Kirchheim Castle (Teck)

Kirchheim around 1683. The castle is in the center of the picture on the city wall

Kirchheim Castle is located on the edge of the old town of Kirchheim unter Teck . This renaissance - castle is a well-preserved state fortress in the Duchy of Württemberg .

history

Castle and pleasure garden in Kirchheim unter Teck, watercolor 1851

After his return from exile, Duke Ulrich von Württemberg had seven state fortresses built in order to better protect his territory from the outside world. As part of these measures, the city fortifications of Kirchheim / Teck were expanded and the castle was built as a corner bastion of the city wall from 1538. The simple functional building with two half-timbered floors above a massive base was completed in 1556 under Ulrich's son and successor, Duke Christoph . Initially, the modest castle served the sovereigns for defense and occasionally as a hunting lodge. When the plague raged in the royal seat of Stuttgart in 1594 , Duke Friedrich I moved the court here. With the decreasing importance as a state fortress, the expansion to a residential palace went hand in hand.

The diamond-shaped, irregular four-wing complex is surrounded by a deep moat, which has now been drained. The city wall is attached to one side.

The residents

From 1628 Kirchheim became the residence of the ducal widows again and again for two centuries. Other widow seats were the castles in Nürtingen and Göppingen . The residents included:

• 1628–1632 Duchess Barbara Sophie (1584–1636), daughter of Elector Joachim Friedrich of Brandenburg and wife of Duke Johann Friedrich .
• 1675–1690 Duchess Maria Dorothea (1639–1698), b. Countess von Oettingen was the wife of Duke Eberhard III.
• 1694–1712 Duchess Magdalena Sibylla (1652–1712), daughter of Landgrave Ludwig VI. von Hessen-Darmstadt and Maria Elisabeth von Holstein-Gottorp. She was the wife of Duke Wilhelm Ludwig von Württemberg . The elaborate furnishings of the chapel in Schloss Kirchheim can be traced back to them.
• 1735–1757 Duchess Johanna Elisabeth (1680–1757), daughter of Margrave Friedrich Magnus of Baden-Durlach and wife of Duke Eberhard Ludwig .
• 1795–1811 Duchess Franziska (1748–1811). She moved into the palace from January 22, 1795 as the widow of Duke Carl Eugen and had it redesigned inside and out by the ducal architect Reinhard Ferdinand Heinrich Fischer for this purpose . New portals were built, two small rooms were added on the first floor and a palace terrace was created. The rooms were furnished in the Empire style.
• 1811–1857 Duchess Henriette (1780–1857), daughter of Prince Karl von Nassau-Weilburg and Princess Karoline of Orange . Initially together with her husband, Duke Ludwig Friedrich Alexander von Württemberg (1756–1817). She is buried in the Stuttgart collegiate church.

Todays use

Renaissance castle

After the death of Duchess Henriette, the Kirchheim Castle was used for different purposes. In 1870 and 1871 it served as a hospital for the wounded in the Franco-German war. From 1876 to 1908 the young Catholic parish held its services in the castle chapel. From 1911 to 1948 the city's women's labor school, a kindergarten and apartments were housed. In 1947, the state of Baden-Württemberg assigned the castle to the State Housekeeping Seminar, founded in 1923, for teaching and boarding purposes. In 1971 the pedagogical institute and specialist seminar took over the legal successor to the housekeeping seminar and uses the castle to this day.

Kirchheim Palace is one of the state's own monuments and is looked after by the State Palaces and Gardens of Baden-Württemberg . The stately living rooms on the south exterior of the second floor are set up as a castle museum and are open to visitors. They are dedicated to the last two residents Franziska and Henriette. Much of Franziska's furniture has been preserved, which is why the restorations in 1985 and 1997 were able to restore the condition to the time of Franziska von Hohenheim.

Web links

• Website of Kirchheim Castle

Coordinates: 48 ° 38 ′ 50 ″  N , 9 ° 26 ′ 58 ″  E