Fürstenmausoleum Stadthagen 01 Auferstehungsmonument 1

The Mausoleum of Prince Ernst in

Stadthagen Stadthagen () is the capital of the district of Schaumburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 20 km east of Minden and 40 km west of Hanover. The city consists of the districts Brandenburg, Enzen-Hobbensen, Hörkamp-L ...

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 ...

, is a

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

erected by

Ernst of Schaumburg Ernst of Schaumburg (September 24, 1569 – January 17, 1622) was the first Count of Schauenburg and Holstein-Pinneberg to earn the title of Prince in 1619. However, he died in 1622 without an heir. Schauenburg-Pinneberg had been a Lutheran ...

(d. 1622) and his widow

Hedwig of Hesse-Kassel Hedwig of Hesse-Kassel (born 30 June 1569 in Kassel; died: 7 July 1644 in Hagen) was a princess of Hesse-Kassel by birth and by marriage a Countess of Schaumburg. Life Hedwig was a daughter of Landgrave William IV of Hesse-Kassel (1532–1592) ...

in the years 1620–1627. Its unusual architecture and the resurrection monument by

Adrian de Vries Adriaen de Vries (c.1556–1626) was a Northern Mannerist sculptor born in the Netherlands but working in Central Europe, whose international style crossed the threshold to the Baroque; he excelled in refined modelling and bronze casting and ...

make it a site of European rank. The crypt was used as burial place of the

House of Schaumburg The House of Schaumburg was a dynasty of German rulers. Until c. 1485, it was also known as the House of Schauenburg. Together with its ancestral possession, the County of Schaumburg, the family also ruled the County of Holstein and its partitions ...

and the

House of Schaumburg-Lippe The House of Lippe (german: Haus Lippe) is the former reigning house of a number of small German states, two of which existed until the German Revolution of 1918–19, the Principality of Lippe and the Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe. Princess ...

until 1915. The mausoleum, attached to the chancel of Stadthagen parish church St. Martini, is a domed

heptagon In geometry, a heptagon or septagon is a seven-sided polygon or 7-gon. The heptagon is sometimes referred to as the septagon, using "sept-" (an elision of ''septua-'', a Latin-derived numerical prefix, rather than ''hepta-'', a Greek-derived num ...

in Italian

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 ...

style designed by Giovanni Maria Nosseni. Four of its walls are furnished with Latin inscribed

epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

s for Prince Ernst, his parents, and his wife, framed by

aedicula In ancient Roman religion, an ''aedicula'' (plural ''aediculae'') is a small shrine, and in classical architecture refers to a niche covered by a pediment or entablature supported by a pair of columns and typically framing a statue,"aedicula, n." ...

s with Italian marble columns. The central monument by

Adriaen de Vries Adriaen de Vries (c.1556–1626) was a Northern Mannerist sculptor born in the Netherlands but working in Central Europe, whose international style crossed the threshold to the Baroque; he excelled in refined modelling and bronze casting and ...

consists of a huge

pedestal A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ci ...

bearing the

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

of Prince Ernst – simultaneously conceived as the tomb of

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

: the cenotaph is surrounded by four drowsing Roman guards, and a larger-than-life figure of Christ triumphant surmounts its top. The dome, painted with fourteen musician angels, represents

heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

Burials in the crypt

Philip I, Count of Schaumburg-Lippe Philipp I, Count of Schaumburg-Lippe (18 July 1601 – 10 April 1681) was the founder of the Schaumburg-Lippe line. He was born in Lemgo the son of Simon VI, Count of Lippe (1555–1613) and his second wife Countess Elisabeth of Holstein-Schaumb ...

Landgravine Sophie of Hesse-Kassel Sophie of Hesse-Kassel (12 September 1615, in Kassel – 22 November 1670, in Bückeburg) was a princess of Hesse-Kassel by birth and by marriage Countess of Schaumburg-Lippe. Life Sophie was a daughter of Count Maurice of Hesse-Kassel (1572� ...

Frederick Christian, Count of Schaumburg-Lippe Friedrich Christian, Count of Schaumburg-Lippe (16 August 1655 – 13 June 1728) was the second ruler of the County of Schaumburg-Lippe. Biography He was born in Bückeburg, the son of Philip I, Count of Schaumburg-Lippe and Landgravine Sophie of ...

Philip II, Count of Schaumburg-Lippe Philipp II Ernst, Count of Schaumburg-Lippe (5 July 1723– 13 February 1787) was a ruler of the counties of Lippe-Alverdissen and Schaumburg-Lippe. Early life He was born at Rinteln the son of Friedrich Ernst, Count of Lippe-Alverdissen (1687-177 ...

*Countess Eleonore Luise (1781–1783) *

George William, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe Georg Wilhelm, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe (20 December 1784 – 21 November 1860) was a Count and later Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe. Biography He was born in Bückeburg the son of Philipp II, Count of Schaumburg-Lippe, and his second wife Prince ...

Adolf I, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe Adolphus I, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe (''Adolf Georg''; 1 August 1817 – 8 May 1893) was a ruler of the Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe. Biography He was born in Bückeburg to Georg Wilhelm, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe and Princess Ida of Wal ...

Princess Hermine of Waldeck and Pyrmont Princess Hermine of Waldeck and Pyrmont (29 September 1827 – 16 February 1910) was a German princess. She was the second daughter of George II, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and his wife Princess Emma of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym. She wa ...

Princess Ida of Schaumburg-Lippe Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

*Prince Hermann of Schaumburg-Lippe (1848–1928)

External links

Renaissance-Stadthagen Homepage
(in German) {{Authority control Mausoleums in Germany Buildings and structures in Schaumburg Cenotaphs in Germany Lutheran churches in Lower Saxony Religious buildings and structures completed in 1627 1627 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 17th-century establishments in the Holy Roman Empire Burial sites of the House of Lippe Bronze sculptures in Germany Sculptures depicting New Testament people Mannerist architecture Renaissance architecture in Germany