The Residential Palace Darmstadt (German: Residenzschloss Darmstadt, often also called Stadtschloss) is the former residence and administrative seat of the landgraves of Hesse and from 1806 to 1919 of the Grand Dukes of Hesse-Darmstadt. It is located in the centre of the city of Darmstadt. The palace consists of an older Renaissance part and an 18th century Baroque part. , the castle is the seat of the

Technische Universität Darmstadt The Technische Universität Darmstadt (official English name Technical University of Darmstadt, sometimes also referred to as Darmstadt University of Technology), commonly known as TU Darmstadt, is a research university in the city of Darmstadt ...

and the German-Polish Institute.

History

Middle Ages

The origins of the castle lie in the Katzenelnbogen time. In the middle of the 13th century the counts of Katzenelnbogen built a

moated castle A water castle is a castle whose site is largely defended by water. It can be entirely surrounded by water-filled moats (moated castle) or natural waterbodies such as island castles in a river or offshore. The term comes from European castle ...

in Darmstadt. In 1330 Darmstadt received town rights, one year later the castle is mentioned for the first time in a document. From 1386, the moated castle loses importance and becomes a widow's residence and secondary residence. In the following two centuries, the counts of Katzenelnbogen extended and rebuilt the castle again and again. Until the middle of the 15th century the castle was transformed into a representative castle and Darmstadt became Katzenelnbogen's second residence. What remains of the moated castle are the form of the central church courtyard and the outer walls of the manor house. When the last count von Katzenelnbogen died in 1479, Darmstadt fell to

Henry III, Landgrave of Upper Hesse Henry III, Landgrave of Upper Hesse, called "the Rich" (15 October 1440Morby, John. ''Dynasties of the World: a chronological and genealogical handbook'' (Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 1989), page 135. – 13 January 1483) was the se ...

. When

Philip I Philip(p) I may refer to: * Philip I of Macedon (7th century BC) * Philip I Philadelphus (between 124 and 109 BC–83 or 75 BC) * Philip the Arab (c. 204–249), Roman Emperor * Philip I of France (1052–1108) * Philip I (archbishop of Cologne) (1 ...

took over the government offices in 1518, the castle was destroyed for the first time in an attack by Franz von Sickingen. The castle was rebuilt in the following years, but with essentially the same defensive structures. During the

Schmalkaldic War The Schmalkaldic War (german: link=no, Schmalkaldischer Krieg) was the short period of violence from 1546 until 1547 between the forces of Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire (simultaneously King Charles I of Spain), commanded by the Duk ...

in 1546 it was destroyed again by imperial troops.

Renaissance era

Landgrave

George I George I or 1 may refer to: People * Patriarch George I of Alexandria (fl. 621–631) * George I of Constantinople (d. 686) * George I of Antioch (d. 790) * George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9) * George I of Georgia (d. 1027) * Yuri Dolgor ...

considerably extended the castle from 1567 to a Renaissance complex and secured it with moats and bastions. The half-timbered floors of the former palace and the hall are rebuilt from stone. The buildings received new roofs. Christoph Müller and Jakob Wustmann developed the old moated castle into a residential palace. After 1589 the office, the stables and the arsenal were built, which no longer exist today. From 1594, the landgrave had orphans educated in the castle. From 1595 to 1597 the ''Kaisersaal'' (Emperor's room) and the church were built. The tympanum corridor (), which connects the manor with the church, was also built. The ''Wallhäuschen'', a gate building in the north of the castle, was built in 1627 by Jakob Müller. The bell building was built from 1663 to 1671 according to plans by the architect Johann Wilhelm Pfannmüller. The bells were delivered by Piter Hemony. Darmstadt was attacked by the French in 1693 and the castle burns down.

Baroque era

Landgrave

Ernst Ludwig , spouses = , issue = , house = Hesse-Darmstadt , father = Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine , mother =Princess Alice of the United Kingdom , birth_date = , birth_place = New Palace, Darmstadt, Gran ...

commissioned the French architect

Louis Remy de la Fosse Louis Remy de la Fosse ( 1659–1726) was a French architect during the Baroque period, who worked primarily in Germany. Until 1705, he was draftsman in the studio of master builder in Berlin. From 1706 to 1709, Fosse was architect at the court ...

to plan a new baroque palace with four large wings in 1715, after the palace's chancellery had burned down. This was to completely replace the old palace. Due to lack of money, however, only two wings were completed by 1726. These were to remain the last major structural changes to the castle. When Hessen-Darmstadt joined the

Confederation of the Rhine The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine, also known as Napoleonic Germany, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austria an ...

in 1806, the castle became the seat of the Grand Dukes of Darmstadt. At the beginning of the 19th century, the upper floors of the new castle were furnished and fitted with window glazing. In 1842, the university and state library and the grand ducal collection with natural history cabinet moved in. Since the 18th century the castle has been less and less inhabited by the

grand dukes Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. In status, a grand duke traditionally ranks in order of precedence below an emperor, as an approx ...

. More and more institutes were admitted and some of the rooms were reserved for state guests.

20th century

In 1893, under

Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine , spouses = , issue = , house = Hesse-Darmstadt , father =Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine , mother =Princess Alice of the United Kingdom , birth_date = , birth_place = New Palace, Darmstadt, Grand D ...

, structural measures were again being taken. Thus the extension with a tea pavilion was built on the Herrenbau. In 1924, the castle museum moved into the old area of the castle. After the

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 ...

, the castle passed into the possession of the

People's State of Hesse The People's State of Hesse (german: Volksstaat Hessen) was one of the constituent states of Germany from 1918 to 1945, as the successor to the Grand Duchy of Hesse (german: Großherzogtum Hessen) after the defeat of the German Empire in World W ...

. On the night of the fire in Darmstadt from 11 to 12 September 1944, the castle burned down to the outer walls. Reconstruction began in 1946 and was not completed until the early 1970s. An overall repair was carried out in 2008, which is planned to last for a longer period of time. The bell construction was completed in 2016. The outer appearance was almost completely restored. , the castle is the seat of the

and the .

Construction

The castle is divided into three areas: the outer fortification including , the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

castle and the Baroque castle (De-la-Fosse-Bau). The north is occupied by a park that belongs to the old fortification. In its place was once the deep moat that completely surrounded the castle. The centerpiece of the Residential Palace Darmstadt is the old Renaissance palace. It still has the almost triangular shape of the old core castle and consists of the castle wings ''Herrenbau'', ''Weißer Saalbau'', ''Kaisersaalbau'', ''Kirchenbau'' and the church courtyard. In the southeast is the bell building. The Baroque part of the castle (De-la-Fosse-Bau or ) consists of a three-storey southern and west wing on an angular floor plan. From the town, a fortified gate leads directly through the baroque castle into the southern courtyard. The usable area is , owner is the Technische Universität Darmstadt.

Buildings

* Wallhaus (wall building) * Brückenhaus (bridge building) * Herrenbau, German-Polish Institute (manor) * Weißer Saalbau, Schlosskeller, Department of History and Social Sciences (white hall) * Kaisersaalbau (emperor's hall) * Kirchenbau, Orgelsaal, Schlossmuseum (church building, organ hall, palace museum) * Glockenbau with Glockenspiel, Schlossmuseum (bell building with carillon, palace museum) * Prinz-Christian-Bau (Prince Christian building) * De-la-Fosse-Bau, Library Department of History and Social Sciences, Executive Board of TU Darmstadt (Baroque castle)

Courtyards

* Kirchenhof (church yard) * Glockenhof (bell yard) * Parforcehof

Corridors

* Paukergang

Bridges

* Wallbrücke (wall bridge, north entrance) * Marktbrücke (south main entrance) * Parforce-Brücke (west entrance)

Outer fortifications

* (castle moat) Source:

Location

The castle is located in the centre of Darmstadt. Nearby are the (market square) and (town hall) in the South. The Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt by Alfred Messel, the neoclassical former court theatre (House of History) by

Georg Moller Georg Moller (21 January 1784 – 13 March 1852) was an architect and a town planner who worked in the South of Germany, mostly in the region today known as Hessen. Life and family background Moller was born in Diepholz, a descendant of an old ...

, the square are situated in the North. The square and street are located in the West.

Gallery

Darmstadt Residenzschloss Westseite 20110514.jpg, The castle seen from the West, Photo: Rudolf Stricker Residenzschloss-Darmstadt-Ostansicht.jpg, The castle seen from the East, , Photo: Erkaha Darmstadt Schloss Nordportal.jpg, and seen from the North, Photo: Andreas Praefcke Schloßgraben, September 2014.jpg, (castle moat) in 2014, Photo: Kupferdach59 Residenzschloss Darmstadt Innenhof.jpg, and , Photo: Nicolas17 Luftbild Darmstadt 2003.jpg, Aerial view with the castle in the centre, Photo: Christoph Wagener

Schlossmuseum

The palace museum shows objects belonging to the former landgraves and Grand Dukes of Hesse-Darmstadt. Opened in 1924, the museum is located in the bell and church building of the residential palace.

Schlosskeller

The is an event location and a club in the basement of the castle. Since 1966, the club has been run by students.

Music festival Schlossgrabenfest

Since 1999 the , the largest music festival in Hesse and one of the largest open-air events in Germany, has taken place every year on the last weekend of May around the Residential Palace Darmstadt and ''Friedens- und Karolinenplatz'' in Darmstadt. The musical spectrum ranges from rock, pop, electro, reggae and hip-hop to soul and jazz.

Royal Ghost Story

According to several witnesses, including

Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Frederica Louise Caroline Sophie Alexandrina of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (german: Friederike Louise Caroline Sophie Alexandrine; 3 March 1778 – 29 June 1841) was a German princess who married successively Prince Louis Charles of Prussia, Prince ...

, Duchess of Cumberland and later Queen of Hanover, the ghost of the old Duchess of Darmstadt was seen in one of the rooms of the palace.