The Neuburg Castle (German: ''Schloss Neuburg'') is a palace in

Neuburg an der Donau Neuburg an der Donau (Central Bavarian: ''Neiburg an da Donau'') is a town which is the capital of the Neuburg-Schrobenhausen district in the state of Bavaria in Germany. Divisions The municipality has 16 divisions: * Altmannstetten * Bergen, Neu ...

Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat o ...

History

The original castle was built in the early Middle Ages by the

Agilolfings The Agilolfings were a noble family that ruled the Duchy of Bavaria on behalf of their Merovingian suzerains from about 550 until 788. A cadet branch of the Agilolfings also ruled the Kingdom of the Lombards intermittently from 616 to 712. They ...

. This was acquired by the

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate ...

dukes in 1247. When Count Palatine Otto Henry began his rule in Palatinate-Neuburg in 1522, he found a medieval fortified castle in his residence city of Neuburg, which, unlike similar princely residences was still not adjusted for the demands of a modern court. So from 1527 he ordered to re-design the castle into a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

palace and to expand the artistic quality and condition to one of the most important palaces of the first half of the 16th Century in Germany. From 1537 an additional west wing was added which also includes the chapel. The chapel is the oldest newly built protestant church in the world, although construction of the shell began as a catholic court chapel in 1537, with a small

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...

, in which the altar with a crucification group, commissioned in 1540, is placed. In 1541 elector Otto Henry converted to the new Lutheran protestantism, and from 1542 the Salzburg church painter

Hans Bocksberger der Ältere Hans Bocksberger der Ältere (1510–1561), also known as Hans Bocksberger the Elder, was an Austrian painter and woodcutter of the high Renaissance. Life Hans Bocksberger was born in Mondsee, the son of Ulrich and Anna Bocksberger. The ...

lavishly decorated the chapel with painted ceiling vaults and galleries in the latest antique-style Italian manner. The picture program not only thematized the decisive role of Christ as divine guarantor of grace, the central lutheran doctrine. It also claims a decisive role of the prince in the distribution of this grace within a God-given earthly order. The court chapel was consecrated on 25 April 1543 by the reformed theologian

Andreas Osiander Andreas Osiander (; 19 December 1498 – 17 October 1552) was a German Lutheran theologian and Protestant reformer. Career Born at Gunzenhausen, Ansbach, in the region of Franconia, Osiander studied at the University of Ingolstadt before ...

. It was thus the first newly built protestant church, an honor often attributed to the court chapel of Hartenfels Castle at Torgau which was built in 1443-44 and consecrated by

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

on 5 October 1544. Because of the financial difficulties and bankruptcy of Otto Henry in 1544, the construction of the west wing of the castle took a long time.

Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken Count Palatine Wolfgang of Zweibrücken (german: Pfalzgraf Wolfgang von Zweibrücken; 26 September 1526 – 11 June 1569) was member of the Wittelsbach family of the Counts Palatine and Duke of Zweibrücken from 1532. With the support of his r ...

, who succeeded his cousin Otto Henry in the Duchy of Palatinate-Neuburg, ordered in 1562 to decorate the west wing facing the courtyard with elaborate Sgraffito decorations. The Knights' Hall (the lower panel room in north building) was provided in 1575 by Hans Pihel with a coffered ceiling and wall panels from a rotating timber, both of which are original. The impressive east wing was rebuilt in 1665 by

Philip William, Elector Palatine Philip William of Neuburg, Elector Palatine (german: Philipp Wilhelm) (24 November 1615 – 2 September 1690) was Count Palatine of Neuburg from 1653 to 1690, Duke of Jülich and Berg from 1653 to 1679 and Elector of the Palatinate from 1685 to ...

in the Baroque style and complemented with two round towers. Today the castle houses a gallery of baroque paintings, the museum is under supervision of the

Bavarian State Picture Collection The Bavarian State Painting Collections (german: Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen), based in Munich, Germany, oversees artwork held by the Free State of Bavaria. It was established in 1799 as ''Centralgemäldegaleriedirektion''. Artwork includes ...

History

See also