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Moritzburg Castle (german: Schloss Moritzburg) or Moritzburg Palace 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 th ...
palace in Moritzburg, in the German state of Saxony, about northwest of the Saxon capital, Dresden. The castle has four round towers and lies on a symmetrical artificial island. It is named after Duke
Moritz of Saxony Maurice (21 March 1521 – 9 July 1553) was Duke (1541–47) and later Elector (1547–53) of Saxony. His clever manipulation of alliances and disputes gained the Albertine branch of the Wettin dynasty extensive lands and the electoral dignit ...
, who had a hunting lodge built there between 1542 and 1546. The surrounding woodlands and lakes were a favourite hunting area of the electors and kings of Saxony.


History

The original castle, built from 1542 to 1546, was a hunting lodge for Moritz of Saxony, then Duke of Saxony.Fritz Löffler: ''Das alte Dresden - Geschichte seiner Bauten''. 16th ed. Leipzig: Seemann, 2006, (German) Elector
John George II of Saxony Johann George II (31 May 1613 – 22 August 1680) was the Elector of Saxony from 1656 to 1680. He belonged to the Albertine line of the House of Wettin. Biography He was the third (fourth in order of birth) but eldest surviving son of the Elector ...
had the lodge extended; the chapel was added between 1661 and 1671. Designed by his architect,
Wolf Caspar von Klengel Wolf Caspar Klengel, from 1664 von Klengel (8 June 1630 – 10 January 1691), was a German architect in Saxony, Klengel was born in Dresden, the second son of Caspar Klengel. He built in Dresden the first opera house, the Opernhaus am Taschenber ...
, the chapel is an example of early Baroque architecture. The chapel was consecrated in a Catholic rite in 1697, after the grandson of John George II, Elector
Augustus II the Strong Augustus II; german: August der Starke; lt, Augustas II; in Saxony also known as Frederick Augustus I – Friedrich August I (12 May 16701 February 1733), most commonly known as Augustus the Strong, was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as Ki ...
, converted to Catholicism in order to secure his election as King of Poland. Between 1723 and 1733, Augustus had the castle remodelled as a country seat by architects Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann and Zacharias Longuelune, adding a formal park, several ponds and a game preserve. The surroundings of the castle were further developed by Elector Frederick Augustus III of Saxony, a greatgrandson of Augustus II the Strong, at the end of the 18th century. The Little Pheasant Castle (''Fasanenschlösschen'') was built between 1770 and 1776. The grounds were extended to include a building for the storage of bird nets, the large Well of Venus, living quarters for
Count Camillo Marcolini Camillo Count Marcolini-Ferretti (2 April 1739 in Fano – 10 July 1814 in Prague) was a minister and general director of the fine arts for the Electorate, later Kingdom of Saxony. The prince-elector Frederick Christian met Camillo's father ...
and a maritime setting on the Great Lake complete with a miniature harbour with jetty and lighthouse.
Prince Ernst Heinrich of Saxony en, Ernest Henry Ferdinand Francis Joseph Otto Maria Melchiades , image = PrinceErnstSaxony.jpg , image_size = 190px , caption = Prince Ernst Heinrich in 1911 , spouse = Princess Sophie of LuxembourgVirginia Dulon , issue ...
, who lived in the castle between 1933 and 1945, was the last resident of the House of Wettin. He was dispossessed in 1945 by the postwar Soviet administration.


Interior of the castle

The interior of the castle is furnished with examples of opulent baroque decor from the time of Augustus the Strong. The walls are covered in 17th century gold-gilded leather. Many rooms' furnishings are dedicated to courtly hunting. The collection of red deer antlers is one of the most important of its kind. The castle's largest collection of antlers is shown in the ''Speisesaal'' ("dining room"). Most of its 71 trophies are between 270 and 400 years old; they were purchased or acquired as presents. Among them is the heaviest red deer antler in the world, weighing and spanning almost . In the ''Monströsensaal'' ("monstrosity room"), there are 39 contorted antlers. One specimen, a 66-point red deer antler is from an animal killed by Elector Frederick III of Brandenburg in 1696.Wolfgang Kootz: ''Dresden, Illustrated guide to the state capital and surrounding area'', B&V Verlag, 2010, pp. 99-100. In 1723, Augustus the Strong acquired a four-poster bed for his
Japanese palace The Japanisches Palais (English: "Japanese Palace") is a Baroque building in Dresden, Saxony, Germany. It is located on the Neustadt bank of the river Elbe. History Built in 1715, it was extended from 1729 until 1731 to house the Japanese po ...
. It had approximately a million peacock, pheasant,
guinea hen Guineafowl (; sometimes called "pet speckled hens" or "original fowl") are birds of the family Numididae in the order Galliformes. They are endemic to Africa and rank among the oldest of the gallinaceous birds. Phylogenetically, they branched ...
and duck feathers woven into the canvas. Rather than gluing or tying the feathers onto the canvas, they were woven in as weft. Upon acquisition, Augustus had the curtains removed and turned into wall hangings, inspiring the room's name, ''Federzimmer'', or "feather room". This ensemble was moved to Schloss Moritzburg in 1830. Following an extensive 19-year restoration, the bed and wall hangings have been on view again since 2003. Examples of Chinese, Japanese and Meissen porcelain are shown in the historical ''Porzellanquartier'' ("porcelain quarter"). This exhibition displays porcelain depicting hunting, exotic and mythological motifs as well as animal figurines that are relating to Moritzburg's original determination as a hunting lodge. The apartments contain examples of opulence in the lacquered and ornate furniture, such as the
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 ...
-made silver furniture styled after Louis XIV's silver furniture at Versailles. There are also engraved and inlaid weapons for hunting. The ''Billiardsaal'' ("billiards hall"), named after a former
billiard table A billiard table or billiards table is a bounded table on which cue sports are played. In the modern era, all billiards tables (whether for carom billiards, pool, pyramid or snooker) provide a flat surface usually made of quarried slate, that ...
in it, contains monumental paintings on leather by Louis de Silvestre. Eleven rooms are decorated with painted leather wallpaper from the 17th century. A collection of royal carriages is shown in the entrance hall.


Park and surroundings

In 1728, a park was added to the castle on the adjacent land to the north. The u-shaped park has an area of approximately 230 by 150 meters. The gardens are in the French style and, because of the death of Augustus the Strong, were never completed. Johann Christian Daniel, Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann and others were involved in their initial design and planning. The garden's layout follows that of other European royal courts of the time. During the 19th century, there were rare plants added and the garden was developed into a park in the romantic style. An 8-arm, star-shaped system of alleys was cut through the ''Friedewald'', the forest on the northern side of the property. In particular, it was designed for royal fox hunting with hounds. The ruins of the ''Hellhaus'' ("glade house"), built in 1787 and designed by Johann Daniel Schade, can be found on a raised point at the intersection of the paths. It served the court hunting parties because from here, the so-called "swan keeper" would indicate the direction of flight of the game they hunted. This was done using flags, which he would raise from the top of the building. One alley running directly east, visually connects the castle with the ''Fasanenschlösschen'' ("Little Pheasant Castle"), away. Not far from the ''Fasanenschlösschen'' is the Well of Venus, one of the largest Baroque fountains in Saxony. It symbolizes the eastern end of a canal, which runs parallel to this corridor most of the time. During the reconstruction phase of the palace from 1723 until 1733, the large pond surrounding the castle's artificial island was built from what was originally four smaller ponds. The other ponds in the ''Friedewald'' date from the 16th century and have been used for carp production since then. The channels connecting the ponds allow one to "fish" the carp by draining the water. File:MoritzburgOct11 Garden.jpg, The park of the castle File:MoritzburgOct11 ViewFromGarden.jpg, View from the garden to the castle File:MoritzburgOct11 Hellhaus.jpg, The ruins of the Hellhaus at the intersection of the star-shaped system of alleys File:MoritzburgOct11 Venusbrunnen.jpg, Well of Venus with the alley visually connecting it with the castle


Little Pheasant Castle

Shortly after the remodelling of Moritzburg Castle as the country seat of August the Strong, a single-story pavilion was built just away by the architect Johann Christoph Knöffel. The pavilion's foundation was later used for the Chinese-style Little Pheasant Castle (''Fasanenschlösschen'') in 1770. Elector Frederick Augustus III of Saxony had the pavilion built in the middle of the gardens. Johann Daniel Schade who had been the architect in charge of the royal building projects, received the commission for the Rococo design. Construction was completed about 1776. The shell-pink pavilion is located at the end of an alley leading to the main castle. The square building has five bays wide on each side. The high roof has an ogee profile, capped by an open cupola with a pair of Chinese figures under a parasol as a finial. Concealed behind plantings to give the pavilion an isolated ambience, were outbuildings used to breed pheasants for use in hunting. The few rooms, including the elector's study, are furnished with original trappings. The Rococo finishes include murals on canvas, inlaid wood paneling, painted and gilded stucco ceilings, and unique finishes crafted from materials like embroidered silk, straw, pearls and feathers. The interiors were restored between 2009 and 2013 through a collaboration between Ostdeutsche Sparkassenstiftung, Sparkasse Meißen, and
World Monuments Fund World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and traini ...
. On the front of the building, there is a double-flight stairway leading to the lake with a miniature harbour and jetty. There is also a painted brick lighthouse high. The miniature harbour was used to stage naval battles for the monarch's amusement. In order to re-enact the famous
Battle of Chesma The naval Battle of Chesme took place on 5–7 July 1770 during the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774) near and in Çeşme (Chesme or Chesma) Bay, in the area between the western tip of Anatolia and the island of Chios, which was the site of a num ...
, the Dardanelles, a miniature wall representing the original castles at the narrow strait in northwestern Turkey, were also built. Today, the harbour is partly silted because the lake's water level is approximately lower than before. On the garden side of the castle, a pair of staircases descend to a sunken parterre, now planted with turf.


Trivia

In 1972 Moritzburg Castle was one of the locations of the Czechoslovak-German film '' Tři oříšky pro Popelku'' ("Three Nuts for Cinderella"), which became a popular fairy-tale movie in Central Europe.


See also

*
List of Baroque residences This is a list of Baroque palaces and residences built in the late 17th and 18th centuries. Baroque architecture is a building style of the Baroque era, begun in late 16th-century Italy and spread in Europe. The style took the Roman vocabulary of ...
*
Dresden Castle Dresden Castle or Royal Palace (german: Dresdner Residenzschloss or ) is one of the oldest buildings in Dresden, Germany. For almost 400 years, it was the residence of the electors (1547–1806) and kings (1806–1918) of Saxony from the Alber ...
– Residence of the electors and kings of Saxony * Pillnitz Castle – Summer residence of the electors and kings of Saxony * List of castles in Saxony


Notes and references


External links


Moritzburg Castle official siteMoritzburg Castle - A Fairy Tale and its Treasures
{{Authority control Museums in Saxony Castles in Saxony Baroque architecture in Saxony Historic house museums in Germany Water castles in Germany Hunting lodges in Germany Buildings and structures in Meissen (district) Royal residences in Saxony