Piast Castle (Brzeg)
The Piast Castle in Brzeg (also Silesian Wawel , Polish Zamek Piastów Śląskich ) (Ger. Brieg ) in the Opole Voivodeship is a palace complex in the Renaissance style . It is one of the most important Renaissance castles in East Central Europe. It is located in the north-western old town of Brzeg near the Oder on Zamkowy Square. The Piast Castle consists of the castle building, a gate building and the St. Hedwig's Chapel. Today the premises house the Piast Museum.
history
A castle is mentioned for the first time in the same place in 1235. This was converted into a castle under Duke Bolko I. von Schweidnitz .
The palace complex received its current appearance primarily during the renovations between 1532 and 1595. Under the Italian architects Jakub Parr, Franz Pahr and Bernhard Niuron, the palace was rebuilt in the Renaissance style on behalf of Dukes Friedrich II and George II . Between 1544 and 1547 the north-east wing towards the Oder was completed. In 1550 the north-east wing was completed, and in 1550 the south wing facing the city. In 1554 the gate and the loggias were completed. Further architectural details were added in the following decades by A. Walther the Elder and G. Cuneo.
In the centuries that followed, the castle was the seat of various dukes and institutions. In 1682 the palace became the seat of the imperial administration for the Piastic properties. The castle was also used by various Austrian and Saxon princes. From 1700 to 1701 the interior of the palace was renovated. In 1741 two thirds of the castle were destroyed by fire. The destroyed walls were torn down between 1742 and 1743. The remaining rooms were partly renovated and converted into storage rooms. Construction of the northeast wing began in 1744 and was completed in 1746.
In 1801 the north-west wing was destroyed by fire. The reconstruction was completed in 1805. In 1807 the most valuable items of furniture were transferred to Berlin. In 1817 a conversion plan was drawn up under the architect Carl Ferdinand Langhans , which was never implemented. In 1922 the military camp in the castle was closed. In the same year the castle was taken over by the city of Brieg, which in 1930 had a museum set up in the south wing.
In 1945 the castle was partially destroyed during the fighting for the city of Brzeg. Above all, the northeast wing and the interiors from the 2nd floor onwards were destroyed. Only the surrounding walls of the north-west wing remained. Between 1947 and 1949, security measures were taken on the ruins. Between 1966 and 1990 the palace was rebuilt and the arcade courtyard was reconstructed.
architecture
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Castle construction
The three-winged Piast Castle has a trapezoidal inner courtyard with arcades in the Renaissance style. The castle has a three- to five-storey wing on a rectangular floor plan. The building has a barrel vault in the basement. The exterior facade is decorated with arched portals, numerous arabesques and numerous medallions with heads and rosettes.
At the southwest corner is the Gothic lion tower on a square floor plan. After several fires and destruction in 1945, the tower was reconstructed in the middle of the 20th century.
St. Hedwig's Chapel
The chapel stands on the foundations of the former collegiate church from 1360. The present chapel was built between 1783 and 1784. In 1908 the chapel was rebuilt in the neo-Gothic style. In 1962 archaeological investigations were carried out on the chapel. The chapel has been permanently renovated since 1970.
The three-bay chapel has a rectangular floor plan. The baroque main altar inside, with a painting of St. Hedwig , dates from 1785 and was built by B. Krause. The baroque pulpit was built at the same time. In the vestibule of the chapel there is a statue of St. Hedwig from 1370. Furthermore, ornaments from the Renaissance have been preserved on the outer facade. There are 22 sarcophagi from the 16th and 17th centuries in the crypt. In the tower room there is a sarcophagus decorated with lions, in which the bones of Elisabeth Marie Charlotte von Pfalz-Simmern , the second wife of Prince George II , lie.
Gate building
The southern gate building is made of yellow sandstone and was built between 1550 and 1554 under the architect Jakub Parr. Originally the building was crowned with a hexagonal tower, which was destroyed in a fire in 1741. The building has a proportional structure with a three-axis and three-storey facade. On the ground floor there are two round arched passage openings with barrel and cross cap vaults.
Above the passage there are sculptural stone figures with depictions of Duke Georg II and his wife Barbara von Brandenburg . Above is the foundation inscription with the year 1553. In addition to the stone figures, there are the coats of arms of the Piast dukes of Liegnitz-Brieg and the Brandenburg electors. To the side of each stand there are squires holding the coat of arms again. Above the piano there is a series of friezes depicting 24 Silesian and Polish Piast dukes, including the Piast Duke Friedrich II.
A balustrade, reconstructed in 1935, forms the top of the gate building. In the central axis is the coat of arms of the Polish King Sigismund August.
museum
The building houses the Piast Museum. The history of the city and the Silesian Piast line, as well as Silesian sculpture and painting from the 15th to the 18th centuries are exhibited (collection of the National Museum in Wroclaw). These include paintings by the famous Silesian painter of the Baroque era, Michael Willmann . The museum's collection also includes the coffins of the Liegnitz-Wohlau-Brieger princes and the hunter's bow (14th century) excavated in Mleczna Street, which is considered to be the only surviving example of such a weapon in Poland.
literature
- Dehio Handbook of Art Monuments in Poland. Silesia. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich et al. 2005, ISBN 3-422-03109-X , pp. 179–1183.
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 51 '48.3 " N , 17 ° 27' 59.7" E