The Electoral Palace () in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

is the former residential palace of the Prince-Electors of Cologne. Since 1818, it has been the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

's main building in the city center, home to the University administration and the faculty of humanities and theology. It was built by

Enrico Zuccalli Enrico Zuccalli (''Johann Heinrich Zuccalli''; c. 1642 – 8 March 1724) was a Swiss architect who worked for the Wittelsbach regents of Bavaria and Cologne. Biography Zuccalli was born in Roveredo, then part of the Republic of the Three L ...

for the prince-elector

Joseph Clemens of Bavaria Joseph Clemens of Bavaria () (4 December 1671 – 12 November 1723) was a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty of Bavaria and also served as the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne from 1688 to 1723. Biography The third son of Ferdinand Maria, El ...

from 1697 to 1705. The ''Hofgarten'', a large park in front of the main building, is a popular place for students to meet, study and relax. The Hofgarten was repeatedly a place for political demonstrations, as for example the demonstration against the

NATO Double-Track Decision The NATO Double-Track Decision was the decision by NATO from December 12, 1979, to offer the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact a mutual limitation of medium-range ballistic missiles and intermediate-range ballistic missiles amidst the Soviet invasion o ...

on 22 October 1981, with about 250,000 participants.

History

The predecessor to the current palace was built from 1567 to 1577 for Archbishop-Elector Salentin of Isenburg. The structure was bounded to its south by the

city wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or Earthworks (military), earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as ...

of Bonn. It was destroyed during the Siege of Bonn, when Archbishop

reconquered the city. Joseph Clemens gave Enrico Zuccalli, his Swiss-born court architect, orders to rebuild the palace (in a grander fashion) from 1697 to 1705. Zuccalli built a quadrangular building with

avant-corps An ''avant-corps'' ( or , plural , , ), a French term literally meaning "fore-body", is a part of a building, such as a porch or pavilion, that juts out from the ''corps de logis'', often taller than other parts of the building.Curl, James Stev ...

on the corners. It encloses an arcaded courtyard, and opens at its northeastern end to a ''cour d'honneur'' which originally constituted the main entrance to the palace. A court church was built in the west wing in 1700, which now houses the ceremonial ''Aula'' of the university.

Robert de Cotte Robert de Cotte (; 1656 – 15 July 1735) was a French architect-administrator, under whose design control of the royal buildings of France from 1699, the earliest notes presaging the Rococo, Rococo style were introduced. First a pupil of ...

added a wing to the south of the palace, ''Buen Retiro,'' from 1715 to 1723 and laid out extensive palace gardens. The gilded Marian image ''Regina Pacis,'' which still stands over the garden-side entrance to the building as the university's patroness, was installed at the center of the palace's third story in 1744. In 1777, a catastrophic fire started in the west wing of the palace and spread through the roof, eventually reaching the powder chamber and causing a massive explosion. The palace was gutted by the flames, and the explosion killed scores of residents of Bonn; at one point, the fire threatened to burn the entire city. Rebuilding efforts were slow. The Buen Retiro wing was rebuilt in a truncated form, and the court church was also rebuilt on a smaller scale in the east wing. The arrival of revolutionary French troops in 1794 ended the use of the palace as residence of the Archbishop-Electors. After the departure of the French, its ownership transferred to the Prussian crown.

Frederick William III Frederick William III (; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, when the empire was dissolved. ...

donated the building to the new Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn in 1818. In the 1920s, the Buen Retiro wing which was badly damaged in the 1777 explosion was fully rebuilt according to de Cotte's plans, and the fourth avant-corps tower was finally rebuilt. The building was again destroyed by allied bombing in 1944 and was rebuilt until 1951. The exterior was fully restored to its previous state, but, with the exception of a handful of rooms, including the church, the interior was rebuilt in a stripped-down manner more conducive to university use.

Architecture

The main building of the palace is three stories in height and rectangular. Its first story is rusticated, while the second, main story's windows feature alternating segmental and triangular

pediments Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In ancient ...

. The parallel long ends are framed by four-story towers which have

lanterns A lantern is a source of lighting, often portable. It typically features a protective enclosure for the light sourcehistorically usually a candle, a wick in oil, or a thermoluminescent mesh, and often a battery-powered light in modern timesto ...

on their roofs. Its strict, relatively unadorned style strongly recalls the

Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial (), or (), is a historical residence of the king of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, up the valley ( road distance) from the town of El Escorial and about n ...

and

Herrerian style The Herrerian style ( or ''arquitectura herreriana'') of architecture was developed in Spain during the last third of the 16th century under the reign of Philip II (1556–1598), and continued in force in the 17th century, but transformed b ...

more generally. The short western side forms one end of the ''Poppelsdorfer Allee,'' facing

Poppelsdorf Palace Poppelsdorf Palace (German: ''Poppelsdorfer Schloss'') is a Baroque building in the Poppelsdorf district of Bonn, western Germany, which is now part of the University of Bonn. Design and construction The design of a new structure to replace t ...

. The central courtyard is lined with arcades and open on either end, serving as a connection between Bonn's downtown and the ''Hofgarten'' park. The church, the northeastern end of the palace, forms the short end of the palace's town-facing cour d'honneur. The Gallery Wing stretches from the southeastern corner tower to the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

, and contains two notable gates which still carry automobile traffic. Perhaps the most notable portion of the palace is one of these gates, the Koblenz Gate. Its exuberant late

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

exterior clearly distinguishes it from the strict patterns of the rest of the palace. It was built by

Michael Leveilly Michael Leveilly (also Michel Leveilly, Michael Leveillé; 1694 – 23 January 1762) was a French architect who was active essentially in Germany. Life Leveilly was probably a pupil of François Blondel or of Robert de Cotte. In 1717, at the be ...

to the plans of

François de Cuvilliés François de Cuvilliés, sometimes referred to as ''the Elder'' (23 October 1695, Soignies, Hainaut14 April 1768, Munich), was a Bavarian decorative designer and architect born in the Spanish Netherlands. He was instrumental in bringing the Roco ...

from 1751-1755. It takes the form of a

triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road, and usually standing alone, unconnected to other buildings. In its simplest form, a triumphal ...

, and features rich use of columns. It is topped by a gilded statue of

Michael the Archangel Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second- ...

, as the large room above its triple archway originally served as the seat of the Order of St. Michael. Other statues of saints and armorial bearings decorate the gate, which is topped by a lantern. The most significant restored interior space of the palace is the palace church, which was built in the northeastern end of the palace in 1779 by Johann Heinrich Roth. Ludwig von Beethoven occasionally played in the church as a young organist. Frederick William III donated the space to the

protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

community of Bonn in 1816.

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

rebuilt its chancel in 1844. Like the rest of the palace, the church was destroyed in the Second World War, but it was rebuilt, including its rich stucco decoration, after the war. It currently serves as parish for the protestant community of the university. A new Klais organ was installed in the back of the nave in 2012.

History

Architecture

References

External links

See also