Fallersleben Castle (german: Schloss Fallersleben) is located in

Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth largest city in the German state of Lower Saxony, located on the river Aller. It lies about east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the location of Volkswagen AG's he ...

in the German state of

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

and, together with Neuhaus and

Wolfsburg Castle The Wolfsburg is medieval lowland and water castle in North Germany that was first mentioned in the records in 1302, but has since been turned into a Renaissance ''schloss'' or palace. It is located in eastern Lower Saxony in the town of Wolfsbur ...

s, is one of the most important historic buildings in the town. It is in the district of

Fallersleben Fallersleben is a part (''Ortsteil'') of the City of Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany, with a population of 11,269 (as of 2010). The village of Fallersleben was first mentioned in 942 under the name of ''Valareslebo''. Fallersleben became a city ...

and forms an historic setting along with the castle lake, St. Michael's Church and the Old Brewery.

Construction

The castle was built from 1520 to 1551, after its predecessor had been destroyed during the

Hildesheim Diocesan Feud The Hildesheim Diocesan Feud (german: Hildesheimer Stiftsfehde) or Great Diocesan Feud, sometimes referred to as a "chapter feud", was a conflict that broke out in 1519 between the Prince-Bishopric of Hildesheim (''Hochstift Hildesheim'') and the ...

(1518–23). It was originally laid out as a horseshoe with the courtyard open on its south side. By 1760 the castle was surrounded by a moat, about 12 metres wide and 5 metres deep. Access was only possible over two bridges. One bridge and a section of moat was reconstructed in 1998 on the basis of archaeological excavations. Before that its water castle character was scarcely recognisable because the moats had been filled in. Of the original three wings of the castle, only the west wing, with its

spiral staircase Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps which enable passage ...

tower, in the inner courtyard has been preserved. It is a

timber-framed 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 woode ...

building about 40 metres long on a stone foundation. There is also a royal court, the ''Kavaliershaus''. In the old castle buildings there were 16 living rooms (parlour (''Hofestube''), bed chamber (''Schlafkammer''), apartment (''Gemach''), young ladies room (''Jungfrauen-Stube'')) as well as the rooms for officials, kitchen staff (''Wirtschaftspersonal''), the armoury (''Rüstkammer'') and silver room (''Silberkammer'') of the ducal seat. Numerous outbuildings belonged to the castle, such as the Old Brewery, and extensive estates that were later converted into a ducal domain (''Domäne''). In 2001–03 Fallersleben Castle was renovated in line with its status as a

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History

Fallersleben Castle, like Gifhorn Castle, was owned by Duke Francis of Brunswick and Lüneburg (1508–49). He died whilst it was being built, however, when he was 41 years old. From 1539 he ruled the Duchy of Gifhorn, in which Fallersleben lay, from his ducal seat in Gifhorn. Francis introduced

the Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

into the state. His wife was Clara of Saxe-Lauenburg, daughter of Duke Magnus I of

Saxe-Lauenburg The Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg (german: Herzogtum Sachsen-Lauenburg, called ''Niedersachsen'' (Lower Saxony) between the 14th and 17th centuries), was a ''reichsfrei'' duchy that existed from 1296–1803 and again from 1814–1876 in the extreme sou ...

. After the death of her husband, Francis, she was given the castle as a dower and completed its construction in 1551. She lived for over 27 years in Fallersleben and generated a boom in the small town of Fallersleben (coinage (''Münzordnung'') was introduced in 1555, a market system (''Marktordnung'') in 1573, a brewery (''Brauordnung'') etc.). She died in 1576 during a visit to

Barth, Germany Barth is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated at a lagoon ( Bodden) of the Baltic Sea facing the Fischland-Darss-Zingst peninsula. Barth belongs to the district of Vorpommern-Rügen. It is close to the Western Pomerania L ...

and was buried there. After her death a '' Drost'' (manager) lived at the castle. Renovations were carried out in 1616 by Duke Christian, in 1636 by Duke Augustus and in 1649 by Duke Frederick. In the mid-17th century the ducal residence was given up and the main building of the castle became the seat of an ''

Amt Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...

'' in which, from 1855, civic authorities were accommodated (finance office, court, town hall).

Today

Since 1991 the basement of the castle has housed the Hoffmann von Fallersleben Museum, a museum about the history of German literature and democracy in the 19th century. It portrays the life of the poets of the ''Deutschlandlied'' and the history of its ''Kinderlieder''. On the upper floor is an art gallery with paintings by Franz Hoffmann-Fallersleben (only child of

Hoffmann von Fallersleben August Heinrich Hoffmann (, calling himself von Fallersleben, after his hometown; 2 April 179819 January 1874) was a German poet. He is best known for writing "Das Lied der Deutschen", whose third stanza is now the national anthem of Germany, an ...

). Also worth seeing there are the wood carvings and stuccoed ceilings. The castle also has a suite of rooms that may be hired for events. In 2001-03 archaeological investigations were carried out on the castle site. These exposed cellars with barrel ceilings (''Tonnengewölbe'') and walls 1.3 metres thick. Since the excavations the cellars and foundation walls have been covered with glass so that visitors can see them. Formerly the cellars under the castle were linked together and acted as store rooms for food.

Sources

* Ernst Andreas Friedrich:''Wenn Steine reden könnten.'' Bd 3. Landbuch-Verlag, Hannover 1995,

External links

School project on the castle

Short description at Newsclick.de
{{authority control

Buildings and structures in Wolfsburg Museums in Lower Saxony Literary museums in Germany Biographical museums in Germany Water castles in Germany