Friedrichstein Castle (Bad Wildungen)

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Friedrichstein Castle
Inner courtyard (south wing)
Inner courtyard (north wing)

The Friedrich Flintlock is a baroque castle on the Schlossberg in Bad Wildungener district Altwildungen in northern Hesse . First a Gothic castle , then a Baroque palace, later a youth hostel and hotel, today it serves as a museum and restaurant.

History and building history

In 1200, Count Friedrich von Thuringia , who had become Count von Wildungen through his marriage to Lukardis von Ziegenhain and the purchase of her dowry , built a Gothic castle on the 303 m above sea level. It was the seat of the office, the judiciary and the administration. In 1260 the Counts of Waldeck became the owners of the castle and the county of Wildungen.

Count Josias II von Waldeck, who had resided in Wildungen as his brother's coregent since 1660, began in 1663 with the baroque reconstruction of the castle based on the symmetrical, French-Baroque model. His design envisaged a large triangular building complex with two long, tapering wings and a small connecting wing. A monumental domed structure was planned at the intersection of the two longitudinal wings. By the death of Josias II, who fell on Crete as a general from Brunswick-Lüneburg in the service of the Republic of Venice in the battle against the Ottomans in 1669 , the western longitudinal wing and the main building were completed by the master builder Emanuel Brand from Mengeringhausen .

In 1665 the sculptor Rudolf Kippenhahn built a rusticated portal with a broken gable and coat of arms. He also designed the baroque staircase. In 1678, the widow of Count Josias II had an older wing of the castle that had remained standing torn down and a new one, probably the gate wing, built. However, the Gothic round tower of the medieval castle with a hood and lantern was preserved.

Count Friedrich Anton Ulrich von Waldeck had the palace renovated between 1707 and 1714. In doing so, he processed impressions of his extensive travels and the experiences he had previously gained while building the castles in Bad Arolsen and Bad Pyrmont . He completed the design begun by Josias II by building the south wing with the terrace in front. He also had the two smaller side wings built. Count Friedrich Anton Ulrich von Waldeck was named after the Friedrichstein Palace.

From 1715 to 1719 the stucco work in the large ballroom in the south wing was created by the Italian master Andrea Gallasini and the ceiling paintings by his compatriot Carlo Ludovico Castelli . The ceiling picture shows the apotheosis of the Waldeck house. The castle was then only the occasional residence of Friedrich Anton Ulrich von Waldeck, who was elevated to prince in 1711. In 1751 and 1757, Markus Christoph Krau created the rococo decorations in the castle. Some overraports , wall surfaces decorated with relief ornaments or paintings above the doors of the late 18th century come from Johann Valentin Tischbein .

During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/1871, a military hospital was set up in the lower rooms of the palace. A forest official's apartment was then set up in the north wing. The premises were renovated in 1906 and then served as a summer residence for the Waldeck family.

After the First World War, the castle came into the possession of the Waldeck Community Purpose Association of the Free State of Waldeck on August 26, 1920 due to the severance agreement with the Waldeck Princely House. The castle was leased for residential purposes. In addition, a hotel was established. In the spring of 1921, the Hessian Mountain Association set up a youth hostel in the lower rooms . In the 1930s, an NSDAP training center was set up at the castle . During this time Hermann Göring was a guest at Friedrichstein Castle several times.

After the Second World War , ownership of the palace passed to the State of Hesse . Today it is a branch of the Hessian State Museum Kassel . The hunting museum exhibits the "Turkish booty" of the Hesse-Kassel landgrave Karl . Since 2006, the sculpture trail "Paradisische Erlebnisse" leads around the castle.

literature

  • Friedrich Häring, Hans Joachim Klein (Ed.): DuMont Art Travel Guide Hesse. 8th edition. DuMont Buchverlag, Cologne 1979, pp. 67-69.
  • Upper Hesse, Kurhessen and Waldeck. (Greaves Travel Guide, Volume 230). Thiemig, Munich 1981, p. 87.
  • Rudolf Knappe: Medieval castles in Hesse: 800 castles, castle ruins and castle sites. 3. Edition. Wartberg publishing house. Gudensberg-Gleichen 2000, ISBN 3-86134-228-6 , p. 134.
  • Eduard Braun's hiking and travel guide through North Hesse and Waldeck. Bernecker, Melsungen 1971, p. 116.
  • Rolf Müller (Ed.): Palaces, castles, old walls. Published by the Hessendienst der Staatskanzlei, Wiesbaden 1990, ISBN 3-89214-017-0 , p. 39f.
  • Literature about Friedrichstein Castle in the Hessian Bibliography

Web links

Commons : Schloss Friedrichstein  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 51 ° 7 ′ 27 ″  N , 9 ° 7 ′ 41 ″  E