Schloss Weißenstein is a ''

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 ...

'' or palatial residence in

Pommersfelden Pommersfelden is a community in the Upper Franconian district of Bamberg in Germany. Geography The community lies north of Höchstadt an der Aisch on the river Reiche Ebrach. Constituent communities The community of Pommersfelden is subdivided ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, southern

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It was designed for

Lothar Franz von Schönborn Lothar Franz von Schönborn-Buchheim (4 October 1655 – 30 January 1729) was the Archbishop-Elector of Mainz from 1694 to 1729 and the Bishop of Bamberg from 1693 to 1729. As Archbishop of Mainz, he was also Archchancellor of the Holy Roman Empi ...

, Prince-Bishop of Bamberg and

Archbishop of Mainz The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz, the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the Middle Ages. The Archb ...

, to designs by

Johann Dientzenhofer Johann Dientzenhofer (25 May 1663 – 20 July 1726) was a builder and architect during the Baroque period in Germany. Johann was born in St. Margarethen near Rosenheim, Bavaria, a member of the famous Dientzenhofer family of German architects, who ...

and Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt. Weißenstein, built as a private summer residence, remains in the

Schönborn family The House of Schönborn is the name of an ancient noble and mediatised formerly sovereign family of the former Holy Roman Empire. Various members of the family have held high offices of the Roman Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Empire over t ...

. It is considered a masterwork of

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 ...

Location

''Schloss Weißenstein'' is located in the

Upper Franconia Upper Franconia (german: Oberfranken) is a ''Regierungsbezirk'' (administrative 'Regierungs''region 'bezirk'' of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia, the others being Middle F ...

n district of

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castle. C ...

in the village of

History

In 1710,

, Prince-Bishop of Bamberg and

, inherited the estate after the local family, the Truchsesse of Pommersfelden had died out. He ordered the construction of a palace as a private summer residence, paid for from his personal wealth. In 1711, he had helped ensure the election of Karl VI who rewarded him with a gift of 100,000 gulden. A team of architects including

who had previously built the

Fulda Cathedral Fulda Cathedral (german: Fuldaer Dom, also ''Sankt Salvator'') is the former abbey church of Fulda Abbey and the burial place of Saint Boniface. Since 1752 it has also been the cathedral of the Diocese of Fulda, of which the Prince-Abbots of Fu ...

and the church at '' Kloster Banz'' and Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt, the court architect of Emperor Karl VI, worked on the palace. The Marstall (stables) and park were designed by Schönborn's own court architect,

Maximilian von Welsch Johann Maximilian von Welsch (1671 – 15 October 1745) was a German architect, construction director and fortress master builder. Life Maximilian von Welsch is regarded as a prominent representative of baroque fortress building in the Holy Roman ...

Anselm Franz von Ritter zu Groenesteyn Anselm Franz Freiherr von Ritter zu Groenesteyn (also von Grünstein) (1692–1765) was a Chamberlain of Electoral Mainz, privy counsellor, Majordomo, temporarily Vitztum (vicegerent), High Director of Building and exceptionally gifted architect. H ...

designed many of the outbuildings. The local head of construction was the

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

priest Nikolaus Loyson (1676–1720). The palace was built between 1711 and 1719 from local

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

materials, the colour of which gave rise to the name of the palace ("white stone"). The grand stairway was the first such structure built in the Baroque style in Germany. The interior art was finished in 1723. Contributors included

Johann Michael Rottmayr Johann Michael Rottmayr (11 December 1656 – 25 October 1730) was an Austrian painter. Biography Rottmayr was born in Laufen an der Salzach, Bavaria. Along with his Laufen-born contemporary, Hans Adam Weissenkircher, he received his edu ...

Johann Rudolf Byss Johann Rudolf Byss (1660–1738) was a Swiss painter. He was born in Solothurn and first learned painting from his father Johann Joseph Byss, and later from Johann Heinrich Roos, whose sons he would have known well. After the death of Lothar Franz in 1729, the palace passed to his nephew

Friedrich Karl von Schönborn Friedrich Karl von Schönborn (or Friedrich Carl, 1674–1746) was the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg and Prince-Bishop of Bamberg from 1729 to 1746. He also served as ''Reichsvizekanzler'' (Vice-Chancellor) of the Holy Roman Empire from 1705 to 17 ...

who had the park expanded. A plan by Balthasar Neumann was however, only partially realized. In the early 19th century, the park was transformed from its original Baroque form into an

English landscape garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (french: Jardin à l'anglaise, it, Giardino all'inglese, german: Englischer Landschaftsgarten, pt, Jardim inglês, es, Jardín inglés), is a sty ...

. During the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

the palace was attacked and damaged by

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 troops. Minor restoration work was done in the late 19th century. More recently, preservation work has been done between 1975 and 2003.

Description

Main building

The main building (''corps de logis'') is flanked by two wings that open towards the inner courtyard by way of arcades. In the direction of this ''cour d'honneur'' the central part of the main building extends quite noticeably, to accommodate the large central staircase. The middle pavilion of the main wing sits on a pedestal-like ground floor and features two full upper floors with high windows. The other parts of the building have only one main floor and one mezzanine floor, with the exception of the pavilions sitting at the end of the two wings, which have two main floors and one mezzanine floor (the latter housing the guest rooms). All the facades are covered by light gray sandstone, sculptures and window frames are made from yellow-greenish sandstone. The triangular gable of the main building on the garden front with its coat of arms of the Schönborns has been carved from the same material. Colossal statues of

Endymion Endymion primarily refers to: * Endymion (mythology), an Ancient Greek shepherd * ''Endymion'' (poem), by John Keats Endymion may also refer to: Fictional characters * Prince Endymion, a character in the ''Sailor Moon'' anime franchise * Raul ...

and Diana flank the gable. It is ornamented by two figures, one holding a sheaf, the other a horn of plenty. All of these were likely made by Nikolaus Rösch. The gable is topped by a statue of

Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographic ...

holding up the sky. Pommersfelden Schloss Weißenstein 002

The gable facing the cour d'honneur also has the family coat of arms, flanked by lions and crowned by

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

. To the left is a figure of

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...

, a symbol of peace and science, to the right is a warrior with spear and torch, symbolizing the just-ended

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

. The gable also shows a lute player and a figure holding another Schönborn coat of arms. There are four sculpture groups (sandstone) in front of the ground floor of the main pavilion, two each on the garden and the courtyard side. They were likely made by Burkard Zammels, who worked here in 1718–20. On the garden front, the statues show

Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the S ...

and

Proserpina Proserpina ( , ) or Proserpine ( ) is an ancient Roman goddess whose iconography, functions and myths are virtually identical to those of Greek Persephone. Proserpina replaced or was combined with the ancient Roman fertility goddess Libera, whos ...

on the left and

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

and

Daphne Daphne (; ; el, Δάφνη, , ), a minor figure in Greek mythology, is a naiad, a variety of female nymph associated with fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of freshwater. There are several versions of the myth in whi ...

on the right. On the cour d'honneur side, the figures are somewhat obscure and have been interpreted as allegories of Justice & Victory and Vigilance & Truth. A carved dog wears a collar with the initials "LFC", referring to the builder, ''Lothar Franz Churfürst''. Deckenfresko Weißenstein

The grand staircase extends through all three floors of the main pavilion. As suggested by Hildebrandt, galleries overlook the stairwell on both upper floors. The large ceiling fresco by Johann Rudolf Byss (1713), who later became the director of the palace gallery of paintings, shows the four then known continents, around a central sun wagon of Phoebus Apollo. Sculptures (

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...

Juno Juno commonly refers to: *Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods *Juno (film), ''Juno'' (film), 2007 Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, in the film ''Jenny, Juno'' *Ju ...

Urania Urania ( ; grc, , Ouranía; modern Greek shortened name ''Ránia''; meaning "heavenly" or "of heaven") was, in Greek mythology, the muse of astronomy, and in later times, of Christian poetry. Urania is the goddess of astronomy and stars, he ...

and Cosmos) were made by Zammels. The vases,

putti A putto (; plural putti ) is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually naked and sometimes winged. Originally limited to profane passions in symbolism,Dempsey, Charles. ''Inventing the Renaissance Putto''. University of ...

and pair of children are by P. Benkert and his workshop. Stucco work was done by Daniel Schenk. Painted railings that extend the real architectural features are by Marchini. He also was responsible for

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 ...

work in the ''Gartensaal'' flight of rooms on the ground floor, accessed between the two flights of stairs. His work is in evidence in both side halls. To the west he created an image of Ionic columns flanking views of an ideal Italian landscape under a sky populated by

Flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

and Pomona floating on clouds. To the east, painted columns give views of angels who face a "collapsing" entryway. The central hall has a ceiling fresco showing the allegorical "times of the day" by Johann Jakob Gerbhardt. The room had been turned into a grotto by Georg Hennicke, who applied semi-precious stones and seashells to the walls. He also added various animal and putti figures. The four larger-than-life stucco statues of the four elements were made by Zammels. On the first floor is the main hall of the palace, the ''Marmorsaal'' (marble hall), also facing the garden.

Pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...

s and columns of red stucco marble are set off from green walls. Situated on sills are stucco figurines by Zammels, showing allegories of the Turkish and Persian monarchies on the inner wall and of the Roman and Greek monarchies on the outer wall. In the corners, the Four Ages are depicted. The ceiling fresco by Franz Michael Rottmayr shows

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

greeted by Juno,

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

and

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...

. In the center of each wall a virtue is shown: Justice, Strength, Industry and Wisdom. Stucco work by Daniel Schenk shows putti, vases and eagles.

Side wings

The right wing contains the palace gallery of paintings and its library, with stucco work by D. Schenk and G. Hennicke after 1713. Schönborn had collected a large number of paintings by contemporary artists, many of them Dutch, that were hung in up to four vertical rows, completely covering the gallery walls. He especially treasured painting of members of his family, of the Habsburgs and other rulers and rare animal motives. Schönborn also collected East Asian porcelain delivered to him en masse by members of the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

whom he supported. Other collections include

Faience Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an oxide of tin to the slip of a lead glaze, was a major ad ...

s made in Delft, glass and sea shells. The palace chapel features three important works of art: an Italian

Lamentation of Christ The Lamentation of Christ is a very common subject in Christian art from the High Middle Ages to the Baroque. After Jesus was crucified, his body was removed from the cross and his friends mourned over his body. This event has been depicted by m ...

(17th century), a

Man of Sorrows Man of Sorrows, a biblical term, is paramount among the prefigurations of the Messiah identified by the Bible in the passages of Isaiah 53 (''Servant songs'') in the Hebrew Bible. It is also an iconic devotional image that shows Christ, usually ...

from Spain (ca. 1730) and a late-Gothic

Mother of God ''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or ''Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are " ...

Marstall

The Marstall is located to the south of the cour d'honneur and is connected to the side wings of the palace by wrought-iron railings. Built by Johann Dientzendorffer based on plans by Maximilian von Welsch 1714-7 it has a concave front facing the courtyard. It was constructed with one floor less than originally intended. The Marstall features double columns adorning the central part which is topped by a clock tower. Below this is an oval hall, the ceiling with a fresco of

Perseus In Greek mythology, Perseus (Help:IPA/English, /ˈpɜːrsiəs, -sjuːs/; Greek language, Greek: Περσεύς, Romanization of Greek, translit. Perseús) is the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus ...

and Andromeda by G.F. Marchini.

Garden

Construction of the formal garden was begun by von Welsch in 1715. After 1722, on the suggestion of his nephew Friedrich Carl, Schönborn summoned Abraham Huber from Salzburg, who by 1723 had the fountains running. The statuary was added only after Lothar Franz' death in 1741. The linden avenue was planted in 1768 with 200 linden trees from the Aischer Wald. Transformation of the formal Baroque garden into an English landscape garden began as early as 1786 under and was completed in the 19th century.

Today

The ''Schloss'' remains the property of

. It is considered a Baroque masterwork and the combination of exterior and well-preserved interiors gives it European importance. The palace and its park are open to the public. The Marstall and Orangerie today house a hotel (currently closed). The palace contains the largest private

Baroque art 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 ...

collection in Germany, containing over 600 pictures. Baroque and Renaissance artists represented include

Artemisia Gentileschi Artemisia Lomi or Artemisia Gentileschi (, ; 8 July 1593) was an Italian Baroque painter. Gentileschi is considered among the most accomplished seventeenth-century artists, initially working in the style of Caravaggio. She was producing profess ...

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...

Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer (; ; hu, Ajtósi Adalbert; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Due ...

Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

and

Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh c ...

. Schloss Weissenstein is closed until mid-November 2021

References

External links

Official website Schloss Weissenstein
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weissenstein, Schloss Palaces in Bavaria Museums in Bavaria Baroque architecture in Bavaria Historic house museums in Germany Art museums and galleries in Germany Buildings and structures completed in 1718 1718 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire Buildings and structures in Bamberg (district)