The Kleine Schloss (''Little Castle'') in

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest c ...

is a

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

building in the town of

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

. It is sited next to the Schloss Wolfenbüttel on what is now the Schlossplatz. It was first built in 1643 but has been frequently extended, demolished and rebuilt.

History

In the 17th century the Kleine Schloss was principally the residence of the hereditary princes of Brunswick-Lüneburg. From 1687 to 1712 it housed the

Rudolph-Antoniana The Akademie Rudolph-Antoniana was an early modern Ritterakademie sited in Wolfenbüttel in what was then the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg in Germany. It was founded on 18 July 1687 by Rudolph Augustus and Anthony Ulrich, brothers and co-dukes ...

Ritterakademie for noble families. The building was also known as the Bevernsches Schloss, since

Ferdinand Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Ferdinand Albert (German ''Ferdinand Albrecht''; 29 May 1680 (O.S.), Bevern – 2 September 1735 (O.S.), Salzdahlum), Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, was an officer in the army of the Holy Roman Empire. He was prince of Wolfenbüttel during 173 ...

used it as a residence from 1723 to 1735 - his children grew up there. The Kleine Schloss's small ballroom was rebuilt in the Empire Style and on 15 June 1733 hosted the re-celebration of the double wedding of two of these children -

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

to princess

Philippine Charlotte of Prussia Princess Philippine Charlotte of Prussia (13 March 1716, in Berlin – 17 February 1801, in Brunswick) was Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel by marriage to Duke Charles I. Philippine Charlotte was a known intellectual in contemporary Germany. ...

and Elisabeth Christine to the future

Frederick II of Prussia Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

. The ducal court later moved to Brunswick and in 1791 the Kleine Schloss was sold to Droste Raeber von Rodenberg, one of the duchy's ministers. It has been a private house ever since. In 1830 the Unger family acquired the building and completely redesigned it, demolishing almost all of the building and putting a new facade on the only part of the earlier building they retained, which was the half-timbered west wing built in 1730, with its two stories and mezzanine. This gave the Schloss its present appearance. It was bought in 1869 by the banker Gustav Seeliger, head of the Bankhaus C. L. Seeliger, who added a park in the English style - a

gingko ''Ginkgo'' is a genus of non-flowering seed plants. The scientific name is also used as the English name. The order to which it belongs, Ginkgoales, first appeared in the Permian, 270 million years ago, and is now the only living genus within ...

and a Juglans nigra planted for that garden still survive there.The Kleine Schloss on the Deutschen Stiftung Denkmalschutz website
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References

{{coord, 52, 9, 43, N, 10, 31, 49, E, region:DE-NI_type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures in Wolfenbüttel

category:Baroque architecture in Lower Saxony