Friedrichsthal Castle
The Friedrichsthal Castle in Gotha ( Thuringia ) is a baroque palace complex east of the castle peace stone from the first decade of the 18th century.
history
Between 1708 and 1711, Duke Friedrich II of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1676–1732) had a summer palace built to the east below the fortifications of Friedenstein Castle , on the avenue in front of Siebleber Tor . Based on the model of the Versailles Palace by the Duke of Gothaischen Oberbaudirektor Wolf Christoph Zorn von Plobsheim (1655-1721) as a baroque three-wing complex, the palace was named after the Duke and because of its location "Friedrichsthal".
Behind the castle (on the east side) a baroque pleasure garden with numerous statues, water features and a grotto was created, which is no longer preserved due to later buildings (Ducal District and Regional Court 1894-1896, Ducal Rent Office 1906-1908).
Opposite the castle (on the west side) the Ordonnanzhaus was built at the same time, in which the ducal bodyguard was housed on horseback. Behind the Ordonnanzhaus, a terraced garden with a greenhouse was created as a connection to the higher level Schloss Friedenstein , which housed the ducal collection of orangery plants. This baroque garden, known as the Ordonnanzgarten (forerunner of today's orangery ), was separated from the castle by the avenue in front of the Siebleber Gate and was not architecturally aligned with it. The entire complex of the palace, the associated pleasure garden and the ordinance garden has been handed down through a very detailed copper engraving from 1730 (see picture).
On behalf of Duke Friedrich III. von Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg (1699–1772) and his wife Luise Dorothée (1710–1767) expanded the Ordonnanzgarten by the builder Johann Erhard Straßburger (1675–1754) into a more extensive orangery. In order to be able to accommodate the growing ducal collection of exotic plants, the orangery was built between 1747 and 1767 instead of the Ordonnanzhaus and Ordonnanzgarten, based on plans by the Weimar regional construction director Gottfried Heinrich Krohne (1703-1756). He planned a uniform, symmetrical overall system in tea shape with two large orange houses and neighboring greenhouses on the north and south sides. He aligned the ensemble with Friedrichsthal Castle in such a way that the buildings of the orangery look like an extension of the side wings of the castle and form an architecturally and visually appealing connection to the park and Friedenstein Castle above .
In 1781 the Duke Gothaische Oberbaumeister Johann David Weidner designed the expanding wing structures for the Schloss Friedrichsthal, which however were not executed until 1793 by his son, the Duke Gothaischen Landbaumeister Friedrich David Weidner (1757-1825).
In 1821, Duke August von Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg gave his wife Karoline Amalie the castle (together with the nearby Winter Palace and the Tea Castle ), which the Duchess used as her summer residence until her death in 1848. In the 1860s and 1870s, the palace was the residence of the Viennese Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1824-1884), brother of the Portuguese titular King Ferdinand II (1816-1885), and on April 23, 1861, he was in Vienna Schottenkirche wedded non-aristocratic wife Constanze Geiger (1835–1890, musical child prodigy, pianist, composer, actress). It was not a morganatic marriage (on the left hand) . Prince Leopold and Constanze Geiger had officially married Catholics in Vienna without first obtaining permission from Duke Ernst II of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha . On October 12, 1862, Ernst II nevertheless ennobled Constanze Geiger to Baroness von Ruttenstein. The initially very tense relationship between Duke Ernst and Prince Leopold and Constanze turned into a friendly one after the ennoblement in 1863. With her experience as an actress, Freifrau von Ruttenstein worked alongside Duke Ernst in private performances at the Ekhof Theater in Schloss Friedenstein and also at the Coburg Court Theater (Minna von Barnhelm).
The Gothic State Ministry was housed in the castle until 1918, then the district office until 1945. The castle was more easily damaged in air raids in 1944/45. After the end of the Second World War, the headquarters of the Soviet Military Administration in Germany (SMAD) was initially located there before the School of Engineering for Transport Operations Technology (now the State College for Construction, Economics and Transport) moved here in 1958. The operating field located there today was opened on December 21, 1966.
Due to the numerous renovations, the historical building fabric inside the castle has changed so much over time that only remnants of the baroque furnishings (including the staircase) are preserved today. The castle, which is in the hands of the city, can only be viewed from the inside on the annual “Open Day” of the college.
Building description
The castle is a classic baroque three-wing complex with a central wing and originally two side wings that enclose a courtyard. Each of the side wings - offset to the outside - was preceded by a one-story pavilion. These two pavilions were replaced by two-story wing structures as early as 1793 and still shape the image of the castle today. With the exception of the central projection of the main facade facing west, its facades are kept simple. The main portal shows a round arch framed by Ionic wall columns, flanked on both sides by Ionic pilasters with cranked, Roman- Corinthian entablature with urns at the corners. The flat arched gable was originally adorned by two reclining female figures, which are no longer preserved today. The three windows above have arched gables with horizontal corners. A profiled main cornice in the Roman-Corinthian style rests on four Corinthian pilasters protruding on the upper floor, which is adorned by a wide triangular gable with the large coat of arms of the House of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg .
The manorial rooms were originally located in the middle wing and the northern side wing (here the spacious staircase with heavy balusters built on a square floor plan is still preserved, the walls of the stairwell are structured with Ionic pilasters, while the flat ceiling shows a simple coffered division). The main entrance to the castle was in the central axis of the building, but the former entrance hall with Ionic wall columns is now built in. An octagonal room with shell niches and mirror vaults originally adjoining the hall is still partially preserved. The upper floor of the middle wing contains a large hall with simple ceiling stucco in the axis, facing the street . On the garden side, there is a gallery, which was a scaled-down copy of the Versailles Hall of Mirrors . After 1945, however, the mirrors and almost all wall and ceiling stucco were removed, only the pilasters on the walls remained. A balcony with a graceful wrought-iron railing leads from the gallery to the former baroque garden on the east side of the palace. Some rooms on the upper floor still have stucco work with angels and garlands in the Rococo style , some of which are interrupted by partition walls that were inserted later.
Today's use and interior design
The building has been used since 1991 by today's technical college for construction, economics and transport in Gotha for the training of transport specialists and, since December 21, 1966, by engineers . Training courses also take place at:
A model railway on a scale of 1:87 ( nominal size H0 ) is linked to the real signal boxes, which transmits all actions of the dispatcher (setting points or signals) and thus simulates a real operational sequence. There is also a room with computers for ESTW simulation (not linked to the model railway).
literature
- Walther Volkland: The architectural and art monuments of the city of Gotha . In: Kurt Schmidt (Ed.): Gotha - the book of a German city . Book VI. Engelhard-Reyhersche Hofdruckerei, Gotha 1929, p. 19-25 .
- E. Schenk zu Schweinsberg : Friedrichsthal Castle in Gotha . In: The Thuringian Flag. Monthly magazine for the Central German homeland . Issue 4. Gustav Neuenhahn, Jena 1939, p. 125-129 .
- Ralph Braun: In Twenty Years of International Coburg Johann Strauss Encounters , Coburg 2007; from page 27 (PDF; 2.4 MB)
Individual evidence
- ^ Lexicon article by the Sophie Drinker Institute
- ↑ Contribution to the Baroness von Ruttenstein in the Austrian Biographical Lexicon from 1815 , accessed on June 20, 2012 (PDF; 165 kB)
- ↑ http://www.fachschule-gotha.de/info/Jubilaeen.html
- ↑ http://ebf-gotha.de/index.php?page=940789930&f=1&i=940789930
Web links
- Homepage of the Gotha Orangery
- Search for Schloss Friedrichsthal in the German Digital Library
- Homepage of the technical college for construction, economy and transport Gotha
- Homepage of the Gotha railway operations field
Coordinates: 50 ° 56 ′ 50 ″ N , 10 ° 42 ′ 37 ″ E