Elsterwerda Castle
The listed Elsterwerda Palace is a palace complex built in Elsterwerda ( Brandenburg ) in the 17th century . It was built in place of a previously existing castle, probably from the 13th century.
history
→ See also: Elsterschloss-Gymnasium , history of Elsterwerda
The castle Elsterwerda appears in the late 12th and early 13th century on the banks of the Schwarze Elster to have been founded. The exact time has not yet been determined. Its purpose was to secure the river crossing of the trade route Dresden-Berlin and as outworked base of the old castle waiting Boritz and Strehla east in the area of the middle Elbe . Its construction is presumably closely related to the Frauenhain, Saathain and Tiefenau castles built at that time .
Elsterwerda Castle was first mentioned in a document in 1288. From a document dated February 18, 1326 ( Main State Archive Weimar ) one can conclude that Heinrich von Köckritz was the fief owner of the castle of the Meissen margrave . In a document on December 21, 1343, Conrad von Köckritz, an owner of the facility, appears by name as "Herr von Elsterwerda". The family remained the owners of the complex until the 16th century. Until 1367, Elsterwerda castle and spots belonged to the diocese of Naumburg . The manor belonged to the castle , which covered an area of 53 hooves and was divided into 2594 tax shocks.
In 1509, Duke Georg von Sachsen appeared in Elsterwerda to put an end to the rule of the Köckritze after the von Köckritz brothers attacked and kidnapped the Hohenleip priest after a dispute in the manner of a robber baron. It seemed as if other nobles wanted to join the Köckritze's breach of the peace . In 1512 Otto von Köckritz was the heir of Elsterwerda, and in the same year Elsterwerda was sold by the brothers Hanß and Georg von Köckritz to Duke Georg von Sachsen for 10,000 thalers. However, they were forced to do so. The duke, who had no heir, sold Elsterwerda to Christoph von Maltitz in 1539 . Before he came to Elsterwerda, he was the Saxon councilor and governor of Merseburg . He died in 1546 and converted to Protestantism shortly before his death .
From 1547 to 1567 Haubold von Maltitz, who still acquired the manors Oelsnitz and Kotschka , and for some time his brother Georg von Maltitz were lords of Elsterwerda. In 1586 Sigmund von Maltitz (electoral Saxon stable master and chief forest master of Annaburg ) came into the possession of Elsterwerda. After Sigmund's death, the von Rohr family acquired the property from the Haubold and Georg von Maltitz brothers on March 5, 1612. Under their influence, major construction projects took place in Elsterwerda.
By 1616, after the old buildings were demolished, a multi-wing complex was built. An inscription plaque reminds of the building owner Bernhart von Rohr and his wife with their name on this building project. Approx. In 1700 there was a four-wing complex with a surrounding moat. Only on the east side was this interrupted by a ramp leading to the inner courtyard . There was probably also a bridge construction.
Around 1708, Baron Woldemar von Löwendal (1660–1740), royal Polish high court marshal, real privy councilor and cabinet minister, as well as Oberbergats director, and a grandson of Friedrich III. , the possession. In 1716 the manor in Mückenberg came under his rule, which he later left to his wife Benedicta Margareta von Löwendal . He had large parts of the four-wing complex in Elsterwerda demolished, and a three-wing complex, open to the east, with short side wings in the Dresden Baroque style was created . This building project drove Loewendahl financially to ruin, and on March 20, 1727 he had to sell the property, including Krauschütz and Kotschka , to King August the Strong for 10,500 thalers . The new owner, who turned the property into a chamber property , immediately began the renovation according to plans by his court architect, Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann . From 1730, Johann Christoph Knöffel and his student Samuel Locke were responsible for the construction. This is how the building, which is essentially still in existence today, was created under the extension of the side wings. The cost was 21,257 thalers.
August the Strong gave the rule on June 4, 1727 to his daughter-in-law and wife of the Crown Prince, Maria Josepha of Austria . In 1728 an avenue of lime trees was laid out for the driveway of the castle and after the accession to the throne, Maria Josepha's husband, King August III. from Poland , the castle was given the character of a hunting and pleasure palace. A pheasantry and a shooting house were added to the west of the castle . The construction work on the flight of stairs from the lowest floor to the pleasure garden and the castle tower with a clock was completed in 1737. The castle was later given to Duke Karl von Kurland as his residence, who used it as a summer residence until his death in 1796.
From 1796 until 1814 the castle remained under the administration of the Saxon electors. In 1781 the officers' house was built right next to the castle. In 1791, the castle hosted, among others, King Friedrich Wilhelm II , the Crown Prince of Prussia and the Count of Artois, later King Charles X of France, as guests .
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher is said to have been further guests in the palace in 1813 , when 30,000 men from his corps were camped in Elsterwerda and Kotschka from September 28th to 30th during the Wars of Liberation , and in the same year as Emperor Napoleon .
After the partition of Saxony, Elsterwerda came into Prussian hands in 1815. In October 1851, the Prussian Provincial School College commissioned the Ministry of Culture to set up a seminar in Elsterwerda Castle. The approval was given on April 6, 1852, but the building permit was not granted until 1856. In the autumn of 1857, the renovation work was completed and on January 6, 1858, it was handed over to the seminar administration. An exception was the officers' house, which was sold to the communities of Elsterwerda and Krauschütz in 1849 . On November 13, 1857, the Royal Prussian Teachers' Seminar was opened with 19 pupils. From 1926 the teachers' seminar was withdrawn and the Oberrealschule Elsterschloss, a state advanced school, took its place .
In 1938 this school was converted into a high school, which also included the previous private school. In 1995 the entire palace complex was extensively renovated and houses today's Elsterschloss-Gymnasium, which is considered one of the most beautiful schools in Germany.
Regular events in and around Elsterwerda Castle
- February: “Open Day” in the Elsterschloss-Gymnasium
- May: Elsterwerda Garden Days
- December 27th: High school graduate meeting
- Celebratory wreath for high school graduates
Literature (selection)
- Matthes, Eberhard: The Baroque Elsterwerda Castle in the course of time . In: Heimatverein Elsterwerda und Umgebung e. V., Heimatverein for research into the Saxon steelworks, Gröditzer Stahlwerke GmbH (publisher): 250 years of the Grödel-Elsterwerda raft canal 1748-1998 . Lampertswalde 1997, p. 109-112 .
- Luise Grundmann, Dietrich Hanspach (author): The Schraden . A regional study in the Elsterwerda, Lauchhammer, Hirschfeld and Ortrand area. Ed .: Institute for Regional Geography Leipzig and the Saxon Academy of Sciences in Leipzig. Böhlau Verlag, Cologne, Weimar, Vienna 2005, ISBN 3-412-10900-2 .
- Matthias Donath : Castles between the Elbe and Elster . Meissen 2007.
- Müller, Bernd: Castle and Castle Elsterwerda . In: Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Heimatkunde e. V. Bad Liebenwerda (Hrsg.): Home calendar - For the country between the Elbe and Elster . No. 53 . Gräser Verlag Großenhain OHG, Bad Liebenwerda 2000, p. 51-55 .
- Paulick, Horst: The Elster Castle in Elsterwerda as an educational institution . In: Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Heimatkunde e. V. Bad Liebenwerda (Hrsg.): Home calendar - For the country between the Elbe and Elster . No. 53 . Gräser Verlag Großenhain OHG, Bad Liebenwerda 2000, p. 140-153 .
- On the history of Elsterwerda Castle . (Tourist information sheet).
- Heinrich Nebelsieck : On the older history of the city of Liebenwerda and its district area .
Individual evidence
- ↑ List of monuments of the state of Brandenburg: Elbe-Elster district (PDF) Brandenburg State Office for Monument Preservation and State Archaeological Museum
- ↑ Homepage with the program of the Elsterwerda Garden Days ( Memento of the original from June 8, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 27 ′ 16 ″ N , 13 ° 31 ′ 28 ″ E