Schloss Weimar

Schloss Weimar is a ''Schloss'' (palace) in Weimar, Thuringia, Germany. It is now called ''Stadtschloss'' to distinguish it from other palaces in and around Weimar. It was the residence of the dukes of Saxe-Weimar and Eisenach, and has also been called ''Residenzschloss''. Names in English include Palace at Weimar, Grand Ducal Palace, City Palace and City Castle. The building is located at the north end of the town's park along the Ilm river, ''Park an der Ilm''. It forms part of the World Heritage Site " Classical Weimar", along with other sites associated with Weimar's importance as a cultural hub during the late 18th and 19th centuries.

In history, it was often destroyed by fire. The Baroque palace from the 17th century, with the church ''Schlosskirche'' where a number of works by Johann Sebastian Bach were premiered, was replaced by a Neoclassical structure after a fire in 1774. Four rooms were dedicated to the memory of poets who worked in Weimar, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Johann Gottfried Herder, Friedrich Schiller and Christoph Martin Wieland. From 1923, the building has housed the ''Schlossmuseum'', a museum with a focus on paintings of the 15th and 16th centuries and works of art related to Weimar, a cultural centre.

History

The building has been developed over the past 500 years. The first building on the site was a medieval moated castle, which was first documented at the end of the 10th century. After a fire in 1424, and again from the mid-16th century, when Weimar became the permanent residence of the dukes, it was remodelled. After another fire in 1618, reconstruction began in 1619 planned by the Italian architect Giovanni Bonalino. The church was completed in 1630, where several works by Johann Sebastian Bach were premiered between 1708 and 1717. In the 1650s Johann Moritz Richter was engaged by Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar to modify the design to a symmetrical Baroque structure with three wings, open to the south. After Wilhelm's death in 1662, the new building became known as the "Wilhelmsburg"; the chapel was called the "Himmelsburg".

The building was destroyed by fire in 1774. Duke Carl August formed a commission for its reconstruction directed by Johann Wolfgang Goethe. Architects Johann August Arens, and kept the former walls of the east and north wings and created a " classical" interior, especially the staircase and the banqueting hall (''Festsaal''). Decoration was supplied by sculptor Christian Friedrich Tieck. In 1816, Clemens Wenzeslaus Coudray began plans for the west wing, which was reopened in 1847 with a court chapel. The wing contained the so-called ''Dichterzimmer'' (poets' rooms), initiated by Duchess Maria Pavlovna. They commemorate Christoph Martin Wieland, Johann Gottfried Herder, Friedrich Schiller and Goethe. From 1912 to 1914 a south wing was added under Duke Wilhelm Ernst.

The Herder Room was restored in 2005, the restoration of the Goethe Room and the Wieland Room was completed in 2014.

File:Weimar-1650-Merian.jpg, Town and ''Residenz'' around 1650
File:Weimar Christoph Riegel 1686.jpeg, Town and ''Residenz'' around 1686
File:Weimar_Wilhelmsburg_1730.jpg, The Wilhelmsburg around 1730
File:The castle, Weimar, Thuringia, Germany-LCCN2002720790.jpg, The ''Bastille'' around 1905
File:Schloss Weimar, court from the south.JPG, Court, seen from the south wing, 2014
File:Weimar, castello, scalinata 02.JPG, Staircase, 1801

Museum

The building has been used as a museum since 1923. The ''Schlossmuseum'' presents exhibitions focused on paintings from 1500 to 1900 related to the history of Weimar. The ground floor holds paintings of the Renaissance, especially works by Lucas Cranach the Elder and Lucas Cranach the Younger, and medieval sacred art, the upper floor displays paintings of Goethe's period in representative rooms, and the top floor contains works of the 19th-century ' (Weimar School) and contemporary art.

File:Karolingischer Buchdeckel Weimar.JPG, Carolingian ivory (9th century)
File:Dürer, ritratti di hans e felicitas tucher, 1499.JPG, Albrecht Dürer: Hans and Felicitas Tucher (1499)
File:Lucas Cranach d.Ä. - Die Früchte der Eifersucht (Das silberne Zeitalter), Schlossmuseum Weimar.jpg, Lucas Cranach the Elder: ''Die Früchte der Eifersucht'' (1527)
File:Georg Friedrich Kersting - Die Stickerin - 1. Fassung.jpg, Georg Friedrich Kersting: ''Die Stickerin'' (1812)
File:Das eherne Zeitalter Weimar.JPG, Auguste Rodin: ''Das eherne Zeitalter'' (1875/76)
File:Monet, cattedrale di rouen, weimar, 1894.JPG, Claude Monet: The Cathedral of Rouen (1894)

Since 2008 the '' Klassik Stiftung Weimar'' has owned the site with the exception of the ''Bastille'' part, owned by the Stiftung Thüringer Schlösser und Gärten.

References

Bibliography

* Rolf Bothe: ''Dichter, Fürst und Architekten. Das Weimarer Residenzschloß vom Mittelalter bis zum Anfang des 19. Jahrhunderts''. Ostfildern-Ruit 2000.
* ''Residenzschloss Weimar. 15 Jahre – 15 Millionen Investitionen. Die Grundsanierung in 15 Jahren durch die Stiftung Thüringer Schlösser und Gärten.'' Imhof-Verlag, Petersberg 2009.
* Christian Hecht: ''Dichtergedächtnis und fürstliche Repräsentation. Der Westflügel des Weimarer Residenzschlosses. Architektur und Ausstattung''. Ostfildern 2000.
* Roswitha Jacobsen (Hrsg.): ''Residenzschlösser in Thüringen: kulturhistorische Porträts''. Quartus-Verlag, Bucha 1998.
* Willi Stubenvoll: ''Schlösser in Thüringen: Schlösser, Burgen, Gärten, Klöster und historische Anlagen der Stiftung Thüringer Schlösser und Gärten''. Verl. Ausbildung + Wissen, Bad Homburg 1997.
* Adolph Doebber: ''Das Schloss in Weimar : seine Geschichte vom Brande 1774 bis zur Wiederherstellung 1804.'' Fischer, Jena 1911.

External links

Homepage


Stiftung Thüringer Schlösser und Gärten

Residenzschloss Weimar
weimar.city-map.de

Schlosskapelle Weimar
virtual tour, a Bauhaus-Uni Weimar project

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Castles in Thuringia
Buildings and structures in Weimar