Gifhorn Castle (german: Schloss Gifhorn) is a castle in

Gifhorn Gifhorn () is a town and capital of the district of Gifhorn (district), Gifhorn in the east of Lower Saxony, Germany. It has a population of about 42,000 and is mainly influenced by the small distance to the more industrial and commercially import ...

, Germany, built between 1525 and 1581 in the

Weser Renaissance Weser Renaissance is a form of Northern Renaissance architectural style that is found in the area around the River Weser in central Germany and which has been well preserved in the towns and cities of the region. Background Between the star ...

style. The castle was fortified until 1790 with moats, ramparts and bastions and was never captured. In the 16th century it was the ''

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 Duchy of Gifhorn under Duke

Francis of Brunswick-Lüneburg Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome * Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places * Rural ...

for just 10 years.

Design

This well-fortified castle was built in the shape of a trapezium. It was surrounded by ramparts and a moat up to 50 metres wide. The immediate vicinity could be flooded to create a swamp. Stone bastion towers were built on the four corners of the site. These were linked to the castle by underground rampart passages (''Wallgänge'') in the form of casemates. A 45 metre long section is preserved today that led to the north bastion. Today it is used to house exhibitions for the castle museum. The original entrance to the castle was over a bridge on the narrow side of the castle moat in the southeast, that led to the

gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the mo ...

. Today the main entrance is through the old south bastion which has been reconstructed using sections of wall arranged in a circle. The following castle buildings are grouped around the inner courtyard: * The

(''Torhaus'') is the oldest building and was completed in 1526, one year after work began on the castle. Due to its oversized dimensions it was probably originally planned as a single building. The roof, with its semi-circular gables is extraordinary and none like it has been preserved anywhere else. Until the 18th century the entrance to the castle was through the gatehouse; after that it was used as a grain store. * The ''Ablagerhaus'' is the largest building in the east wing and acted from the 18th century as a residence for senior Gifhorn officials such as the ''Amtshauptmann''. Its name, which means 'visit house', is derived from the fact that the occupants of its rooms had to vacate them when there was a lordly visit (''Ablager'') e.g. by royal hunting parties. This building contains the Great Hall (''Rittersaal''). * The castle chapel (''Schlosskapelle'') was built in 1547 and was the first religious building built for Protestant services in Germany. It contains the sarcophagus of Duke Francis on a gallery (''Empore'') below a window and a life-size, kneeling statue of the duke. The sarcophagus of his wife, Clara of Lauenburg, is empty, because she died during a trip to her

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

n home in Barth. Nevertheless, there is also a statue of her. * The ''Kommandantenhaus'' of 1581 was the residence of the ''Schlosshauptmann'' or ''Amtshauptmann''. Later in the 19th and 20th century it became the seat of the county court (''Amtsgericht'') * The staircase tower of 1568, with its

spiral staircase Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps which enable passage ...

, links the gatehouse tower with the ''Ablagerhaus'' * The prison (''Gefangenenhaus''),

armoury An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are most ...

(''Zeughaus'') and grain store (''Kornmagazin'') in the west wing no longer exist. Instead, the prison complex (''Justizvollzugsanstalt'') was built here in the 19th and 20th centuries.

History

Earlier castle

The fortified predecessor of the castle was a

moated castle A water castle is a castle whose site is largely defended by water. It can be entirely surrounded by water-filled moats (moated castle) or natural waterbodies such as island castles in a river or offshore. The term comes from European castle ...

on a defended, artificial hill built in the angle between the rivers

Aller Aller may refer to: Places Rivers * Aller (Germany), a major river in North Germany *Aller (Asturian river), a river in Asturias, Spain *River Aller, a small river on Exmoor in Somerset, England Inhabited places in the United Kingdom *Aller, Devo ...

and

Ise Ise may refer to: Places * Ise, Mie, a city in Japan **Ise Grand Shrine, a Shinto shrine located in Ise, Mie * Ise Ekiti, a city in Nigeria *Ise, Norway, a village in Norway *Ise Province, an ancient province of Japan * River Ise, a tributary of th ...

. According to an investigation around 1900 by the pre-historian,

Carl Schuchhardt Carl Schuchhardt (August 6, 1859 – December 7, 1943) was a German archaeologist and museum director. For many years, he was the director of the pre-historic department of the Ethnological Museum of Berlin. He was involved in numerous excavations ...

, the old castle - of which nothing remains today - was built around 1000. It is mentioned for the first time in a deed of 1296 where it is called ''Castrum Gifhorne''. It was besieged, probably during fighting between Duke Albert the Fat and his brother, Henry the Admirable. At the end of the 13th century renovation work was carried out on the castle under the direction of

Otto the Strict Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', '' Odo'', '' Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded ...

. As the village of Gifhorn developed, the importance of the castle grew, both for security reasons and as a customs post on a

trade route A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over bodies of water. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a sing ...

. In the 14th century it was frequently enfeoffed to, amongst others, the lord of Veltheim and the town of Brunswick. In 1396 Duke

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederick ...

transferred the castle to his wife Anna of Saxony as a life annuity. In the 15th century other tenants followed, like the von Bülows (1467), von Alvenslebens (1470),

von Quitzow The von Quitzow family is a noble family of Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as ...

s (1472) and von Bodendiekes (1477). During the

Hildesheim Diocesan Feud The Hildesheim Diocesan Feud (german: Hildesheimer Stiftsfehde) or Great Diocesan Feud, sometimes referred to as a "chapter feud", was a conflict that broke out in 1519 between the Prince-Bishopric of Hildesheim (''Hochstift Hildesheim'') and the ...

the castle and town were destroyed in 1519. Both belonged at the time to the Duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.

Construction

The present structure was built from 1525 as a completely new castle, not on the site of its predecessor, but on a hill on what was then the northern edge of the town of Gifhorn. It was commissioned by the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

dukes, Ernest the Confessor of Brunswick-Lüneburg and his brother Otto of Celle. Ernest gave the castle as a wedding present to his wife, Sophie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, on the occasion of their marriage in 1528. It was given to her as an

annuity In investment, an annuity is a series of payments made at equal intervals.Kellison, Stephen G. (1970). ''The Theory of Interest''. Homewood, Illinois: Richard D. Irwin, Inc. p. 45 Examples of annuities are regular deposits to a savings account, ...

, under which she could use the building and its revenue. In 1539 Duke Ernest gave the castle and its surrounding ''Ämter'' to his youngest brother Duke Francis, who had returned from the court of the

Elector of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charles ...

and was demanding his share of the inheritance.

Castle history

On taking over the castle in 1539, Duke Francis was able to indulge his noble image of himself and attended to his princely representational duties unfettered. He had Gifhorn Castle expanded as his ''

'' and led an ostentatious, courtly life. At the same time he built Fallersleben Castle as a rural aristocratic estate. Life with his more prudent brother, Ernest and the relatively modest standard of living in the small Celle ''Residenz'' was not enough for him. Francis engaged the fortress architect, Michael Clare, from Celle. His works dominate the appearance of Gifhorn Castle. Herzog_Franz_Gifhorn

After the death of Duke Francis in 1549 the castle ceased to be a princely ''Residenz''. The Duchy of Gifhorn that had lasted just 10 years from 1539 to 1549 was re-absorbed into the main ducal house in Celle. The widowed duchess, Clara, had to move out of the castle rooms and take up her dowager residence at Fallersleben Castle. Thereafter Gifhorn Castle became the residence of a bailiff (''

Amtmann __NOTOC__ The ''Amtmann'' or ''Ammann'' (in Switzerland) was an official in German-speaking countries of Europe and in some of the Nordic countries from the time of the Middle Ages whose office was akin to that of a bailiff. He was the most seni ...

''). Occasionally it was used as accommodation for the royal hunting parties of the Celle dukes, who came here in order to hunt in the great forests around Gifhorn. Nevertheless the castle was retained as a fortress, because it had a strategically important function for the Celle dukes on the southeastern flank of their dukedom. The castle was run by a castellan (''Schlosshauptmann'') and, from 1734, a seneschal (''

Landdrost {{Use dmy dates, date=December 2020 ''Landdrost'' was the title of various officials with local jurisdiction in the Netherlands and a number of former territories in the Dutch Empire. The term is a Dutch compound, with ''land'' meaning "region" an ...

''). He was the fortress commander (''Festungskommandant'') and, from the 16th century onwards, commanded a force of

armourer Historically, an armourer is a person who makes personal armour, especially plate armour. In modern terms, an armourer is a member of a military or police force who works in an armoury and maintains and repairs small arms and weapons systems, ...

s (''Waffenmeister''), ''Büchsenschützen'' and ''

Landsknecht The (singular: , ), also rendered as Landsknechts or Lansquenets, were Germanic mercenaries used in pike and shot formations during the early modern period. Consisting predominantly of pikemen and supporting foot soldiers, their front lin ...

en''. From the time it was built the fortress withstood every attack. Enemy troops, like the Swedes, Danes, league (''Ligisten'') and imperial troops in the

Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battl ...

and French armies in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...

quartered themselves in the town of Gifhorn but avoided attacking the castle. The last ''Schlosshauptmann'', Ulrich von

Veltheim Veltheim (historically known as Veltheim an der Ohe) is a municipality in the district of Wolfenbüttel, in Lower Saxony, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the secon ...

allowed the fortifications to be dismantled between 1770 and 1780, because it was no longer equal to technological advances of that time. The moats were reduced to half-width and entrances were constructed at the northern and southern bastions. The fortified gatehouse was converted into a grain store. From the 18th century, district administrators (''Landräte'') officiated in the castle. A fundamental renovation and redevelopment of the whole castle area took place between 1978 and 1983. Today the castle is home to the following: * Gifhorn district with the district council rooms * Great Hall Event Venue (''Veranstaltungsort Rittersaal'') * Gifhorn Castle History Museum with 1000 m² of exhibition area showing the development of

from ancient times to the present * The castle restaurant * The prison (''Justizvollzugsanstalt'')

Sources

* Jürgen Conrad (Text): ''Schloß Gifhorn''. Landkreis Gifhorn, Gifhorn 1983. * Ernest Andreas Friedrich: ''Wenn Steine reden könnten.'' Bd 3. Landbuch-Verlag, Hannover 1995, * Hans Adolf Schultz: ''Burgen und Schlösser des Brunswicker Landes''. Waisenhaus, Brunswick 1980, 1984 (4.Aufl.).

External links

Description of the castle

Short account at Newsclick.de

Historic reconstruction

Article: ''Ein Schloss für alle Fälle''
in the

Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung ''Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung'' (abbreviated HAZ) is a German newspaper with a circulation of 158,000 (as of 2009) and a widespread resonance all over Germany. It is distributed in Hanover and in all Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: ...

Gifhorn Museums in Lower Saxony Local museums in Germany Buildings and structures in Gifhorn (district) {{Coord, 52, 29, 22.38, N, 10, 32, 49.60, E, type:landmark_region:DE-NI, display=title