Granitz Hunting Lodge (german: Jagdschloss Granitz) is located on the German island of

Rügen Rügen (; la, Rugia, ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic city of Stralsund, where ...

in the vicinity of the seaside resort of

Binz Binz is the largest seaside resort on the German island of Rügen. It is situated between the bay of Prorer Wiek and the ''Schmachter See'' (a lake) in the southeast of the island. To the north of Binz stretches the Schmale Heide (the "narrow he ...

. With over 200,000 visitors per year it is the most popular

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

or '' schloss'' in

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; nds, Mäkelborg-Vörpommern), also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ranks 14th in po ...

Ostsee-Zeitung The ''Ostsee-Zeitung'' (abbreviated ''OZ'') is a German language regional daily newspaper published in Rostock, Germany. It was launched in East Germany in 1952 and has been in circulation since then. History and profile Founded in 1952, ''Ost ...

, 12 April 2008, p. 6

Location

The lodge lies in the middle of the forested Granitz ridge, which covers an area of about and has been part of the Southeast Rügen Biosphere Reserve since 1991. The name ''Tempelberg'' given to the highest hill in the Granitz comes from the 18th century, when a small hexagonal

belvedere Belvedere (from Italian, meaning "beautiful sight") may refer to: Places Australia *Belvedere, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region Africa * Belvedere (Casablanca), a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco * Belvedere, Harare, Z ...

stood on the site of the present ''schloss''. The quickest way to get there is from the Baltic seaside resort of Binz on the Rügen Light Railway or the Hunting Lodge Express (''Jagdschlossexpress'').

History

The hunting lodge (''Jagdschloss'') was built on the highest hill in East Rügen, the high Tempelberg, in the years 1838 to 1846 by order of Prince

Wilhelm Malte I Wilhelm Malte I, Fürst und Herr zu Putbus (1783 – 1854) was a German prince (''Fürst'') from the old Slavic-Rügen noble family of the lords of Putbus. He acted as a Swedish governor in Swedish Pomerania and later, under Prussian rule, as ...

Putbus Putbus () is a town on the southeastern coast of the island of Rügen, in the county of Vorpommern-Rügen in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, close to the Baltic Sea. The town has 4,741 inhabitants and is a significant tourist destina ...

, based on a design by Berlin architect, Johann Gottfried Steinmeyer in the style of the North Italian Renaissance castellos. It was once a popular holiday destination for European nobility and prominent people; for example, Frederick William IV,

Christian VIII Christian VIII (18 September 1786 – 20 January 1848) was King of Denmark from 1839 to 1848 and, as Christian Frederick, King of Norway in 1814. Christian Frederick was the eldest son of Hereditary Prince Frederick, a younger son of King Frederic ...

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of ...

Elizabeth von Arnim Elizabeth von Arnim (31 August 1866 – 9 February 1941), born Mary Annette Beauchamp, was an English novelist. Born in Australia, she married a German aristocrat, and her earliest works are set in Germany. Her first marriage made her Countess v ...

, and Johann Jacob Grümbke numbered amongst its visitors. The lodge was owned by the von Putbus family until 1944 and passed into

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

hands on the imprisonment of

Malte von Putbus Malte is a male given name that is mainly used in Denmark, Sweden and Germany, which is from Old Danish ''Malti''. It originated from ''Helmhold / Helmwald'' ("helmet-govern") or from former Low German and Old Danish short form of Old German nam ...

. The family was finally dispossessed as part of the East German land reforms and the castle remains today in state hands. After the end of the Second World War many of the furnishings were lost or stolen, several works of art were taken to the Berlin Art Depot, the agency for the administration of Soviet assets in Germany, and transferred in 1953 to the state museums in Berlin. Attempts by the grandson of Malte zu Putbus, Franz zu Putbus, to get the family seat returned failed in court. The building is used today as a museum. The castle was renovated at the beginning of the 21st century at a cost of 7.9 million euros.

Design

The two-storey, plastered, brick edifice has a rectangular ground plan and four small corner towers. In the centre of the building in the old courtroom there is a 38-metre-high central tower, erected later based on plans by

Karl Friedrich Schinkel Karl Friedrich Schinkel (13 March 1781 – 9 October 1841) was a Prussian architect, city planner and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed both neoclassic ...

. Inside is a cantilevered

circular 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 ...

with 154

cast-iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

steps. The static forces of the heavy iron staircase are entirely absorbed by the side walls; because it virtually clamped to the tower. From the observation platform, 145 metres above sea level (NN), on the roof of the tower, there is a panoramic view in all directions, especially over the south and east of Rügen. In clear visibility the island of

Usedom Usedom (german: Usedom , pl, Uznam ) is a Baltic Sea island in Pomerania, divided between Germany and Poland. It is the second largest Pomeranian island after Rügen, and the most populous island in the Baltic Sea. It is north of the Szczeci ...

may be seen.

Exhibitions

Old

hunting rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with bo ...

s are displayed in the "Stags of the World" (''Hirsche der Welt'') exhibition as well as furniture from the 19th century. In addition there are temporary exhibitions, for example of paintings. Under the direction of experts from the Pomeranian State Museum at Greifswald a permanent exhibition about Prince Malte I zu Putbus and his castle-building project has been created.

Literature

* * *

References

External links

*
Granitz hunting lodge
{{Authority control Houses completed in 1846 Castles in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Museums in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Buildings and structures in Vorpommern-Rügen Renaissance Revival architecture in Germany Rügen Culture of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Hunting lodges in Germany Binz