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Schloss Weimar 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 ...
'' (palace) in
Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...
,
Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...
, Germany. It is now called ''Stadtschloss'' to distinguish it from other palaces in and around Weimar. It was the residence of the dukes of
Saxe-Weimar Saxe-Weimar (german: Sachsen-Weimar) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in present-day Thuringia. The chief town and capital was Weimar. The Weimar branch was the most genealogically senior extant bra ...
and
Eisenach Eisenach () is a town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, located west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia and bordering northeastern Hessian regions, situat ...
, and has also been called ''Residenzschloss''. Names in English include Palace at Weimar, Grand Ducal Palace, City Palace and City Castle. The building is located at the north end of the town's park along the Ilm river, ''
Park an der Ilm The Park an der Ilm (Park on the Ilm, short ''Ilmpark'') is a large '' Landschaftspark'' (landscaped park) in Weimar, Thuringia. It was created in the 18th century, influenced by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and has not been changed much, preserving ...
''. It forms part of the
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
" Classical Weimar", along with other sites associated with Weimar's importance as a cultural hub during the late 18th and 19th centuries. In history, it was often destroyed by fire. The
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 ...
palace from the 17th century, with the church ''Schlosskirche'' where a number of works by
Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...
were premiered, was replaced by a Neoclassical structure after a fire in 1774. Four rooms were dedicated to the memory of poets who worked in Weimar,
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as trea ...
,
Johann Gottfried Herder Johann Gottfried von Herder ( , ; 25 August 174418 December 1803) was a German philosopher, theologian, poet, and literary critic. He is associated with the Enlightenment, ''Sturm und Drang'', and Weimar Classicism. Biography Born in Mohrun ...
,
Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friends ...
and
Christoph Martin Wieland Christoph Martin Wieland (; 5 September 1733 – 20 January 1813) was a German poet and writer. He is best-remembered for having written the first ''Bildungsroman'' (''Geschichte des Agathon''), as well as the epic ''Oberon'', which formed the ba ...
. From 1923, the building has housed the ''Schlossmuseum'', a museum with a focus on paintings of the 15th and 16th centuries and works of art related to Weimar, a cultural centre.


History

The building has been developed over the past 500 years. The first building on the site was a medieval moated castle, which was first documented at the end of the 10th century. After a fire in 1424, and again from the mid-16th century, when Weimar became the permanent residence of the dukes, it was remodelled. After another fire in 1618, reconstruction began in 1619 planned by the Italian architect Giovanni Bonalino. The church was completed in 1630, where several works by
Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...
were premiered between 1708 and 1717. In the 1650s
Johann Moritz Richter Johann Moritz Richter (1620–1667) was a German architect and engraver. Richter was born in Weimar. In the position of "fürstlich-sächsischer Landbaumeister" (court architect), he designed the oldest extant bridge in Weimar, the '' Sternbrück ...
was engaged by
Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar (Altenburg, 11 April 1598 – Weimar, 17 May 1662), was a duke of Saxe-Weimar. Wilhelm was the fifth (but third surviving) son of Johann, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, and Dorothea Maria of Anhalt. He was brother to Bern ...
to modify the design to a symmetrical Baroque structure with three wings, open to the south. After Wilhelm's death in 1662, the new building became known as the "Wilhelmsburg"; the chapel was called the "Himmelsburg". The building was destroyed by fire in 1774. Duke Carl August formed a commission for its reconstruction directed by
Johann Wolfgang Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treatis ...
. Architects
Johann August Arens Johann August Arens (born 10 February 1757 in Hamburg; died 18 August 1806 in Pisa, Italy) was a German architect of classicism, a landscape designer, a painter, and a member of the Royal Prussian Academy of Fine Arts and Mechanical Sciences in Be ...
, and kept the former walls of the east and north wings and created a " classical" interior, especially the staircase and the banqueting hall (''Festsaal''). Decoration was supplied by sculptor
Christian Friedrich Tieck Christian Friedrich Tieck (14 August 1776 – 24 May 1851), often known only as Friedrich Tieck, was a German sculptor and a occasional artist in oils. His work was primarily figurative and includes both public statuary and private commissions ...
. In 1816, Clemens Wenzeslaus Coudray began plans for the west wing, which was reopened in 1847 with a court chapel. The wing contained the so-called ''Dichterzimmer'' (poets' rooms), initiated by Duchess Maria Pavlovna. They commemorate
Christoph Martin Wieland Christoph Martin Wieland (; 5 September 1733 – 20 January 1813) was a German poet and writer. He is best-remembered for having written the first ''Bildungsroman'' (''Geschichte des Agathon''), as well as the epic ''Oberon'', which formed the ba ...
,
Johann Gottfried Herder Johann Gottfried von Herder ( , ; 25 August 174418 December 1803) was a German philosopher, theologian, poet, and literary critic. He is associated with the Enlightenment, ''Sturm und Drang'', and Weimar Classicism. Biography Born in Mohrun ...
,
Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friends ...
and Goethe. From 1912 to 1914 a south wing was added under Duke
Wilhelm Ernst Wilhelm Ernst (25 August 1905, in Gelsenkirchen – 23 July 1952, in Gelsenkirchen) was a German chess master. Biography He was a winner at Weidenau 1937. He played several times in German Chess Championship; took second, behind Kurt Richter, at ...
. The Herder Room was restored in 2005, the restoration of the Goethe Room and the Wieland Room was completed in 2014. File:Weimar-1650-Merian.jpg, Town and ''Residenz'' around 1650 File:Weimar Christoph Riegel 1686.jpeg, Town and ''Residenz'' around 1686 File:Weimar_Wilhelmsburg_1730.jpg, The Wilhelmsburg around 1730 File:The castle, Weimar, Thuringia, Germany-LCCN2002720790.jpg, The ''Bastille'' around 1905 File:Schloss Weimar, court from the south.JPG, Court, seen from the south wing, 2014 File:Weimar, castello, scalinata 02.JPG, Staircase, 1801


Museum

The building has been used as a museum since 1923. The ''Schlossmuseum'' presents exhibitions focused on paintings from 1500 to 1900 related to the history of Weimar. The ground floor holds paintings of the Renaissance, especially works by
Lucas Cranach the Elder Lucas Cranach the Elder (german: Lucas Cranach der Ältere ;  – 16 October 1553) was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving. He was court painter to the Electors of Saxony for most of his career, and is know ...
and
Lucas Cranach the Younger Lucas Cranach the Younger (german: Lucas Cranach der Jüngere ; October 4, 1515 – January 25, 1586) was a German Renaissance painter and portraitist, the son of Lucas Cranach the Elder and brother of Hans Cranach. Life and career Lucas Cranach ...
, and medieval sacred art, the upper floor displays paintings of Goethe's period in representative rooms, and the top floor contains works of the 19th-century ' (Weimar School) and contemporary art. File:Karolingischer Buchdeckel Weimar.JPG, Carolingian ivory (9th century) File:Dürer, ritratti di hans e felicitas tucher, 1499.JPG,
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 ...
: Hans and Felicitas Tucher (1499) File:Lucas Cranach d.Ä. - Die Früchte der Eifersucht (Das silberne Zeitalter), Schlossmuseum Weimar.jpg,
Lucas Cranach the Elder Lucas Cranach the Elder (german: Lucas Cranach der Ältere ;  – 16 October 1553) was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving. He was court painter to the Electors of Saxony for most of his career, and is know ...
: ''Die Früchte der Eifersucht'' (1527) File:Georg Friedrich Kersting - Die Stickerin - 1. Fassung.jpg,
Georg Friedrich Kersting Georg Friedrich Kersting (31 October 1785 – 1 July 1847) was a German painter, best known for his Biedermeier-style interior paintings and his association with fellow artist Caspar David Friedrich. Biography Kersting came from a lar ...
: ''Die Stickerin'' (1812) File:Das eherne Zeitalter Weimar.JPG,
Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...
: ''Das eherne Zeitalter'' (1875/76) File:Monet, cattedrale di rouen, weimar, 1894.JPG,
Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...
: The Cathedral of Rouen (1894)
Since 2008 the ''
Klassik Stiftung Weimar The Klassik Stiftung Weimar (''Classical Foundation Weimar'') is one of the largest and most significant cultural institutions in Germany. It owns more than 20 museums, palaces, historic houses and parks, as well as literary and art collections, ...
'' has owned the site with the exception of the ''Bastille'' part, owned by the Stiftung Thüringer Schlösser und Gärten.


References


Bibliography

* Rolf Bothe: ''Dichter, Fürst und Architekten. Das Weimarer Residenzschloß vom Mittelalter bis zum Anfang des 19. Jahrhunderts''. Ostfildern-Ruit 2000. * ''Residenzschloss Weimar. 15 Jahre – 15 Millionen Investitionen. Die Grundsanierung in 15 Jahren durch die Stiftung Thüringer Schlösser und Gärten.'' Imhof-Verlag, Petersberg 2009. * Christian Hecht: ''Dichtergedächtnis und fürstliche Repräsentation. Der Westflügel des Weimarer Residenzschlosses. Architektur und Ausstattung''. Ostfildern 2000. * Roswitha Jacobsen (Hrsg.): ''Residenzschlösser in Thüringen: kulturhistorische Porträts''. Quartus-Verlag, Bucha 1998. * Willi Stubenvoll: ''Schlösser in Thüringen: Schlösser, Burgen, Gärten, Klöster und historische Anlagen der Stiftung Thüringer Schlösser und Gärten''. Verl. Ausbildung + Wissen, Bad Homburg 1997. * Adolph Doebber: ''Das Schloss in Weimar : seine Geschichte vom Brande 1774 bis zur Wiederherstellung 1804.'' Fischer, Jena 1911.


External links


Homepage


Stiftung Thüringer Schlösser und Gärten
Residenzschloss Weimar
weimar.city-map.de
Schlosskapelle Weimar
virtual tour, a Bauhaus-Uni Weimar project {{Authority control Castles in Thuringia Buildings and structures in Weimar