The Electoral Palace in

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

(german: link=no, Kurfürstliches Schloss zu Mainz) is the former city ''

Residenz Residenz () is a German word for "place of living", now obsolete except in the formal sense of an official residence. A related term, Residenzstadt, denotes a city where a sovereign ruler resided, therefore carrying a similar meaning as the modern ...

'' of the Prince-elector and Archbishop of Mainz. It is one of the important

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

buildings in Germany.

Background

Originally, the

Archbishop of Mainz The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz, the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the Middle Ages. The Archb ...

resided at the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

, where there is an old private chapel dating from 1137, but in 1475, when the Chapter re-elected Diether von Isenburg, conditions were imposed: he had to surrender the town of

to the Chapter, and erect a castle in the city. The construction of Martinsburg began in 1478 and was completed two years later. For several decades, the archbishops lived either there or in the electoral palace at Aschaffenburg, Schloss Johannisburg. After receiving damage during the second war with the

margrave Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Emp ...

s in 1552 the castle was restored in a Renaissance style. Archbishop

Daniel Brendel von Homburg Daniel Brendel of Homburg (german: Daniel Brendel von Homburg) (22 March 1522 – 22 March 1582) was the Archbishop-Elector of Mainz from 1555 to 1582. Biography Daniel Brendel of Homburg was born in Aschaffenburg on March 22, 1522. The cathed ...

built office buildings and St Gangolph's Church around the year 1580. (In order to make way for new avenues, these buildings as well as Martinsburg were demolished by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

during the French occupation of the town between 1798 and 1814.)

History

The building of a new palace commenced in 1627 on the behest of Archbishop Georg Friedrich von Greiffenklau. The Rhine wing of the new palace could not be finished until 1678, construction being delayed by the

Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an es ...

and the War of the Grand Alliance. The original plan is not known, but it was probably a four-wing construction, comparable to the 1604 repairs to Schloss Johannisberg. It can be assumed Martinsburg remained standing only because of the delays. The north wing was begun in 1687, ready by 1752, and furnished in succeeding years. Work on the wing extending away from the river was begun during the reigns of Johann Friedrich Karl von Ostein (1743–1763) and

Friedrich Karl Josef von Erthal Friedrich Karl Joseph Reichsfreiherr von Erthal (3 January 1719 – 25 July 1802) was prince-elector and archbishop of Mainz from 18 July 1774 to 4 July 1802, shortly before the end of the archbishopric in the '' Reichsdeputationshauptschluss''. ...

(1774–1802). Delays were due not only to the War of the Grand Alliance, but also to the extensive building activity of the nobility: for example, the

Lustschloss Favorite In Renaissance and Early Modern German architecture, a ''Lustschloss'' (french: maison de plaisance, both equating in English to "pleasure castle/house") is a small country house or palace which served the private pleasure of its owner, usuall ...

begun in 1700 by Lothar Franz von Schönborn absorbed large amounts of resources. That summer residence was destroyed during the Siege of Mainz by coalition shelling in 1793. On 23 October 1792, the

Jacobin Club , logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg , logo_size = 180px , logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794) , motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir) , successor = Pa ...

, a political group during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, was established on what nowadays is German soil. This was the earliest democratic movement in Germany. Archbishop Erthal was the last Prince-Elector of the old electorate and was expelled from the city in 1792. His successor

Karl Theodor von Dalberg Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg (8 February 1744 – 10 February 1817) was Prince- Archbishop of Regensburg, Arch-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire, Bishop of Constance and Worms, prince-primate of the Confederation of the Rhine and ...

was both Archbishop-Elector of Mainz and Arch-Chancellor of the remaining Empire on the right bank of the Rhine. Due to the resolutions of the ''

Reichsdeputationshauptschluss The ' (formally the ', or "Principal Conclusion of the Extraordinary Imperial Delegation"), sometimes referred to in English as the Final Recess or the Imperial Recess of 1803, was a resolution passed by the ' (Imperial Diet) of the Holy Roman Em ...

'' his seat was moved to

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

, which became the new seat of the archbishopric. The palace was neglected until 1827, when it was restored by the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt and the City of Mainz. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the building was heavily damaged, especially in the air raid of 27 February 1945, which destroyed most of the city. Of the palace, only the exterior walls remained. It was rebuilt during 1948 and 1949, reopened on 31 December 1949, and was the main venue in Mainz for Karneval activities until the Rheingoldhalle opened in 1968.

Architecture

Stylistically, the Electoral Palace is one of the last examples of German Renaissance architecture. The northern wing, built later, conforms to this style. The exterior, with

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope * Mi ...

s at every corner, is richly decorated, particularly around the windows. The roofs have been restored with exactness. The most spectacular interiors included the Grand Staircase by the leading Baroque architect

Balthasar Neumann Johann Balthasar Neumann (; 27 January 1687 (?) – 19 August 1753), usually known as Balthasar Neumann, was a German architect and military artillery engineer who developed a refined brand of Baroque architecture, fusing Austrian, Bohemian, Ita ...

, which was removed during the French occupation.

Modern uses

Today the east wing houses the

Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum The Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum (RGZM), Leibniz Research Institute for Archaeology, is headquartered in Mainz. It is supported by the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany and its States of Germany, states and is a member of the Gottfried W ...

. An assortment of replicas and valuable original items presents a comprehensive picture of the cultural life of prehistoric times, of the Roman Empire, and of the early Middle Ages. The north wing contains the famous function hall from which the annual

Mainz carnival The Mainz Carnival (''Mainzer Fastnacht'', ''"Määnzer Fassenacht" or "Meenzer Fassenacht"'') is a months-long citywide carnival celebration in Mainz, Germany that traditionally begins on 11 November but culminates in the days before Ash Wednesda ...

TV show '' Mainz bleibt Mainz, wie es singt und lacht'' is broadcast. The Electoral Palace is now one of eight venues managed by Congress Centrum Mainz. There are seven halls and many smaller rooms, enabling events to be staged for up to 1,700 persons.

References

External links