The Osteiner Hof ("Court of Ostein") is one of several

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 ...

-era palatial mansions along Schillerplatz square in the German city of

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 ...

. The mansion, along the southern edge of the square, was built in 1747-1752 by architect-soldier Johann Valentin Thomann for Franz Wolfgang Damian von Ostein, brother of

Johann Friedrich Karl von Ostein Johann Friedrich Karl von Ostein (6 July 1689 – 4 June 1763) was the Prince-Bishop of Worms, Archbishop of Mainz and Elector of Mainz. Early life He was born as the eldest son of Count Johann Franz Sebastian von Ostein (1652-1718) and his wi ...

, who was prince-bishop of

at that time. Characteristic features for this building are the three round protrusions (

risalit An ''avant-corps'' ( it, avancorpo or , plural , german: Risalit, pl, ryzalit), a French term literally meaning "fore-body", is a part of a building, such as a porch or pavilion, that juts out from the ''corps de logis'', often taller than othe ...

s) at the front entrance and on the two corners. The building is lavishly decorated; for instance, the windows are framed by

rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

-style

cartouche In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oval with a line at one end tangent to it, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name. The first examples of the cartouche are associated with pharaohs at the end of the Third Dynasty, but the fea ...

s symbolising the elements of air, earth and water. The classical gods Diana and

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

are shown on the cartouches framing the balcony doors. The von Osteins, a dynasty of counts, were not able to make use of the mansion for very long. After the left bank of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

was occupied by

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 ...

ary armies, the mansion was appropriated by the state, and in 1798 it became the seat of a newly created

département of France In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety-s ...

Mont-Tonnerre Mont-Tonnerre was a department of the First French Republic and later the First French Empire in present-day Germany. It was named after the highest point in the Palatinate, the ''Donnersberg'' ("Thunder Mountain", possibly referring to Donar, ...

. The building continued to be used as a seat of government after the Napoleonic era, even gaining the nickname ''Gouvernement'' during the years 1854-1859, while emperor-to-be

Wilhelm I William I or Wilhelm I (german: Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 2 January 1861 and German Emperor from 18 January 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the f ...

was serving as military governor of Mainz. During the early days of the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871), the Osteiner Hof served as military headquarters of a Prussian field marshal,

Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

. In 1914, then-military governor General

Hugo von Kathen Hugo Karl Gottlieb von Kathen (27 August 1855 – 2 April 1932) was a German infantry general during World War I. Family Kathen was born in Freienwalde, Farther Pomerania to the Prussian Major Karl von Kathen (1803–1876), a landowner from L ...

announced the start of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

to the Mainz populace from the balcony of the Osteiner Hof. The mansion was destroyed by fire 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 ...

, but was restored in 1947-1948. From 1958 until 2014, the Osteiner Hof was in use by the

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

as military headquarters and officers'

mess The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...

. The Osteiner Hof plays an important part in the local

carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

traditions. Every year, on 11 November at 11 past 11, the start of the carnival season is proclaimed from the balcony of the mansion. File:Mittelrisalit Palais Ostein.jpg, The central

on the facade File:Arms Ostein.jpg, Coat of arms of the Ostein dynasty, framing the central

on the facade File:Ostein+Stefan.jpg, The Osteiner Hof with a view of the St. Stephan's Church

Sources

Landeshauptstadt Mainz: Historisches Mainz: Der Osteiner Hof
(German) Buildings and structures in Mainz Baroque architecture in Rhineland-Palatinate Heritage sites in Rhineland-Palatinate Palaces in Rhineland-Palatinate Houses completed in 1752 {{Germany-palace-stub