Branitz Castle

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Branitz Castle (2015)

The Branitz Palace is a baroque palace in Cottbus . It is part of the Branitzer Park and is one of the architectural monuments of the city of Cottbus . Branitz Castle is located in the district of Sandow , the nearest town is Branitz .

history

Branitz Castle seen from the south

Branitz Castle was built in 1770 and 1771 for August Heinrich Graf von Pückler (1720–1810). The Count family Pückler had already come into possession of the village of Branitz in 1686. In 1785 the family relocated their headquarters to Muskau Castle in Bad Muskau and Branitz was leased. Hermann von Pückler-Muskau eventually had to sell Muskau Castle and the associated park for financial reasons and moved to Branitz in 1845. There he began to create a landscape park based on the English model. From the following year, the Branitz Palace was subjected to extensive renovation work by construction managers from the Berlin Building Academy . The architects Rudolf Wilhelm Gottgetreu , Eduard Titz and Ferdinand von Arnim took over the planning .

Hermann von Pückler-Muskau used Branitz Castle as a retirement home; he died in the castle on February 4, 1871; He was buried in the sea pyramid in Branitzer Park. Heinrich Graf von Pückler, a step-cousin of Hermann, then lived in the castle. In 1934 the Branitz Park with the castle was reclassified from the then still independent community of Branitz to Cottbus, after the Second World War the princes of Pückler were expropriated and Branitz Castle became public property . Since then, the castle is used as a museum, from 1946 to 1961 was in the building the Cottbus city museum and then to 1990, the District Museum of the district Cottbus . Today the museum shows the living environment of the Pücklers as well as a collection of paintings by the Cottbus landscape painter Carl Blechen . 1978 to 1981 the castle was restored; another restoration took place after the fall of the Wall from 1991 to 1999. The original color of the castle from the Pückler period was restored. The interior of the castle is currently being renovated.

Like the park, the castle has belonged to the Fürst-Pückler-Museum Park und Schloss Branitz Foundation established by the city of Cottbus since 1995 and is a monument of the city of Cottbus in the list of monuments of the state of Brandenburg . Efforts are currently being made to include the Branitzer Park and thus also the castle in the UNESCO World Heritage Site . In 2012, the park with the castle and all of the outbuildings were visited by 200,000 people, the museums and exhibitions by around 63,000 people. Since May 27, 2019, Branitz Park with Branitz Castle has been part of the European Garden Heritage Network .

Outbuildings

Royal stable and cavalier house

The royal stables are located in the castle courtyard north of the castle. The building was built in the second half of the 18th century while the palace was being built and served as a stable for the Counts of Pückler-Muskau. It was also included in the renovation work in the middle of the 19th century. In 1877 further construction work was carried out, between 1991 and 1993 the stables, which had been neglected during the GDR era, were renovated. Today the Marstall serves various special exhibitions as well as the family exhibition “In search of the petrified prince”.

The Kavaliershaus was built some time before the palace was built, probably in the first quarter of the 18th century, and housed the court . In 1857 and 1858 it was included in the palace renovation. A restaurant has been located in the Kavaliershaus since 1988, which initially belonged to the trade organization and was privately run after its dissolution in 1990. In January 2019 the building was temporarily closed for renovation purposes.

  • The Kavaliershaus in July 2014

  • Coat of arms of the Counts of Pückler on the Kavaliershaus

  • View of the royal stables from the castle

Manor and former forge

View of the former estate and today's visitor center
Former park forge

The manor at Branitz Castle is located a little to the north of the castle. It was built during the castle renovation under Hermann von Pückler-Muskau between 1852 and 1858 and consists of an inspector's house, two stable and residential buildings and a barn. The stables were historically used as sheep pens. Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau managed his estates from the manor house. Farm animals were also kept in a horse stable belonging to the estate, while Pückler's favorite horses were housed in the very luxuriously furnished stables. Between 2000 and 2003 all buildings belonging to the manor were renovated; today the manor is used as a visitor center and for exhibitions.

The forge was built between 1849 and 1851. It marks the historic main entrance to the park. In addition to the manufacture of horseshoes, tools and wagon tires, the building was also a gatehouse for Branitzer Park. A blacksmith's workshop is still operated in the building today. After a renovation between 2000 and 2003, the archive of the Fürst-Pückler-Museum is set up on the upper floor.

architecture

lock

Coat of arms of the Princes zu Pückler in the central gable of Branitz Castle

The castle is a plastered three-wing complex with mansard hipped roofs . The thirteen-axis building has a late Baroque structure, with plaster ashlar at the corners and recessed fields between the floors. A three-axis central risalit on the side facing the courtyard is highlighted by rocaille ornaments and stucco hangings . In the middle of the risalit is the entrance portal with a richly paneled oak door. The coat of arms of the Princes zu Pückler and an inscription in the triangular gable above the risalit indicate the builder and the construction date of the castle.

The part facing the garden has two side wings that frame a courtyard . Since the renovation in 1846, the central projection there has had a segmented arched gable with the Pückler tribal coat of arms. The surrounding terrace on the eastern side of the castle was added to the castle during the renovation in 1849, the terrace can be reached via a two-flight flight of stairs .

Inside, the castle's dining room with its stucco ceiling as well as boiserie and furniture from the neo-renaissance is to be highlighted. The music hall facing the park is equipped with a stucco ceiling made of musical instruments, pendants and medallions. The chimney with the tribal coat of arms of the Princes von Pückler in this hall probably also dates from the renovation period around 1850. The vestibule shows an ancestral gallery of the von Pückler and von Callenberg families . The library, which has grown over time, currently comprises around 4,200 volumes and was last extensively renovated in 2007. Blechen's works are exhibited in the gallery rooms on the upper floor.

  • Park side

  • Central projection on the courtyard side with entrance portal

  • Dining room

  • Room on the upper floor of the castle

  • Part of the castle library

Outbuildings

The Marstall and the Cavaliers House of Branitz Castle are influenced by the English Tudor style. The stables are relatively lavishly equipped with a wooden, finely designed ceiling construction and blue-gold paintings for a stable. Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau kept his noble favorite horses in the stables. His relationship to these animals is also evident in the construction of the building. The Pückler tribal coat of arms can be found on the north gable of the Kavaliershaus. The western gable shows a zinc cast replica of the Madonna statue created by Friedrich Drake in 1829 .

literature

Web links

Commons : Branitz Castle  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ BrandenburgViewer of the state survey and geographic base information Brandenburg (LGB)
  2. ↑ a b Branitzer Park with 200,000 visitors in 2012. In: Niederlausitz aktuell , December 16, 2012, accessed on April 28, 2019.
  3. ^ Christian Taubert: Branitzer Park fights for the world cultural heritage. In: Lausitzer Rundschau , December 29, 2012, accessed on April 28, 2019.
  4. ↑ Michael Helbig: Branitz is now a member of the European garden network. In: Lausitzer Rundschau , May 27, 2019, accessed on June 9, 2019.
  5. ^ Marstall & Parkschmiede in Branitz. In: cottbus-tourismus.de. Retrieved April 28, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Kavaliershaus closes its doors in 2019. , Märkischer Bote, January 4, 2019, accessed on July 28, 2019.
  7. ^ Georg Dehio: Handbook of the German art monuments : Brandenburg. Edited by Gerhard Vinken and others, reviewed by Barbara Rimpel. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich / Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-422-03123-4 , p. 217.
  8. ↑ Peggy Kompalla: Cavalier House at Branitz Castle is being renovated. In: Lausitzer Rundschau , January 2, 2019, accessed on April 28, 2019.
  9. ^ Georg Dehio: Handbook of the German art monuments : Brandenburg. Edited by Gerhard Vinken and others, reviewed by Barbara Rimpel. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich / Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-422-03123-4 , p. 219.
  10. ↑ Adventure world Gutshof Branitz. City of Cottbus, accessed on April 28, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Prince Pückler's forge. In: pueckler-museum.eu. Retrieved April 28, 2019 .
  12. ^ Georg Dehio: Handbook of the German art monuments : Brandenburg. Edited by Gerhard Vinken and others, reviewed by Barbara Rimpel. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich / Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-422-03123-4 , pp. 215-217.

Coordinates: 51 ° 44 ′ 31.7 ″  N , 14 ° 22 ′ 8.6 ″  E