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Arenenberg is an estate with a small chateau, Schloss Arenenberg, in the municipality of
Salenstein Salenstein is a municipality in Kreuzlingen District in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. Salenstein was the home village of Napoleon III, who lived at Castle Arenenberg in his youth. History In the ''Eichholz'' area near Salenstein, b ...
at the shore of Lake Constance in Thurgau, Switzerland that is famous as the final domicile of Hortense de Beauharnais. Today it houses the ''Napoleonmuseum''. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.


History

Arenenberg was built in the early 16th century by the mayor of Constance (1546–48) Sebastian Geissberg. The name of the farm that had been located there before was ''Narrenberg'' ("fools' mountain"), perhaps not a suitable name to hold on to, but also the hill towards the lake was named "Arnhalde". By the 19th century the current name was used. The estate saw a number of owners. In 1817, Johann Baptist von Streng sold it to the exiled Hortense de Beauharnais, the daughter of ex-Empress Joséphine, for 30,000 guilders. As arranged by Napoleon, Hortense had to marry his brother
Louis Bonaparte Louis Napoléon Bonaparte (born Luigi Buonaparte; 2 September 1778 – 25 July 1846) was a younger brother of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. He was a monarch in his own right from 1806 to 1810, ruling over the Kingdom of Holland (a French ...
, and the couple were named King and Queen of Holland (1806–10). The royal couple not only suffered with the demise of the rule of Napoleon, but also had an unhappy marriage leading to a separation. Hortense initiated reconstructions and renovations in an attempt to recreate the atmosphere of Malmaison. The surrounding park was possibly designed by
Louis-Martin Berthault Louis-Martin Berthault (30 September 1770 – 16 August 1823) was a French architect, decorator, engraver and landscape artist. Career Louis-Martin Berthault was born in Paris on 30 September 1770 into a wealthy family of Paris entrepreneurs. Bef ...
. In 1818 she moved in. Her brother,
Eugène de Beauharnais Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg (; 3 September 1781 – 21 February 1824) was a French nobleman, statesman, and military commander who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. Through the second ma ...
, bought the nearby Schloss Sandegg and built a villa close by. While Hortense initially spent time at her house in
Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ...
, Arenenberg soon became her main domicile. At her Parisian-styled salon she entertained many luminaries. Her son Louis Napoléon, the future emperor
Napoléon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
, who had attended school in Augsburg, visited Arenenberg as a teenager; there he was further educated and then attended the Swiss military academy at
Thun Thun (french: Thoune) is a town and a municipality in the administrative district of Thun in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is located where the Aare flows out of Lake Thun (Thunersee), southeast of Bern. the municipality has almost abo ...
, receiving Swiss citizenship. In 1837, while he was exiled and living in New York City, Louis Napoleon received notice of his mother's deteriorating health and returned to Arenenberg. Hortense died on 5 October 1837. After mourning, Louis Napoleon had to leave Switzerland, due to French pressure, and moved to London. In 1843, in need of money to finance his aspirations, he sold the property to Heinrich Keller. Once he was emperor, his empress Eugénie bought it back in 1855. Further renovations were made between 1855 and 1874. After Napoleon III's death, Eugénie visited Arenenberg several times before she donated it in 1906 to the Canton Thurgau. Today the château is home to the ''Napoleon Museum''. The ''Napoleon Park'' is being restored.


References

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Literature

* Johannes Meyer, ''Die früheren Besitzer von Arenenberg''. Frauenfeld 1920 * Jakob Hugentobler, ''Die Familie Bonaparte auf Arenenberg''. Salenstein 1989 * Dominik Gügel and Christina Egli: ''Arkadien am Bodensee. Europäische Gartenkultur des beginnenden 19. Jahrhunderts.'' Frauenfeld 2005.


External links

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{{Authority control Castles in Thurgau * Museums in Thurgau Parks in Switzerland Cultural property of national significance in Thurgau Napoleon museums