Mansion of the Dukes of Mecklenburg

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The manor of the Dukes of Mecklenburg, view of the courtyard facade
Overall view of the plant
View of the courtyard projection with the main portal. On the upper floor are the windows of the ballroom

The manor house of the Dukes of Mecklenburg in Ratzeburg in Schleswig-Holstein was the planned residence of the Mecklenburg-Strelitz Dukes for stays in the exclave of their property located at the Ratzeburg Cathedral . Although actually a castle according to this definition , the building is commonly referred to as a mansion . The baroque palace is the most important secular building in the city of Ratzeburg and has housed the district museum of the Duchy of Lauenburg since 1973 .

history

While the town and castle Ratzeburg belonged to the Duchy of Saxony-Lauenburg , the monastery area with the Domhof Ratzeburg on the Ratzeburg city island came into the hands of the Duchy of Mecklenburg in 1648 as a result of the Peace of Westphalia as the Principality of Ratzeburg and after its division in 1701 it went to the Partial Duchy of Mecklenburg -Strelitz .

The predecessor of today's mansion was in 1660 as a summer home for the Duke Christian Ludwig I built. In 1764 the now dilapidated small castle was torn down and under the supervision of the chief FW von dem Knesebeck today's mansion was built for Adolf Friedrich IV , who did not visit the building once. In the course of the construction work, the planned summer residence was five times more expensive than originally planned and brought the actual builder - among other projects - to the brink of ruin. The original castle served as the mansion and official residence of the ducal administrators until 1815. In 1840 the cathedral was given it and used it as a residential building until 1970, but it never belonged to the church and ultimately became the property of the state of Schleswig-Holstein.

In 1971, after the use of the Dompröpste ended, the state gave the rights of use to the building complex to the Duchy of Lauenburg, which in return undertook to restore and maintain it at its own expense. At that time, the district museum was already housed in the northern outbuilding, but its area was very limited. It was therefore decided to make the entire complex available for the museum and at the same time to create a location for concerts and events in the ballroom. The restoration took place between 1971 and 1973 and was used to repair dilapidated parts of the building and to equip the building in accordance with the requirements of a modern museum. The wooden beam ceiling between the ground floor and the upper floor was replaced by a reinforced concrete ceiling , the load-bearing middle walls on the first floor made of half-timbered buildings with brick walls. The rococo hall received a parquet floor made of oak instead of the existing, simple wooden floor ; The candle holders on the walls and the large chandelier in the middle of the room are also modern . An old chimney was uncovered in the kitchen, which is now part of the exhibition. The northern outbuilding was connected to the main building by an inconspicuous, modern corridor; the southern outbuilding has been renovated.

In 1973 the district museum, which deals with the history of the city of Ratzeburg and the Duchy of Lauenburg, moved into the renovated building. The old salons provide the setting for various topics such as the history of the Ascanians , the duchy during the Thirty Years War , a collection of mechanical musical instruments or regional finds from prehistoric times. In addition, changing special exhibitions are presented in the showrooms and the ballroom on the main floor regularly serves as a venue for concerts and readings.

building

The mansion is a two-story, eleven-axis building made entirely of brick. The building is sparsely accented with white stucco , the window openings highlighted with white whitewash. The three-axis central projection is emphasized by a high gable on both sides of the palace. The courtyard side is surrounded by two side farm buildings, which were originally only connected to the main house by low walls and thus formed a closed courtyard . The farmhouses served as stables and carriage shed and are now part of the museum's exhibition area. The northern building is connected to the manor house on the back of the wall by a modern, glass gallery.

The interior of the baroque house is symmetrical. Of the original furnishings in the salons, the stucco work by Johann Nepomuk Metz, some over- portals and part of the parquet have been preserved, while the small furniture inventory is now mainly provided by the museum.

View through the ballroom

Through the main portal you enter a spacious vestibule , which also serves as a staircase and from which two individual flights of stairs lead to the upper floor. The artistically most important room on the ground floor is the centrally located garden room, which leads directly to the top terrace of the former hillside garden. The preserved kitchen with the large, open and flue-free stove is remarkable. In addition to the smaller salons that were originally used for residential purposes, the upper floor mainly houses the large ballroom. The room, designed in cheerful Rococo shapes, is kept in turquoise and white and takes up the width of the gabled risalits and the entire depth of the house. Its vault extends to the top floor, so that the ballroom - in relation to the building - appears surprisingly large. In keeping with its purpose as a party room and music room, the decoration of the stucco consists of musical instruments and intertwined rocailles .

Web links

Commons : Mansion of the Dukes of Mecklenburg  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Hanns Engelhardt: The manor house on the cathedral courtyard in Ratzeburg . In: Lauenburg homeland . No. 80 , August 1974, p. 27-35 .

Coordinates: 53 ° 42 ′ 9.2 "  N , 10 ° 46 ′ 31.7"  E