![Ploenerschloss0206](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Ploenerschloss0206.jpg)
Plön Castle (german: Plöner Schloss) in
Plön
Plön (; Holsatian: ''Plöön'') is the district seat of the Plön district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and has about 8,700 inhabitants. It lies right on the shores of Schleswig-Holstein's biggest lake, the Great Plön Lake, as well as on ...
is one of the largest castles in the north German state of
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...
and the only one located on a hill.
[''Schloss Plön''](_blank)
at www.fielmann-akademie.com. Accessed on 31 Aug 2010. The former ''
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
Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Plön was built in the 17th century during the
Thirty Years War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an es ...
and has had a colourful history in which it has, for example, been a school for military cadets and also a boarding school.
The castle ended the twentieth century as a possession of the
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
of Schleswig-Holstein, but they could not fund its renovation and so it had to be sold again. Since January 2002 it has belonged to the ''Fielmann Akademie Schloss Plön'' and, after extensive conversion, serves as a training and qualification centre for a branch of
optometry
Optometry is a specialized health care profession that involves examining the eyes and related structures for defects or abnormalities. Optometrists are health care professionals who typically provide comprehensive primary eye care.
In the Uni ...
. After being inaccessible to the general public for many years when it was a boarding school, its new owners have opened it to a limited extent to visitors.
History
Prehistory of the castle site
The earliest
Wendish defensive fortification called ''Plune'' dates to the 10th century and was located on the island of Olsborg in Lake Plön. It was destroyed in 1158. The rebuilding of the castle was carried out under Count
Adolphus II of Holstein, and it served as a base during the
colonization
Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...
of the once-
Slavic region. In 1173 the castle was moved to the Bischofsberg hill next to the small town of Plön - to the site of the present Plön Castle. In the 12th century Plön developed slowly into a market town and was given
town rights
Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...
in 1239. From 1290 to 1390 the
hill castle
A hill castle or mountain castle is a castle built on a natural feature that stands above the surrounding terrain. It is a term derived from the German ''Höhenburg'' used in categorising castle sites by their topographical location. Hill castles ...
was the seat of the
Schauenburg
Schauenburg is a municipality in the district of Kassel, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated west of Kassel
Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat o ...
line of
Holstein-Plön
Holstein-Plön was the name of a county ruled by the House of Schauenburg that ruled in Holstein and Stormarn from 1110/11. The county emerged before 1295 when the County of Holstein-Itzehoe was partitioned after the death of Count Gerhard I of ...
and, after their extinction, was transferred to the Duke of Schleswig,
Gerhard VI. Through the
dukes of Schleswig
The following is a list of jarls and dukes, who ruled over Schleswig respectively Southern Jutland (Sønderjylland).
First jarls/dukes
Houses of Estridsen and Schauenburg (1080–1460)
House of Oldenburg
In 1864, following the Second Sch ...
, the small fortress was passed, four generations later, to the Danish royal family (
Christian I
Christian I (February 1426 – 21 May 1481) was a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union. He was king of Denmark (1448–1481), Norway (1450–1481) and Sweden (1457–1464). From 1460 to 1481, he was also duke of Schleswig (within ...
was Duke of Schleswig and King of Denmark in
personal union
A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interlink ...
). During this period, however, Plön and its castle played no significant role in the country's history.
![Plön,_Garten,_Stich_1749,](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Pl%C3%B6n%2C_Garten%2C_Stich_1749%2C.JPG)
In the course of the
Count's Feud
The Count's Feud ( da, Grevens Fejde), also called the Count's War, was a war of succession that raged in Denmark in 1534–36 and brought about the Reformation in Denmark. In the international context, it was part of the European wars of religi ...
between
Lübeck
Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...
and
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
, the castle was burned down in 1534 during a raid by Lübeck. Following that a new, larger, building was built on the still partly
Romanesque castle grounds. In 1564 King
Frederick II of Denmark
Frederick II (1 July 1534 – 4 April 1588) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1559 until his death.
A member of the House of Oldenburg, Frederick began his personal rule of Denmark-Norway at the age of ...
transferred to his brother,
John the Younger, one third of his share of Schleswig and Holstein, in violation of the
Treaty of Ribe
The Treaty of Ribe ( da, Ribe-brevet meaning The Ribe letter; german: Vertrag von Ripen) was a proclamation at Ribe made in 1460 by King Christian I of Denmark to a number of Holsatian nobles enabling himself to become Count of Holstein and gain ...
, whereupon John founded the "titular duchy" (''abgeteiltes Herzogtum'') of
Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg
Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg was the name of a branch line of the House of Oldenburg as well as the name of their land. It existed from 1564 until 1668 and was a titular duchy under the King of Denmark, rather than a true territorial dukedom in ...
. Amongst his estates was Plön, including the castle. Under Duke John, an
early mercantilist, town and castle experienced an economic boom. After John's death in 1622 the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg was divided among his six male heirs and new sub-duchies were formed; one of which was the Duchy of
Schleswig-Holstein-Plön.
Residence of the Dukes of Plön
The first duke of this line was
Joachim Ernest of Schleswig-Holstein-Plön, the second youngest son of Duke John. On the occasion of his marriage to the
Gottorf
Gottorf Castle (german: Schloss Gottorf, da, Gottorp Slot, Low German: ''Gottorp'') is a castle and estate in the city of Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is one of the most important secular buildings in Schleswig-Holstein, and ha ...
princess, Dorothea Augusta, the new ruler decided to build a palace fit for himself and his family. The project was financed ''inter alia'' by the respectable
dowry
A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment b ...
of the bride. In 1632 the old castle was demolished at the behest of the Duke of Plön and in its place the current castle was built in the
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. The new residence was completed in just three years in the middle of the
Thirty Years War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an es ...
.
[Dehio: ''Handbuch der deutschen Kunstdenkmäler. Hamburg und Schleswig-Holstein.'' p. 688.]
The castle was the residence (''
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 ducal family, but was never as important a place in state politics as
Gottorf Castle
Gottorf Castle (german: Schloss Gottorf, da, Gottorp Slot, Low German: ''Gottorp'') is a castle and estate in the city of Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is one of the most important secular buildings in Schleswig-Holstein, and ha ...
. Because the dukes of Plön had other castles and summer residences, such as
Traventhal House
Traventhal House (german: Schloss Traventhal) in the municipality of Traventhal near Bad Segeberg in the southern part of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein was the summer residence of the dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön. In th ...
and the castles in
Ahrensbök
Ahrensbök (Holsatian: ''Ahrensböök'') is a municipality in the district of Ostholstein, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approximately 17 km northwest of Lübeck, and 45 km southeast of Kiel.
History
Ahrensbök came in ...
,
Rethwisch Rethwisch or Rehtwisch may refer to:
Places
* Rethwisch, Stormarn, a municipality in the Stormarn district, Schleswig-Holstein
* Rethwisch, Steinburg, a municipality in Steinburg district, Schleswig-Holstein
* Rethwisch, a village in the municip ...
and
Reinfeld the Plön residence was not continuously occupied. Nevertheless, the building was one of the cultural centres of the duchy. Joachim Ernest established a library in the castle, which was expanded by his successors to 10,000 volumes.
[''Die Tradition der Optik''](_blank)
at www.fielmann-akademie.com. Accessed on 31 Aug 2010. In addition, the Duke was very interested in
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
and
optics
Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultraviole ...
and collected various optical devices and instruments in his residence at Plön.
After Duke Joachim Ernest, the castle went to his son,
''Hans Adolf'', who, however, as a general in the service of the Emperor, rarely stayed in Plön and the duchy was largely represented by his wife and mother.
Joachim Frederick, who followed ''Hans Adolf'', also resided here. After he died in debt in 1722 without male heirs, the castle stood empty for seven years and some of the furniture was passed to his creditors.
The castle experienced its cultural heyday from 1729 onwards under the last duke,
Frederick Charles. He introduced 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 ...
court and had the interior of the castle decorated in the
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. Frederick Charles extended the castle, erecting buildings around the castle courtyard that have survived to this day - the royal stables, the riding hall - as well as the garden palace, now known as the ''
Princes' House''. The castle was the residence of the Dukes of Plön until the death of Frederick Charles, who died without male heirs in 1761. Upon his death the
enfeoffment
In the Middle Ages, especially under the European feudal system, feoffment or enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of ti ...
expired and the duchy returned to the Danish royal house. The building was occupied as a widow's residence by his wife, Christiane Armgardis, until her death in 1779. It subsequently served as the seat of the
bailiff
A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...
(''
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 ...
''), and also from 1777 to 1823 as a residence for
Peter Frederick William, the mentally deranged son of
Frederick Augustus I of Oldenburg
, title = Duke of Oldenburg
, image = Friedrich August von Oldenburg.jpg
, caption =
, succession = Duke of Oldenburg
, predecessor = Kings of Denmark as counts
, successor = William I
, reign = ...
. The young man, who was unable to discharge his duties as a duke, was given the castle by his guardian, assigned to the Danish king
Christian VII
Christian VII (29 January 1749 – 13 March 1808) was a monarch of the House of Oldenburg who was King of Denmark–Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1766 until his death in 1808. For his motto he chose: "''Gloria ex amore patriae''" ...
and was allowed to retain a large household. After his death, the castle was used temporarily as a
courtly
Courtesy (from the word ''courteis'', from the 12th century) is gentle politeness and courtly manners. In the Middle Ages in Europe, the behaviour expected of the nobility was compiled in courtesy books.
History
The apex of European courtly c ...
residence. In 1833 a
grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...
was established in the castle.
Danish royal summer residence
In 1840 the castle became the official summer residence of the King of Denmark,
Christian VIII. He had Plön Castle renovated and the furnishing partly replaced in a
Classicist
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
style. At that time it was decorated in white
plaster
Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for Molding (decorative), moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of ...
, reminiscent of Danish castles such as
Gråsten
Gråsten (; german: Gravenstein) is a town with a population of 4,274 (1 January 2022)Fredensborg
Fredensborg () is a railway town located in Fredensborg Municipality, North Zealand, some 30 kilometres north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is most known for Fredensborg Palace, one of the official residences of the Danish Royal Family. As of 1 Janua ...
.
Cadet training and educational establishment
After the
Second Schleswig War
The Second Schleswig War ( da, Krigen i 1864; german: Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg) also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the nineteenth century. T ...
of 1864, the castle fell into
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
n hands. In 1868, the interior furnishings were removed and most of them taken to
Kiel Castle, where they were destroyed by fire in 1942 following an air raid.
Plön Castle was rebuilt inside as barracks and subsequently served the Prussian
Province of Schleswig-Holstein
The Province of Schleswig-Holstein (german: Provinz Schleswig-Holstein ) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia (subsequently the Free State of Prussia after 1918) from 1868 to 1946.
History
It was created from the Duchies of Schleswig and H ...
as a
military school
A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...
for cadets.
The sons of the German Emperor,
William II, were educated in Plön from the end of the 19th century and, for that purpose, the
summer residence in the garden was extended to form the so-called Princes' House. An educational farm was set up on
Princes' Island and Princes' Station was built in front of the castle on the newly laid railway line. At the suggestion of the Empress,
Augusta Victoria, the chapel was given a new mural.
After
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 ...
, military schools were banned by the
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
and the castle was used in the 1920s as a state educational institution (''Staatliche Bildungsanstalt'').
In 1933 Plön Castle and the area around it was used as a
National Political Institute, an elite school under the
Nazi regime
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. Until the assassination of
Ernst Röhm
Ernst Julius Günther Röhm (; 28 November 1887 – 1 July 1934) was a German military officer and an early member of the Nazi Party. As one of the members of its predecessor, the German Workers' Party, he was a close friend and early ally ...
in 1934 it bore his name.
[Zeitleiste Gymnasium Schloss Plön, 1933–1945](_blank)
/ref>
In 1945, Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz
Karl Dönitz (sometimes spelled Doenitz; ; 16 September 1891 24 December 1980) was a German admiral who briefly succeeded Adolf Hitler as head of state in May 1945, holding the position until the dissolution of the Flensburg Government follo ...
stayed for a few days in Plön, where he established a temporary command post. Before fleeing to Flensburg
Flensburg (; Danish, Low Saxon: ''Flensborg''; North Frisian: ''Flansborj''; South Jutlandic: ''Flensborre'') is an independent town (''kreisfreie Stadt'') in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the ...
, the castle was the administrative headquarters for parts of the Flensburg Government for a single day on 2 May 1945. The castle survived both world wars without suffering any wartime damage. Afterwards British occupation troops entered Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...
and Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
as part of VIII Corps 8th Corps, Eighth Corps, or VIII Corps may refer to:
* VIII Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars
* VIII Army Corps (German Confederation)
* VIII Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Ar ...
under General Evelyn Barker
General Sir Evelyn Hugh Barker (22 May 1894 – 23 November 1983) was a British Army officer who saw service in both the First World War and the Second World War. During the latter, he commanded the 10th Brigade during the Battle of France in ...
, and established their headquarters in the castle.
Boarding school
In 1946, with the permission of the British military government, the Plön Castle State Boarding School (''Staatliche Internat Schloss Plön'') for boys and girls was established in the castle. The boarding school
A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...
utilised the entire castle grounds. The castle itself was used to accommodate the boys and the Princes' House the girls. The boat house and other outbuildings were purchased by the school. Lessons took place in the nearby Plön Castle Grammar School (''Internatsgymnasium Schloss Plön'' now the ''Gymnasium Schloss Plön'') in ''Prinzenstraße''.
Its use as accommodation left its mark on the old castle, which became increasingly dilapidated. Advice in 1986/1988 showed that the site needed major investment and would only be saved from ruin by spending tens of millions of deutschmark
The Deutsche Mark (; English: ''German mark''), abbreviated "DM" or "D-Mark" (), was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990 and later the unified Germany from 1990 until the adoption of the euro in 2002. In English, it was ...
s. By 1992 the castle was put on the market and in 1995 the outbuildings were sold. The sale was necessary because the state was unable to sustain the uneconomic running of the boarding school and the restoration of a historical monument.[Geschichte des Schlosses auf geschichte-s-h.de](_blank)
.
In 2001 the boarding school was finally closed. The former pupils, teachers and staff still belong to an association, the ''Verein der Butenplöner''.
Film-set
Whilst it was still a boarding school, the castle served as a film-set in several German shows:
* in 1969 for the thriller ''Seven Days Grace
''Seven Days Grace'' (german: Sieben Tage Frist) is a 1969 West German crime film directed by Alfred Vohrer. It was entered into the 6th Moscow International Film Festival.
Cast
* Joachim Fuchsberger as Hendriks
* Horst Tappert as Klevenow
* K ...
'',
* from 1997 on for the television series ''Die Schule am See
''Die Schule am See'' is a German television series.
See also
*List of German television series
The following is a list of television series produced in Germany:
Current
Drama
* '' 4 Blocks'' ( TNT Serie, 2017–2019)
* '' Alarm für Cob ...
'' ("The School on the Lake"), which was repeatedly shown on ARD television,
* in 1994 in the movie ''Charlie & Louise'' an adaption of Erich Kästners junior novel ''Das doppelte Lottchen'' (''Lottie and Lisa
''Lisa and Lottie'' (original German title: ''Das doppelte Lottchen'', "The Double Lottie") (published since 2014 in the United Kingdom and Australia as ''The Parent Trap'') is a 1949 German novel by Erich Kästner, about twin girls separated in i ...
''; republished as ''The Parent Trap'').
Sale and reconstruction
After several unsustainable bids to the future of the castle, Günther Fielmann
Günther Fielmann (born 17 September 1939) is a German billionaire businessman, the founder, majority owner and the former chief executive officer of Fielmann, a German optics company focusing on retail eyewear. As of August 2021, his net worth ...
submitted an offer in 2002. Because this offer included an elaborate argument of the various benefits to the public, Schleswig-Holstein's state parliament approved it in 2002 Consequently, the ''Fielmann Akademie'' foundation purchased the castle for 3.6 million Euro. Günther Fielmann
Günther Fielmann (born 17 September 1939) is a German billionaire businessman, the founder, majority owner and the former chief executive officer of Fielmann, a German optics company focusing on retail eyewear. As of August 2021, his net worth ...
summarised the state of the monument at that time:
:: ''When we took over the castle in 2002 it was in a deplorable condition. The broad baroque era hallways had been converted to rooms for school children, using light-weight walls. Barely anything of the original floor plan was visible and the structure had been badly damaged everywhere you looked.''
Over four years the castle has been reconstructed in accordance with preservation and heritage orders. The total costs amounted to more than 35 million Euros Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...
supported the project with 11.8 million Euros. The reconstruction was completed in 2006.
Academy
Today the castle is a public site of historical heritage hosting an optician
An optician, or ''dispensing optician'', is a technical practitioner who designs, fits and dispenses lenses for the correction of a person's vision. Opticians determine the specifications of various ophthalmic appliances that will give the nec ...
academy. The first master class
A master class is a Class (education), class given to students of a particular Academic discipline, discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also science, painting, drama, games, or on any other occasion where skills are b ...
es already commenced in 2002 during the reconstruction period. Since the winter semester 2005/06 the academy offers a Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in optometry
Optometry is a specialized health care profession that involves examining the eyes and related structures for defects or abnormalities. Optometrists are health care professionals who typically provide comprehensive primary eye care.
In the Uni ...
(''BSc Augenoptik / Optometrie'') in cooperation with the Fachhochschule Lübeck. It also provides various courses for both skilled workers and executives of the optical industry. 24 lecturers teach at the academy, and over 6,000 opticians are qualified every year.
Much of the castle is used by the academy. Some parts, however, serve as a museum: the Duke's historical 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, ...
rooms in the east wing of the castle have been intricately restored and can be viewed during daily tours. Recently the castle has also been the venue of various official and semi-official events. The great hall
A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, castle or a large manor house or hall house in the Middle Ages, and continued to be built in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries, although by then the family used the great ...
for example has been used for the ''Conference of German Culture Ministers'', the SPD's functionary conference and a convention of the ZDF
ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...
. It has been repeatedly discussed as potential venue of the G8 forum. In 2008 and 2009 the castle hosted the Global Economic Symposium
The Global Economic Symposium (abbreviated ''GES'') is an annual conference organized by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy and the Bertelsmann Stiftung in cooperation with the German National Library of Economics (ZBW) – Leibniz Informa ...
with participants like George Akerlof
George Arthur Akerlof (born June 17, 1940) is an American economist and a university professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University and Koshland Professor of Economics Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. ...
, Richard Evans and Joseph Stiglitz
Joseph Eugene Stiglitz (; born February 9, 1943) is an American New Keynesian economist, a public policy analyst, and a full professor at Columbia University. He is a recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (2001) and the Joh ...
.Samantha Morshed, "Reverse Engineering", ''Daily Star'', 18 November 2009
There have been numerous classical concerts in the castle's
chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
.
References
Literature
* Hans und Doris Maresch: ''Schleswig-Holsteins Schlösser, Herrenhäuser und Palais.'' Husum Verlag, Husum 2006, .
* J. Habich, D. Lafrenz, H. Schulze, L. Wilde: ''Schlösser und Gutsanlagen in Schleswig-Holstein.'' L&H, Hamburg 1998, .
* Ingo Bubert: ''Gutshöfe, Herrenhäuser und Schlösser im östlichen Holstein.'' Sventana, 1995, .
* Dehio: ''Handbuch der Deutschen Kunstdenkmäler. Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein.''
Deutscher Kunstverlag
The Deutscher Kunstverlag (DKV) is an educational publishing house with offices in Berlin and Munich. The publisher specializes in books about art, cultural history, architecture, and historic preservation.
History
Deutscher Kunstverlag was fo ...
, München 1994, .
* Peter Hirschfeld: ''Herrenhäuser und Schlösser in Schleswig-Holstein.'' Deutscher Kunstverlag, München, 1980, .
* S. Hunzinger: ''Schloß Plön. Residenz – Adliges Armenhaus – Erziehungsanstalt.'' Struve, 1997, .
External links
Fielmann-Akademie Schloss PlönPhoto series of the castle with aerial and interior photosPlön Prince's HouseSociety for the Preservation of the Prinzenhaus and the Plön Castle Garden
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plon Castle
Castles in Schleswig-Holstein
Gardens in Schleswig-Holstein
Plön
Buildings and structures in Plön (district)