works of art from other partly destroyed Prussian castles as well as new acquisitions, the whole collection documenting court art in Prussia from the mid-17th century to the mid-19th.

Schloss Charlottenburg Location

Charlottenburg Palace Address: Spandauer Damm 10, 14059 Berlin, Germany. Get help with directions:

Schloss Charlottenburg Map

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Schleissheim is a palace complex at Oberschleissheim, 18 km north of Munich, consisting of three palaces: the Altes Schloss, Lustheim and the Neues Schloss.

Schleissheim Palace History

William V, Duke of Bavaria, had a simple mansion built here in the late 16th century. His son Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria, had a large new structure, the Altes Schloss, built there. A single main story is articulated by disproportionately broad pilasters above a high half-basement.

A steeply pitched roof crowns the scheme. An external staircase in symmetrically paired flights leads to a porch, the pediment of which rests on rusticated piers; its pitch differs from that of the gable of the raised central bay behind.

Elector Maximilian II Emanuel had a banqueting house called Lustheim erected to the east, between 1684 and 1688. Designed by Enrico Zuccalli, it is a garden palace and a hunting lodge as well as being a Baroque interpretation of a moated castle. Its models were the Villa Borghese in Rome and Hellbrunn.

The plan is H-shaped: a central section in three bays and a belvedere floor link two four-bay side wings in the style of French corner pavilions. The simple façade, with flat pilaster strips and segmental and triangular pediments above the windows, is in the late Renaissance style.

The Neues Schloss was built for Maximilian II Emanuel as his third large and imposing palace, in addition to the Residenz and Schloss Nymphenburg. It was begun after he became Stadholder of the Netherlands (1691) with an expectation of the Spanish succession. Zuccalli submitted plans in 1693, but the foundation stone was laid only in 1701.

A four-winged structure incorporating the Altes Schloss was initially planned, with staircases in the corners of the courtyard on the model of Gianlorenzo Bernini’s third scheme for the Louvre, Paris. A three-winged layout was, however, the basis of the building as executed, although only the main section was constructed. The collapse in 1702 of a wall on the garden side led to a terrace being built instead of a third floor on the park side.

By 1704 the shell of the east section had been erected under Philipp Jakob Zwerger (1685–1758). Work was interrupted by the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714) and recommenced only after the Elector’s return from exile (1715), continuing from 1719. The building was largely complete by 1726. Leo von Klenze’s 19th-century simplification of the façade was partly reversed by the restoration of 1959–1962.

The plan of the Neues Schloss is elongated, with a central portion of eleven bays and two corner projections connected by ranges of eight bays; side pavilions are linked to the structure by arcaded wings. The overall length is almost 335 m.

In the taut, unified articulation of the garden façade only the central section, raised by one story, is emphasized by colossal pilasters and large round-arched windows. Inside, a symmetrical staircase with three flights leads on the south side of the vestibule to the two-story Grosser Saal, articulated by an order of pilasters. The Viktoriensaal is symmetrical with the Treppenhaus.

Schleissheim Complex – Visitor Info

Opening times

Old and New Palaces (Neues & Altes Schloss); Lustheim Palace
April to September: 9,00 – 18,00
October to March: 10,00 – 16,00
Closed on Mondays

Lustheim Pavilions
April to September: 9,00 – 18,00
Closed on Mondays
October to March: closed

The Schleissheim Complex is closed on the following days: 1st of January, Shrove Tuesday, 24th – 25th and 31 December

Water Play
The water fountains are available daily from April to mid of September between 10,00 – 16,00

Ticket Info:

Combined ticket: Old and New Palaces (Neues & Altes Schloss); Lustheim Palace
8,00 € full price / 6, – € reduced

Old Palace – Altes Schloss: 3,00 € full price / 2,00 € reduced

New Palace – Neues Schloss: € 4.50 full price / 3.50 €

Lustheim Palace Lustheim Schloss: € 3.50 full price / reduced € 2.50

Pavilions at Lustheim – Admission free

For more info visit the official website.

Schleissheim Palace Location

Schloss Schleissheim Address: Max-Emanuel-Platz 1, 85764 Oberschleißheim, Germany. Get directions using this map:

Schleissheim Palace Map

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Nymphenburg Palace, the extensive summer residence of the Bavarian electors and kings is one of the most individualistic but significant palaces in Europe, and its excellent decoration has remained almost intact.

Nymphenburg Palace History

On the birth in 1662 of his heir Maximilian Emanuel, Elector Ferdinand gave his wife, Henrietta Adelaide of Savoy (1636–1676), some land for a palace west of Munich. In 1664 the foundation stone was laid for a villa suburbana in the Italian style, the ‘Borgo delle Ninfe’.

Under the direction of Agostino Barelli and from 1673 of Enrico Zuccalli, the central cubic block was erected, with domed pavilions linked to it by galleries. Its five stories were separated by string courses; and for a short time, it had a roof with dormers. An asymmetrical external staircase with twin flights led to the central portal. An Italian garden lay to the east.

The internal arrangement has changed little. At the center was the Steinerner Saal, adjoined by the electoral suites. Antonio Triva (1626–1699), Joseph Werner II, Antonio Zanchi, Stefano Catani, and others collaborated in the decorative paintings.

Building work slackened on the electress’s death and ceased in 1680, to be resumed only in 1701 when Maximilian II Emanuel returned from the Netherlands and commissioned Enrico Zuccalli to plan the next stage, directed from 1702 by Giovanni Antonio Viscardi. To the existing main building, the Elector added two slightly projecting cubic side pavilions, probably on the foundations of the earlier ones, connected to the central pavilion by arcaded galleries.

The loose linking of the buildings and the view of the park from the arcades and the passage through the socle story of the middle building distinguish the Nymphenburg, as a garden-palace, from such closed structures as Versailles Palace. Its models were not French, however, but Netherlandish, Maximilian II Emanuel’s ideas having been influenced, in particular, by Het loo at Apeldorn.

During the same period, the middle pavilion was altered on both the town and the park side, the five middle bays being reduced to three and large, round-arched windows added on the first and second floors. Inside, arcades opened from the two rooms one above the other on the garden side, into the Steinerner Saal, which thus received more light.

Articulated with colossal pilasters, the Steinerner Saal had a decorative scheme by Johann Anton Gumpp (1701–3; apparently replaced 1726 by paintings on leather [destr.] by Domenico Valeriani: d before 1771; and Giuseppe Valeriani: d 1761), similar to that in Schloss Lustheim, showing scenes from the myth of Diana.

Further enlargement was delayed by the outbreak of the War of the Spanish Succession (1704) and fully resumed only in 1715, under Josef Effner. He converted the lesenes of the main pavilion into pilasters and on the garden side extended them to the cornice.

The four bays on either side of the central section were reduced to three, and large triangular pediments (removed in 1826) were added above the three central bays. In 1715–16 Effner elaborated the interior and produced plans (unexecuted) for subsidiary buildings on each side. One of the first rooms to receive Régence paneling, by Johann Adam Pichler, was the north anteroom, from around 1716.

The Marstall (now Marstallmuseum) with courtiers’ accommodation was built to the south, the Orangerie with other buildings to the north, while the galleries over the canals, which linked the whole complex together, were not constructed until 1739 and 1747. The long façades with middle and corner pavilions, the blind arcades, and the segmental-arched windows clearly show the influence of such French architects as Robert de Cotte and, especially, Germain Boffrand.

Under Elector Maximilian III Joseph, some rooms were altered and redecorated. The most important work of this phase is the decoration of the Steinerner Saal by Zimmermann and de Cuvilliés, focusing on Zimmerman’s fresco Nymphs Paying Homage to the Goddess Flora. The decoration of the Gartensaal and the Emporensaal was designed by de Cuvilliés.

From 1804 to 1823 the Baroque garden, made up of symmetrical groups of shrubbery, was extensively modified in the style of an English landscape garden. The last phase of alterations to the palace took place under Maximilian IV Joseph, who chose it as his favorite residence after he became king (1806). Karl Ludwig Puille began remodeling the rooms of the first pavilions to the north and south in 1806. In 1826 Klenze adapted the central building to the Neo-classical style.

Nymphenburg Castle Location

Address: Schloss Nymphenburg 19, 80638 München, Germany. Get directions using the map provided below:

Nymphenburg Castle Map

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Neuschwanstein Castle is one of the world’s most famous castles. The castle seems to rise out of a rock in a wooded area in the state of Bavaria in Germany.

With its many turrets and towers, Neuschwanstein resembles a fairy-tale medieval castle. Neuschwanstein and other European castles inspired the design of Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland in Anaheim, California.

Neuschwanstein Castle – the dream of a king

Neuschwanstein Castle was the dream of King Ludwig II of Bavaria. Ludwig was fascinated by the operas of the German composer Richard Wagner, with their celebration of Germanic mythical gods and legendary heroes.

Ludwig planned the castle with architect Edward Riedel and the assistance of Christian Jank, a theater designer. The structure reflects both Gothic and Romanesque elements from the Middle Ages, the period from about A.D. 400 through the 1400s.

Neuschwanstein is constructed of gray granite. Construction began in 1869 and ended in 1886, the year of the king’s death. The castle was never finished.

In his romantic vision of Neuschwanstein Castle, Ludwig was strongly influenced by Wartburg Castle, a medieval fortress in Germany. Wartburg is the setting for Wagner’s opera Tannhäuser (1845). Neuschwanstein’s elevated setting gives visitors a panoramic view of the surrounding wilderness and helps make the castle one of Germany’s most popular tourist attractions.

The interior of the castle reflects Ludwig’s passion for the Middle Ages. Artists painted the walls of many rooms and vestibules with scenes from German myths and legends. Marble, gilded paneling, and tapestries also decorate many of the rooms.

The Study features frescoes showing scenes from Tannhäuser. Ludwig’s bedroom is dominated by a giant Gothic-style bed decorated with intricate carvings. The Throne Room, which has no throne, resembles a church interior and includes a large mosaic floor and a chandelier that resembles a huge crown. The Singers’ Hall has an elaborately decorated ceiling and many impressive chandeliers and candelabra. The Salon is decorated with scenes from Wagner’s opera Lohengrin.

However, Ludwig II was only to live in his castle for 172 days. At his death in 1886, the “new fortress” was not yet complete. The keep had been started on but was left unfinished; the “ladies’ quarters” on the southern side of the upper courtyard were completed in a simple form by 1891.

Neuschwanstein Castle Visitor Information

Today, Neuschwanstein is among the most visited castles and fortresses in Europe. 1.3 million people a year look through the “fairytale king’s castle”, which inspired Walt Disney’s “Cinderella’s Castle” in Disneyland.

And in fact, Schloss Neuschwanstein, nestled in one of the most beautiful landscapes of the eastern Allgaeu region, creates such a fairytale-like impression on the approaching observer that it could be from another world.

For more information about Neuschwanstein Castle Tours and Interesting Facts visit NeuschwansteinCastle.net

Neuschwanstein Castle Location

Neuschwanstein Castle has located about 3 km away from Fussen, Bavaria, Germany. See below the address and a map to help you with directions: Neuschwansteinstraße 5, 87645 Schwangau, Germany

Neuschwanstein Castle Map

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Weikersheim is a German castle, situated on the River Tauber in the province of Baden-Württemberg; the seat of the Counts of Hohenlohe. In 1586 Wolfgang II, Count of Hohenlohe (1546–1610), began the conversion of the medieval moated castle into a prestigious residence.

Weikersheim Castle Architecture

The design by Georg Robin probably envisaged a building on the ground plan of an equilateral triangle, but only the south wing (1595–1603), built by Wolf Beringer, was completed. Its exterior was adorned with six scrollwork gables (1598).

The large Rittersaal, one of the most elaborate of the period, has a coffered wooden ceiling by Elias Gunzenhäuser (1583–1606), the coffering filled with realistic hunting scenes.

The Renaissance garden beyond the moat was replaced in 1708 by a Baroque garden designed by Daniel Mathieu. Garden sculptures by members of the Sommer family include the figure of Hercules Fighting the Hydra, the Olympian gods, the four elements, the four seasons, and the four winds.

A series of 16 dwarf figures caricaturing contemporary courtiers is the only gallery of garden sculptures inspired by Jacques Callot that has survived in its entirety.

An orangery, with two wings, was built at the south end of the garden, its open section on the main axis of the garden, giving a free view of the surrounding countryside. Lüttich also erected two low arcaded and curved buildings linking the Schloss with the market square of the town of Weikersheim.

Weikersheim Visitor Info

Palace and Gardens – Opening Times

April to October: daily between 9,00 and 18,00
November to March daily 10,00 – 12,00 and 13.00 – 17,00
The Alchemy in Weikersheim exhibition is open from April to October

Palace Guided Tours are available hourly

Guided group tours only available by prior booking

Tickets Info:

Adult ticket € 5.50
Reduced: Children under 15, students, soldiers (military ID), disabled persons, and persons serving voluntarily for an ecological or social service – ticket cost € 2.80
Family ticket € 13.80
Groups over 20 people – ticket cost € 4.90 pp
For more info Contact the Palace Administration:

Phone: +49(0) 79 34 / 9 92 95-0
Fax: +49(0) 79 34 / 9 92 95-12
Email: info@schloss-weikersheim.de or visit the official website.

Weikersheim Castle Location

Weikersheim Castle Address: Marktplatz 11, 97990 Weikersheim, Germany. Use this map to get directions:

Weikersheim Castle Map

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Ludwigsburg Palace (Schloss Ludwigsburg) in the town of Ludwigsburg, just north of Stuttgart is a splendid castle built between 1704 and 1733. It is the largest preserved Baroque residence in Germany.

Ludwigsburg Palace History

There is much to admire in this palace with its eighteen buildings containing four hundred fifty-two rooms. Known as the “Swabian Versailles,” it was built by Eberhard Ludwig Duke of Württemberg to serve as a hunting lodge, but, in 1718, it became the official state residence.

Under Eberhard Ludwig, the architecture was Austro-Hungarian and the decor was Baroque. He was followed by Carl Alexander Duke of Württemberg, then Duke Carl Eugen. The latter added apartments in the French Rococo style, but the royal residence moved back to Stuttgart in 1775. Later came Duke Friedrich II who wanted to use Ludwigsburg as his summer palace. Napoleon made the duke “king” in 1803, and King Friedrich had many of the palace rooms redecorated in the Empire style.

Take a tour (one kilometer in length), and marvel at the numerous rooms in all three periods. The Ludwigsburg Castle was not used for some two hundred years, but its contents were preserved.

Eberhard Ludwig, after whom the palace is named, wanted the castle built as a refuge for himself and his mistress, Wilhelmine von Grävenitz, who was, politically, a powerful figure in those days, but disliked by the palace court with whom she butted heads. Back then, marriage was based on politics not love, and all the royalty had mistresses.

Eberhard Ludwig lived in Ludwigsburg with Wilhelmine for twenty-five years, until the court became worried that he had no legal heir. His one legitimate son had died. He was pressured into leaving Wilhelmine, to bring his wife to Ludwigsburg and to have a child, but, alas, she was fifty-three by that time, and no child was conceived.

During Eberhard’s day, only three hundred thousand people lived in all of Württemberg, so it is amazing that such a sumptuous palace could be financed. It was a monumental undertaking, as the land was not flat and had to be laboriously filled in with carts of dirt. Hundreds of workers lived around the building site in tents. To entice people to settle in Ludwigsburg, Eberhard offered them free land, building material, and no tax payments for fifteen years. By 1718, the town of Ludwigsburg was founded.

Included among the highlights of the tour is the Marble Hall whose beautiful walls were made of synthetic marble, which, because it required seventeen different steps to make, was far more expensive than the real thing. The King’s waiting room has an exquisite Baroque ceiling created by Italian artists, who were the best at that time and responsible for much of the palace’s decoration. The King’s audience room, in the Empire style, features benches with an Egyptian motif revealing the influence of Napoleon. A large portrait of King Friedrich, a man immense in stature — six feet, ten inches tall, and weighing four hundred forty pounds — is a major attraction in the King’s conference room.

Part of the tour includes a glimpse of the cave-like servants’ quarters, which are very dark with no windows. In Friedrich’s day, more than one thousand servants were employed at Ludwigsburg. An entourage of higher-ranking servants dressed the king every day, a ritual that lasted one and one-half hours.

Back in those days, water was considered unhealthy. Instead of bathing in water, the royalty bathed in perfume. And, instead of drinking water, they drank wine, three to four liters of wine per person per day. If that seems unbelievable, take a peek in the palace wine cellar where rows of wooden barrels have the capacity to store two hundred thousand liters of wine. One gargantuan barrel holds ninety thousand liters — enough so that if one drinks only one liter of wine every day from birth, he would need to live to be some two hundred forty-six years old to empty this barrel of its contents.

The most famous artists from throughout Europe were brought to entertain the guests of the Ludwigsburg Palace. The palace theater, built in 1750 entirely of wood, has three tiers of seats. It was lit with oil lamps and candles, and servants stood by with buckets of water in case of fire. The background scenery was changed mechanically and the mechanism, which was very modern for its day, still functions. Performances were said to have lasted between five and seven hours, but the audience would come and go freely during the theatrical presentations.

As the theater was too small to stage operas, Carl Eugen had an opera hall constructed, but it, unfortunately, no longer exists.

The palace has two chapels. Its Baroque chapel is popular today for weddings. However, one must be Catholic and a resident of Ludwigsburg to tie the knot in the royal church.

Throughout the palace are ancient Oriental vases, desks, and cabinets of intricate inlaid wood, illusionist paintings, and porcelain figurines and flowers. Real flowers wilt, and in that state were considered a sign of death, so no real flowers ever filled the Ludwigsburg vases.

However, there were plenty of real flowers outside. Even today, the thirty hectares of gardens that surround the palace are a major attraction. They host a continual garden show from March until October called “Blooming Baroque,” with all sorts of flowers including roses, as well as fountains, hedges, flower ornaments, and flower borders. There are herb gardens and Japanese gardens, even aviaries housing exotic birds. One section of the garden is a playground with play equipment from long ago, including an ancient merry-go-round and a Russian swing.

Ludwigsburg Palace Visitor Info:

Residential Palace Opening Times:

Mon to Sun between 10.00 – 17,00
The Museums, including Baroque Gallery, Fashion Museum, Ceramics Museum, and Carl Eugen’s apartments:

Mon to Sun between 10.00 – 17,00
*Note: the last entry is one hour before closing time.

Ticket Info:

Residential Palace: 6,5 € full price / 3,3 € reduced / family ticket 16,3 €
Museum (+ audio guide): 3,5 € full price / 1,8 € reduced / family ticket 8,8 €
Museum Tour (including all museums + audio guide): 6.5 € full price / 3.3 € reduced / family ticket 16.3 €
Discounted tickets for groups:

Residential Palace: Special guided tours (max. 10 persons) 130 €
Museum (+ audio guide) Groups over 20 Persons 3.1 €
Museums tour (all museums + audio tour) Groups over 20 or more, 5,8 € pp
Contact details:

Official website: schloss-ludwigsburg.de
Phone: +49(0) 71 41 / 18 20 04
Fax: +49(0) 71 41 / 18 64 34
Email: info@schloss-ludwigsburg.de

Ludwigsburg Palace Location

Ludwigsburg Palace Address: Schlossstraße 30, 71634 Ludwigsburg, Germany. Get help with directions using this map:

Ludwigsburg Palace Map

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Bruchsal Castle is a German palace in the town of Bruchsal, situated about 25 km south of Speyer between Heidelberg and Karlsruhe, in Baden-Württemberg.

Schloss Bruchsal History

When Damian Hugo Schönborn was elected Prince–Bishop of Speyer in 1719, he initially intended to rebuild the destroyed bishop’s palace that was attached to the north flank of Speyer Cathedral, but the project brought him into conflict with the Protestant municipal authorities.

He then decided to construct a new Residenz on the northern edge of Bruchsal, which had been part of the bishopric of Speyer since the 11th century.

As war could be expected at any time in the area, the Residenz complex was to consist of individual buildings separated from one another and grouped around courtyards, an arrangement that would help to control the spread of fire. Plans were procured from Maximilian von Welsch.

In 1728 Johann Georg Stahl (1687–1755) was appointed architect for the Speyer bishopric, and he continued to oversee building operations on the site until his death.

The central block of Schloss Bruchsal was designed in 1725 by a young architect, Anselm F. Ritter zu Groenesteyn. During the summer of 1726, Damian Hugo decided that a mezzanine should be inserted between the ground and main floors.

This created insurmountable problems for Ritter zu Groenesteyn, who was unable to make his circular staircase (for which the foundations were already in place) accommodate the extra height, and he soon resigned from the project.

He was replaced by Balthasar Neumann, who was consulted on all major design decisions. From 1728 he took over such utilitarian structures as the riding hall, arsenal, and water system, but his most important contributions were the court and garden façades of the palace and its staircase with adjoining spaces and formal rooms.

Neumann articulated the middle sections of the palace façades with pilasters and string courses that framed large windows and glazed doors, giving the impression of a masonry frame containing large sheets of glass.

In 1743 he was succeeded by Franz Christoph von Hutten, who completed the building and the décor of many of the interiors at Schloss Bruchsal. The vaults of the Fürstensaal (prince’s hall) and marble hall and the stair dome were frescoed by Johann Zick and his son, Januarius Zick between 1751 and 1754.

Later in the century, the formal garden was remodeled according to the English style. After the secularization of the bishopric in the early 19th century, Schloss Bruchsal was used by government officials.

Restorations in the early 1900s and 1930s provided detailed documentation of the existing complex; when the buildings were extensively destroyed in World War II, these records were available for the rebuilding project, which began in the 1960s.

Visit Bruchsal Castle

Please contact the Service Centre at:
Tel: +49(0) 72 22 / 93 49 88 1 or +49(0) 72 22 / 97 81 78
Fax: +49(0) 72 22 / 93 49 88 2
Email: service@schloss-bruchsal.de
Official website: http://www.schloss-bruchsal.de

Schloss Bruchsal Location

Bruchsal Castle Address: Schlossraum, 4, 76646 Bruchsal, Germany. Get help with directions using the map provided below:

Schloss Bruchsal Map

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