Blenheim Palace

Blenheim Palace
UNESCO world heritage
	The Blenheim Palace
National territory:	United Kingdom
Type:	Culture
Criteria :	(ii) (iv)
Reference No .:	425
UNESCO region :	Europe and North America
	History of enrollment
Enrollment:	1987 (session 11)

Blenheim Palace [ ˈblɛnɪm ˈpælɪs ] near Woodstock in Oxfordshire is one of the largest and most famous castles in England . It was built for John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough during Queen Anne's reign as a reward for his military successes in the War of the Spanish Succession (victory at the Battle of Höchstädt in 1704 on the Danube; English Battle of Blenheim ). The English form of Battle of Blenheim is likely to stem from the fact that the English troops used French reconnaissance aircraft. Their pronunciation of the name of the place Blindheim (near Höchstädt on the Danube ) led to the English form Blenheim. Today a permanent exhibition in the castle commemorates the most famous descendant of the Dukes, Winston Churchill , who was born here in 1874.

Building description

Blenheim Palace

A triumphal arch leads from the small town of Woodstock near Oxford up to the castle. It is intended to commemorate the great success at the Battle of Höchstädt (actually from Blindheim , a place near Höchstädt, hence the English Battle of Blenheim ) in 1704. The palace was designed by Sir John Vanbrugh . Blenheim Palace is the largest non-royal noble seat in Great Britain. There was no comfort in the reception rooms - they were intended to be overwhelming and impressive. The main hall is 20 meters high and leads into a large, frescoed salon. The salon is oriented towards a 41 meter high victory column in the park of the palace. The trees surrounding them symbolize Marlborough's soldiers. The south portal is crowned by a bust of Louis XIV , who was defeated in the Battle of Höchstädt, and looks down from there on the wealth of the complex. It cannot be clarified whether this end of the south portal goes back to a suggestion by the architect Vanbrugh or was an irony of Churchill, who was victorious in Höchstädt.

Building history

Blenheim Palace, west facade

Due to discrepancies between the architect and Marlborough's wife Sarah and the associated changes in the plan, there were considerable additional costs, which means that the palace devoured most of the duke's fortune and was only completed after his death in 1722. It was then Nicholas Hawksmoor , a John Vanbrugh employee , who continued to oversee the construction. The living space of the castle is 12,000 m².

The park in particular has been redesigned several times. The influential landscape architect Capability Brown redesigned the 1010 hectare park in 1764 and created the lake that is now in front of the palace by damming the River Glyme . The lake is divided into two parts by a bridge; the smaller northern part is known as Queen Pool and the larger southern part is known as The Lake . The water terraces were recreated in 1920 in the style of the 17th century by the French architect Achille Duchêne .

George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough , had an observatory at Blenheim Palace with a quadrant built by Jesse Ramsden ; he exchanged a few things about his astronomical observations. a. with the geodesics of trigonometric surveying of Great Britain and Ireland , which measured the meridian arc from the Isle of Wight to Yorkshire .

The palace is now owned by a foundation chaired by James Spencer-Churchill, 12th Duke of Marlborough , a descendant of the builder. It belongs to the Treasure Houses of England consortium and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site . It can be viewed for an entrance fee.

Sporting events

The Blenheim Horse Trials ( CCI *** ), an eventing competition , have been held once a year in the castle park since 1990 . In 2005, Blenheim was the venue for the European Eventing Championships.

From 2008 up to and including 2012 the world championship in Brompton - folding cycling was held there once a year .

Film set

The castle repeatedly serves as a backdrop. Among other things, scenes were shot in Blenheim Palace for the following films:

Art theft 2019

For a special exhibition on Maurizio Cattelan , the golden America toilet bowl by the Italian artist was functionally installed in an existing toilet room and could be used by visitors for 3 minutes each. The floor-mounted shell, valued at an estimated 5.4 million euros, was stolen on September 14, 2019, with the thieves causing a "flood" in the palace.