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Schloss Weilburg (Weilburg 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 t ...
''
schloss ''Schloss'' (; pl. ''Schlösser''), formerly written ''Schloß'', is the German term for a building similar to a château, palace, or manor house. Related terms appear in several Germanic languages. In the Scandinavian languages, the cognate ...
'' in
Weilburg Weilburg is, with just under 13,000 inhabitants, the third biggest town in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany, after Limburg an der Lahn and Bad Camberg. Geography Location The community lies in the Lahn valley between the Westerwa ...
,
Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...
, Germany. It is located on a
spur A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to back ...
above the river
Lahn The Lahn is a , right (or eastern) tributary of the Rhine in Germany. Its course passes through the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia (23.0 km), Hesse (165.6 km), and Rhineland-Palatinate (57.0 km). It has its source in t ...
and occupies about half of the area of the Old Town of
Weilburg Weilburg is, with just under 13,000 inhabitants, the third biggest town in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany, after Limburg an der Lahn and Bad Camberg. Geography Location The community lies in the Lahn valley between the Westerwa ...
. It contains the ''Hochschloss'' ("High Palace"), built between 1530 and 1572, which is one of the best-preserved
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 ...
palaces in Hesse. In the 1700s, the palace was expanded by
John Ernst, Count of Nassau-Weilburg Johann Ernst of Nassau-Weilburg (Weilburg, 13 June 1664 – Heidelberg, 27 February 1719) was an Imperial Generalfeldmarschall, from 1675 to 1688 Count and from 1688 until his death Prince (Fürst) of Nassau-Weiburg. Biography Johann Ernst ...
, and his builder, . The buildings and gardens now belong to the '' Verwaltung der Staatlichen Schlösser und Gärten Hessen'', and they can be visited as a museum on guided tours. Parts of the palace are venues for the music festival
Weilburger Schlosskonzerte ' (Weilburg schloss concerts) is the name of an annual summer music festival held in and around Schloss Weilburg in Weilburg, Hesse, Germany. The festival of regional importance was founded in 1972 and presents around 40 concerts of classical mu ...
, which is named after the palace.


History


Renaissance palace

The 1359
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
castle was demolished to make way for the Renaissance buildings. The Renaissance buildings are now called the ''Hochschloss'' (high palace). They form a square around a central courtyard (''Renaissancehof''). Construction was begun by
Philip III, Count of Nassau-Weilburg Philip III, Count of Nassau-Weilburg (20 September 1504 at Neuweilnau Castle in Weilrod – 4 October 1559 in Weilburg) was a Count of the Nassau-Weilburg. Among his major achievements were the introduction of the Reformation, the foundation ...
. The east wing (also called the ''Neuer Bau'' or "New Building") was built first, by architect Nikolaus Schickedanz, from about 1530 to 1539. It incorporates some pieces of the old Gothic castle. The west and south wings were built from 1540 to 1545 by architect Balthasar Wolf. The west wing was formerly the stables but became the kitchens in the 1700s. The north wing was built last, from 1560 to 1572, by architect Ludwig Kempf. It has "Dutch"-style
dormer A dormer is a roofed structure, often containing a window, that projects vertically beyond the plane of a pitched roof. A dormer window (also called ''dormer'') is a form of roof window. Dormers are commonly used to increase the usable space ...
s and a "Venetian"-style
arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...
of Ionic twinned columns. Some alterations were made in 1661, including
half-timbered Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...
dormers and an additional gate. File:Weilburg Hochschloss Merian 1655.jpg, Detail of engraving of the Renaissance palace by
Matthäus Merian Matthäus is a given name or surname. Notable people with the name include: ;Surname * Lothar Matthäus, (born 1961), German former football player and manager ;Given name * Matthäus Aurogallus, Professor of Hebrew at the University of Wittenberg ...
, 1655, view looking southeast File:Weilburg - Schloss - Ostflügel.jpg, Outside of the east wing of the Renaissance palace, overlooking the
Lahn The Lahn is a , right (or eastern) tributary of the Rhine in Germany. Its course passes through the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia (23.0 km), Hesse (165.6 km), and Rhineland-Palatinate (57.0 km). It has its source in t ...
river. This facade was raised and simplified in 1661. File:Weilburg, Hochschloss-20160609-006.jpg, The same east wing from inside the Renaissance courtyard, with clocktower File:Weilburg Schloss WLMMH 52314 by Stepro IMG 0787-IMG 0794.jpg, Panorama of the courtyard, taken from the clocktower File:Weilburg Lahn Schloss.jpg, The north side of the Renaissance courtyard File:Weilburg Schloss WLMMH 52314 by Stepro IMG 0782.JPG, A broader view File:Weilburg (DerHexer) WLMMH 52314 2011-09-19 03.jpg, Northeast corner of the Renaissance courtyard File:Weilburg - Schloss - Westflügel.jpg, Outside of the west wing File:Alte Hofstube im Schloss Weilburg.jpg, Part of the interior of the Renaissance palace


Baroque extensions

The area of the Baroque buildings is almost long and surrounds the old Renaissance palace. In 1703,
John Ernst, Count of Nassau-Weilburg Johann Ernst of Nassau-Weilburg (Weilburg, 13 June 1664 – Heidelberg, 27 February 1719) was an Imperial Generalfeldmarschall, from 1675 to 1688 Count and from 1688 until his death Prince (Fürst) of Nassau-Weiburg. Biography Johann Ernst ...
, commissioned builder to expand the palace. He built the ''Obere Orangerie'' ("Upper
Orangery An orangery or orangerie was a room or a dedicated building on the grounds of fashionable residences of Northern Europe from the 17th to the 19th centuries where orange and other fruit trees were protected during the winter, as a very large ...
") from 1703 to 1705. It is a broad, curving corridor connecting to the south side of the Renaissance palace. A combination of conservatory and
ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic man ...
, it has large windows on the inner, eastern side of the curve and ''
trompe-l'œil ''Trompe-l'œil'' ( , ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a two-dimensional surface. ''Trompe l'oeil'', which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into ...
'' tiles on the walls. In the south, the ''Untere Orangerie'' was added from 1711 to 1713. It is rectangular and followed the model of the
Versailles Orangerie The Versailles Orangerie (french: L'orangerie du château de Versailles) was built by Jules Hardouin-Mansart between 1684 and 1686, before work on the Château de Versailles had even begun. The Orangerie, which replaced Louis Le Vau's earlier des ...
. The roof terrace gives a view of the
Lahn The Lahn is a , right (or eastern) tributary of the Rhine in Germany. Its course passes through the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia (23.0 km), Hesse (165.6 km), and Rhineland-Palatinate (57.0 km). It has its source in t ...
valley and the
parterre A ''parterre'' is a part of a formal garden constructed on a level substrate, consisting of symmetrical patterns, made up by plant beds, low hedges or coloured gravels, which are separated and connected by paths. Typically it was the part of ...
garden in front. The Baroque parterre was re-landscaped in the 19th century but rebuilt from 1936 to 1939 according to the original Baroque plans. At the south end of the ''Obere Orangerie'', the town hall (''Rathaus'') and church (''Schlosskirche'') were built, and the garden terraces (''Schlossgarten'') were installed. In the west, the new ''Rentkammer'' and ''Kanzlei'' were built for the administration of the county. File:Obere Orangerie.jpg, The curved ''Obere Orangerie'' File:Untere Orangerie.jpg, ''Untere Orangerie'' File:Schloß Weilburg 01.JPG, ''Untere Orangerie'' and adjacent garden File:Weilburg Schlossgarten2.jpg, The
parterre A ''parterre'' is a part of a formal garden constructed on a level substrate, consisting of symmetrical patterns, made up by plant beds, low hedges or coloured gravels, which are separated and connected by paths. Typically it was the part of ...
in front of the ''Untere Orangerie'' File:Weilburg - Schloss - Viehhof.jpg, The northern buildings are now a hotel File:Weilburg, Schloss, Marstall-20160609-005.jpg, Another part of the ''Marstall'' (stables) File:Weilburg - Schloss - Kanzlei.jpg, The ''Kanzelei'', on the west side of the palace. File:Weilburg (Windhof) WLMMH 52465 by Stepro IMG 1188.JPG, Part of the ''Windhof'' File:Weilburg Luftbild 056.jpg, View from the south, showing
terraced garden In gardening, a terrace is an element where a raised flat paved or gravelled section overlooks a prospect. A raised terrace keeps a house dry and provides a transition between the hardscape and the softscape. History ;Persia Since a level si ...
and tower from old city wall


Schlosskirche

The palace church (''Schlosskirche'') was built to conclude the expansion to a Baroque residence. The new church was built from 1707 to 1713 and cost over 32,000
guilders Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' "gold penny". This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Roman Empir ...
. It served the county, the town and the court. The Schlosskirche is regarded as one of Germany's most notable Protestant Baroque church buildings, along with St. Michaelis in Hamburg and the Dresden Frauenkirche.


Gardens

The Renaissance gardens covered . When the palace was transformed to a Baroque residential palace, the gardens were redesigned and substantially extended with seven
terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk a ...
s, so that they covered . Parts of the garden were created by Francois LeMarie from 1701. Later notable gardeners included the brothers Johann Wilhelm Sckell and Johann Friedrich Sckell. The gardens are decorated with fountains and sculptures.


Water supply

The fountains, gardens, and baths of the Baroque palace required an abundant water supply, and a new system had to be built. The Baroque water supply system gathered water from a large number of springs, then carried it down, over the Lahn river, and up to the town and castle. The system supplied water until the end of the 1800s, when it had to be abandoned due to lack of maintenance. It is now being researched and restored. The waterpipes were originally carried over the Lahn by the ''Rothe Brücke''. In 1784, high water and
ice jam Ice jams occur when a topographic feature of the river causes floating river ice to accumulate and impede further progress downstream with the river current. Ice jams can significantly reduce the flow of a river and cause upstream flooding—som ...
ming destroyed this bridge, and in 1785-1786 it was replaced by the ''Kettenbrucke'' ("Chain Bridge"), which remained in service until 1934.


Northern buildings

At the north end, ''Viehhof'' was heavily redeveloped, with the building of the ''Marstall'' (formal stables), the ''Prinzessenbau'', and the ''Kabinettbau''. The ''Reithalle'' ("riding hall") was built from 1705 to 1708, and the ''Heuscheuer'' (
hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticated ...
barn) from 1743 to 1746. The Prinzessenbau and Marstall are now the ''Schlosshotel'' ("Castle Hotel") and the Kabinettsbau and Reitbahn are now the ''Stadthalle'' (city event space).


Later use

In the 18th century, plans for major changes were made but not realised; therefore, the Baroque palace has been preserved. The interior was renovated in
Empire Style The Empire style (, ''style Empire'') is an early-nineteenth-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts, representing the second phase of Neoclassicism. It flourished between 1800 and 1815 durin ...
from 1801 to 1816. In 1935, the palace was sold to the
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 state. Its administration of state palaces and gardens installed a museum from 1936 to 1942. After World War II, it was managed by the
Hessian A Hessian is an inhabitant of the German state of Hesse. Hessian may also refer to: Named from the toponym *Hessian (soldier), eighteenth-century German regiments in service with the British Empire **Hessian (boot), a style of boot **Hessian f ...
administration, , which is responsible for the preservation of the buildings and the gardens. There are guided tours. Several areas are venues of the
Weilburger Schlosskonzerte ' (Weilburg schloss concerts) is the name of an annual summer music festival held in and around Schloss Weilburg in Weilburg, Hesse, Germany. The festival of regional importance was founded in 1972 and presents around 40 concerts of classical mu ...
music festival, which is held annually in the summer: the ''Renaissancehof'', ''Alte Hofstube'', ''Untere Orangerie'', ''Obere Orangerie'' and the ''Stadthalle'' in the former riding hall.Spielstätten
Weilburger Schlosskonzerte


See also

*
Baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the early 17th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means t ...
*
French formal garden The French formal garden, also called the (), is a style of garden based on symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. Its epitome is generally considered to be the Gardens of Versailles designed during the 17th century by the ...


Literature

* : ''Mittel- und Südhessen: Lahntal, Taunus, Rheingau, Wetterau, Frankfurt und Maintal, Kinzig, Vogelsberg, Rhön, Bergstraße und Odenwald.'' DuMont, Cologne 1995, , p. 57–63 (''DuMont Kunst-Reiseführer''). * * *


References


External links

* *
Weilburger Schlosskonzerte

Bergbau- und Stadtmuseum


Weilburg Weilburg is, with just under 13,000 inhabitants, the third biggest town in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany, after Limburg an der Lahn and Bad Camberg. Geography Location The community lies in the Lahn valley between the Westerwa ...

Geschichte und Ausstattung des Schlosses
weilburg-lahn.info
Maps and plans
Historic lexicon of places in Hesse
''Renaissanceschlösser in Hessen''
Project at the
Germanisches Nationalmuseum The Germanisches National Museum is a museum in Nuremberg, Germany. Founded in 1852, it houses a large collection of items relating to German culture and art extending from prehistoric times through to the present day. The Germanisches National ...
, by Georg Ulrich Großmann {{Authority control Baroque architecture in Hesse Parks in Germany Museums in Landkreis Limburg-Weilburg 16th-century architecture Royal residences in Hesse