Fugger Castle Babenhausen

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Fugger Castle in Babenhausen

The Fugger Castle Babenhausen in the Upper Swabian market of Babenhausen (Swabia) in the Unterallgäu district ( Bavaria ) is the seat of the Swabian noble family of the Fugger-Babenhausen , who were raised to the rank of imperial prince in 1803 . The palace complex with garden, associated administration and farm buildings is under ensemble protection.

history

A castle - in the same place as today's castle - was first mentioned in a document in 1237. This castle was, together with the rule of Kellmünz, left to the lords of Schönegg as a fief of the Count Palatine of Tübingen. As a result, the castle passed into the possession of the Lords of Rotenstein . Heinrich von Rotenstein sold the castle and lordship to Count Eberhard II of Württemberg in 1363 . This in turn gave it as a fief to the knight Schwigger von Gundelfingen and from 1378 to the lords of Rechberg . The oldest part of the castle, the so-called rake mining, dates from this time . In the 15th century the town charter was lost.

On December 20, 1538, Anton Fugger, who was elevated to imperial count in 1530, acquired the feudal lordship of Babenhausen from Duke Ulrich von Württemberg . He acquired the rule itself on January 23, 1539 from the brothers Jörg von Rechberg zu Kellmünz and Gaudenz von Rechberg zu Osterberg. His descendants, the Fugger von der Lilie , had hereditary imperial and district estates in the Swabian district from 1583 and belonged to the Swabian Imperial Counts College .

patio

Construction work on the new palace complex began in 1541, the cost of which amounted to 36,000 florins . The existing Rechbergschloss was completely rebuilt, to the north of it the New Castle was built. The shell of this was already finished in 1543 . In the same year the windows one and two weather vanes were put on the roof. A transverse tract that connects the two parallel castle tracts and the church on the west side dates from the same time. The year 1543 is written in the passage of the transverse tract. At the same time, the office wing in the east and the gate tower to the east were built. The brewery and the Zehentstadel in the northeast of the facility, located directly on Fuggerstrasse, followed shortly afterwards. In order to be able to build ramparts and ditches around the castle, especially on the west side, Anton Fugger acquired some houses from the neighborhood between 1544 and 1546 and had them demolished. Including the former rectory. In the documents from this time, the master Quirin Knoll from Augsburg is named as the main architect. Knoll was supported by the foremen Hans Fischgatter from Augsburg (mentioned in 1542) and Gilg Praun from Wessobrunn . The carpenter was probably Ulrich Beck from Augsburg, mentioned in 1543, with his foreman Lienhardt Hainlin, also from Augsburg. The interior expansion work dragged on over several years. Hans Breithart from Augsburg created a fireplace out of Salzburg marble in 1545 and another out of white marble in 1547. Hans Wisreuter from Munich was employed as a master box maker on the construction site in 1547, probably to produce coffered ceilings. Both the east gable of the New Palace and the entrance gate to the east forecourt are marked with the year 1562 . Other major expenditures for the interior furnishings were incurred in 1572. Jonas Holl, a stepbrother of Elias Holl , was engaged in further construction work in 1590.

In 1633 the castle was occupied by the Swedes for six months, who took furniture to Finland. Further redesigns and refurbishments took place in two main phases in the 18th century. From 1737 to 1747, Count Franz Carl Fugger redesigned the New Palace and the western transverse structure. After his death in 1758, his widow Countess Maria Josepha Antonia continued the renovation work from 1759 to 1762 based on designs by Johann Michael Fischer. During this time, the interior of the Rechberghaus, which the Countess lived in until her death in 1771, was redesigned.

In 1803 the Principality of Babenhausen was formed from the dominions of Babenhausen and Kettershausen, and Count Anselm Maria Fugger von Babenhausen was elevated to the rank of imperial prince . With the Rhine Confederation Act in 1806, the principality came under the rule of the Kingdom of Bavaria . Prince Leopold Fugger had all the facades redesigned in a uniform and simple manner in 1845. The facade was given the slight echoes of the neo-Gothic with framed windows and stepped gables instead of the small, curly wavy edge from the 16th century. Until 1848, the place was the seat of the Princely Fugger court in Babenhausen. In the years before 1914, various rooms in the New Palace were redesigned by the Munich architect Ernst Haiger and the Munich-based art dealer Jakob Doppler at the instigation of Princess Nora Fugger . The upper hallway was redesigned as the ancestral hall.

The Fugger Museum in the castle was established in 1955 by Friedrich Carl Fugger. The facility, which is still owned by the Fugger family, was renovated in 1956.

Building description

The stately and diverse castle complex occupies the edge of a plateau and, with its mighty western front, dominates the market that has unfolded at its feet in the valley of the Günz. The rake mining dates from the time after 1378. Under Anton Fugger and his descendants, the complex was steadily expanded and the St. Andreas church was closely connected to the palace complex. The tower of the church was included as the corner tower of the castle. In addition to the New Palace, extensive business facilities, a brewery, Zehentstadel, law firm, etc. a. - Ancestral Hall and library redesigned according to designs by the Munich architect Ernst Haiger (completed in 1914).

literature

  • Georg Dehio: Handbook of the German art monuments - Bavaria III - Swabia . Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-422-03116-6 , pp. 161-163 .
  • Heinrich Habel: District Illertissen . Ed .: Torsten Gebhard and Adam Horn. tape 27 . Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich 1967, p. 38-53 .
  • Princess Nora Fugger: In the splendor of the imperial era . Vienna / Munich 1980, p. 424 .
  • Markus Graf Fugger: Fugger Museum Schloss Babenhausen . Munich / Zurich 1990.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation: Entry E-7-78-115-1

Web links

Commons : Fuggerschloss Babenhausen  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 48 ° 8 ′ 35.3 "  N , 10 ° 15 ′ 18.7"  E