Callenberg Castle (''Schloss Callenberg'') is a castle on a wooded hill in

Beiersdorf Beiersdorf AG is a German multinational company that manufactures and retails personal-care products and pressure-sensitive adhesives. Its brands include Elastoplast, Eucerin (makers of Aquaphor), Labello, La Prairie, Nivea, Tesa SE (Tesa t ...

, an ''

Ortsteil A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

'' of

Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it ...

, from the town centre. It was a hunting lodge and summer residence and has long been the principal residence of the

House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (; german: Haus Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha) is a European royal house. It takes its name from its oldest domain, the Ernestine duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, its members later sat on the thrones of Belgium, Bu ...

. It is currently owned by Andreas, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha who created the Ducal Saxe-Coburg and Gotha House Order. A large and architecturally important family chapel is contained within. According to the Schloss Callenberg web site "the castle became the property of Duke Johann Casimir of Saxe-Coburg in 1588, after the death of the last von Sternberg. Until 1825 the ducal treasury and the Castle of Callenberg were property of the Dukes of Saxe-Meiningen. It was only in 1826 that the Dukes of Coburg become owners of Callenberg Castle again. Until 1945 the castle was the summer residence of the Dukes of Coburg."

History

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 a ...

here was first mentioned as ''Chalwinberch'' in 1122. It served as the main seat for the ''Ritter von Callenberg'' until 1231, when the lord sold it to the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg. The knight made use of the proceeds to participate in a Crusade. In 1317 the

House of Henneberg The House of Henneberg was a medieval German comital family (''Grafen'') which from the 11th century onwards held large territories in the Duchy of Franconia. Their county was raised to a princely county (''Gefürstete Grafschaft'') in 1310. Upo ...

purchased the property and gave it as a

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...

to the Sternberg family. This family died out in 1592. As a vacant property, it now fell to Duke Johann Casimir. He intended to use it as a summer palace and planned substantial renovations but during his lifetime only the castle chapel was rebuilt. Major construction work resumed only in 1827 under Ernst I. He had the castle completely redesigned, a

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 ...

was created and an exhibit farm added, in which

silkworms The domestic silk moth (''Bombyx mori''), is an insect from the moth family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of ''Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of a silk moth. It is an economically im ...

were bred. From 1842, Callenberg was the summer residence of the heir and future duke

Ernst II Ernest II may refer to: * Ernest II, Duke of Swabia (died in 1030) * Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1745–1804) * Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1818–1893) * Ernest II, Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld (1842–1904) * Ernst II, P ...

. Today's Gothic revival elements date to another renovation after 1857. From 1893, Callenberg served as dowager house for

Princess Alexandrine of Baden Princess Alexandrine Luise Amalie Friederike Elisabeth Sophie of Baden (6 December 1820 – 20 December 1904) was Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 29 January 1844 to 22 August 1893 as the wife of Duke Ernest II. She was the eldest child of ...

, the widow of Ernest II. The last ruling duke, Carl Eduard used Callenberg as a summer residence. After his death in 1954 he was buried here. Post

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the castle fell into disrepair. It was first used by American troops and later served as a nursing home, housed a technical college and then a foundation. From the late 1970s, the castle stood empty and changed owners several times.

Architecture

The chapel features

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 ...

arches,

Doric columns The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of col ...

, Italian Renaissance parapets, medieval walls and a Baroque pulpit.

Today

''Schloss Callenberg'' is once again owned by the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Due to its history and

Gothic revival architecture Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th cent ...

it is a listed monument. Since 1998 it has displayed the ducal art and furniture collection and since 2004 it has also housed the German Rifle Museum (''Deutsches Schützenmuseum''). The cemetery, Cemetery Waldfriedhof or Waldfriedhof Beiersdorf, still remains, containing the remains of

Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha '' , house = Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , father = Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany , mother = Princess Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont , birth_name = Prince Charles Edward, Duke of Albany , birth_date = , birth_place = Cl ...

and his wife

Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (german: Viktoria Adelheid Helene Luise Marie Friederike; 31 December 1885 – 3 October 1970) was Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha as the consort of Duke Charles Edward fr ...

, among others.

Other burials

* Prince Hubertus of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (pilot) *

Friedrich Josias, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Friedrich Josias, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Friedrich Josias Carl Eduard Ernst Kyrill Harald; 29 November 1918 – 23 January 1998) was the head of the Ducal Family of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and titular Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha fr ...

*Princess Claudia (Mrs. Schäfer), daughter of Friedrich Josias *Princess Caroline Mathilde of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha *

Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont Princess Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont (later Duchess of Albany; 17 February 1861 – 1 September 1922) was a member of the British royal family by marriage. She was the fifth daughter and child of George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, ...

References

External links

Website of Callenberg Castle

Official Website of the Ducal House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
{{Authority control Castles in Bavaria House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Gothic Revival architecture in Germany Buildings and structures in Coburg Burial sites of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha