Dankwarderode Castle (german: Burg Dankwarderode) on the ''Burgplatz'' ("castle square") in

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...

(Brunswick) is a

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

lowland castle The term lowland castle or plains castle (german: Niederungsburg, Flachlandburg, Tieflandburg) describes a type of castle that is situated on a lowland, plain or valley floor, as opposed to one built on higher ground such as a hill spur. The cla ...

. It was the residence of the Brunswick dukes for centuries and, today, is part of the

Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum The Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum (HAUM) is an art museum in the German city of Braunschweig, Lower Saxony. History Founded in 1754, the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum is one of the oldest museums in Europe. The museum has its origins in the art and nat ...

Construction and history of use

Dankwarderode Castle was built between c. 1160 and 1175 as the ''

Pfalz Pfalz, Pfälzer, or Pfälzisch are German words referring to Palatinate. They may refer to: Places *Pfalz, the Palatinate (region) of Germany **Nordpfalz, the North Palatinate **Vorderpfalz, the Anterior Palatinate **Südpfalz, the South P ...

'' of Duke

Henry the Lion Henry the Lion (german: Heinrich der Löwe; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195) was a member of the Welf dynasty who ruled as the duke of Saxony and Bavaria from 1142 and 1156, respectively, until 1180. Henry was one of the most powerful German p ...

on an island in the river

Oker The Oker is a river in Lower Saxony, Germany, that has historically formed an important political boundary. It is a left tributary of the River Aller, in length and runs in a generally northerly direction. Origin and meaning of the name The ...

. Next to the castle, construction of

Brunswick Cathedral Brunswick Cathedral (german: Dom St. Blasii (et Johannis), lit. in en, Collegiate Church of Ss. St. Blaise, Blaise and John the Baptist) is a large Lutheran Church (building), church in the City of Braunschweig (Brunswick), Germany. The church ...

began in 1173. The castle lost its military significance as a defensive structure early, when it became surrounded completely by the growing city. During the 15th century, the dukes of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel moved their ''

Residenz Residenz () is a German word for "place of living", now obsolete except in the formal sense of an official residence. A related term, Residenzstadt, denotes a city where a sovereign ruler resided, therefore carrying a similar meaning as the modern ...

'' out of the city and to the nearby town of

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest c ...

. In 1616 the ''

palas A ''palas'' () is a German term for the imposing or prestigious building of a medieval ''Pfalz'' or castle that contained the great hall. Such buildings appeared during the Romanesque period (11th to 13th century) and, according to Thompson, ...

'' was remodelled in the

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 ...

style, while the rest of the castle was demolished or left to decay. During the 19th century, the castle keep served as a

barrack Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

, plans to demolish it completely were stopped by public protests in 1873. The present structure was rebuilt in 1887 by Ludwig Winter, based on archaeological investigations. Today the ground floor of Dankwarderode Castle houses the permanent collection of medieval objects of the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum.Duke Anton Ulrich Museum
Retrieved on 8 May 2013.

Gallery

Image:Braunschweig Burgplatz.JPG, Castle courtyard Image:Burg Dankwarderode (Ludwig Winter).jpg, Dankwarderode Castle c. 1200, artist's impression by Ludwig Winter (1884) Image:Dankwarderode J. G. Beck.jpg, Dankwarderode in the 18th century Image:Burg Dankwarderode (1720).jpg, Dankwarderode c. 1720 Image:Burg Dankwarderode 1865.jpg, Dankwarderode c. 1865 Image:BurgDankwarderodeRittersaal.jpg, Great Hall File:Braunschweiger Löwe, original in the Dankwarderode Castle - Braunschweig, Germany - DSC04562.JPG,

Brunswick Lion The ''Brunswick Lion'' (german: Braunschweiger Löwe) is a medieval sculpture, created in bronze between 1164 and 1176, and the best-known landmark in the German city of Brunswick. The ''Brunswick Lion'' was originally located on the Burgplatz ...

, original on display in the museum. Image:Braunschweig Brunswick Armreliquiar St. Blasius Vorderseite.jpg, Arm reliquary of

Saint Blaise Blaise of Sebaste ( hy, Սուրբ Վլասի, ''Surb Vlasi''; el, Ἅγιος Βλάσιος, ''Agios Vlasios''; ) was a physician and bishop of Sebastea in historical Armenia (modern Sivas, Turkey) who is venerated as a Christian saint and m ...

on display in the museum. Image:20180102_Braunschweig_Burgplatz_Panorama_DSC07785_mid_equiRect_PtrQs.jpg, Dankwarderode Castle on the Burgplatz by night.

References

Sources

* Reinhold Wex: ''Burg Dankwarderode'', in: Braunschweiger Stadtlexikon, herausgegeben im Auftrag der Stadt Braunschweig von Luitgard Camerer, Manfred R. W. Garzmann und Wolf-Dieter Schuegraf unter besonderer Mitarbeit von Norman-Mathias Pingel, Brunswick, 1992, page 52, . *

Georg Dehio Georg Gottfried Julius Dehio (22 November 1850 in Reval (now Tallinn), Governorate of Estonia, Russian Empire – 21 March 1932 in Tübingen), was a Baltic German art historian. In 1900, Dehio started the "''Handbuch der deutschen Kunstgesch ...

: ''Handbuch der deutschen Kunstdenkmäler, Bremen/Niedersachsen'',

Deutscher Kunstverlag The Deutscher Kunstverlag (DKV) is an educational publishing house with offices in Berlin and Munich. The publisher specializes in books about art, cultural history, architecture, and historic preservation. History Deutscher Kunstverlag was fo ...

, 1977. * Richard Moderhack: ''Braunschweiger Stadtgeschichte'', Brunswick, 1997.

External links

Medieval Division of the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dankwarderode, Burg Buildings and structures in Braunschweig Museums in Lower Saxony Brunswick, Dankwarderode Castles in Lower Saxony History of Brunswick Rebuilt buildings and structures in Germany Lowland castles