Kochberg Castle

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Entire ensemble
Garden bridge
Flowerbed in the castle park

The former manor with Kochberg Castle is located in central Thuringia in Großkochberg near Rudolstadt and is best known from several visits by Goethe .

History and owner

The facility is grouped around a central square, the “Plattenhof”. The oldest part of the building is the "High House" in the southeast, a medieval residential tower that dates back to the moated castle first mentioned in 1380. The earliest detailed description of the castle dates from 1659. It mentions a spring in the castle park and a pipe that fed the square moat from the so-called mountain pond. Probably the only access to the castle at that time was a drawbridge in the east. The building that dominates today, the "High House" in the west of the complex, dates from the 17th century and is built in the Renaissance style. Later, a park was created in the west and north of the palace, which is connected by a bridge to the central ensemble of buildings. Another bridge leads south to the farm yard.

A noble family of the same name, which presumably goes back to this castle, has been proven as early as the 13th century. Hartmann von Kochberg died in 1506. His widow married Siegfried von Schönberg , who thereby also received the castle. His heir Georg von Schönberg sold the castle to Balthasar von Kochberg . In 1733 the barons of Stein-Kochberg came into possession of the castle. Due to his friendship with Charlotte von Stein , Johann Wolfgang von Goethe visited Kochberg Castle several times, for the first time on December 6th, 1775 and for the last time on September 5th, 1788. Goethe also made several drawings of the castle. In 1938 Charlotte's last heir, Felix von Stein, died . The current owner of the property is the Klassik Stiftung Weimar . Descendants of the Stein family live in Denmark with restitution claims on parts of the furnishings. In negotiations, the permanent loan is to be achieved for some pieces and the acquisition for others.

use

A Goethe memorial was inaugurated on August 27, 1949. After extensive restoration, the castle was reopened to the public in 1975. Up until the fall of the Berlin Wall, the castle was a rest home for the GDR Culture Fund . At the beginning of the nineties an attempt was made to operate the castle as a hotel. In 2011 the castle was closed to the public for restoration work. The palace ensemble, which was extensively restored for 2 million euros, was reopened in April 2012. In the castle there is a restaurant and a castle museum. Its most valuable exhibits are two of Goethe's desks.

The amateur theater

Hobby theater

At the entrance to the castle park is the lovers' theater, which Carl von Stein had built around 1800, whereby the original two-storey baroque garden house was converted, expanded and supplemented by a columned portico and a large, bright stage room. The interior was designed with marble paper. Since reopening after the restoration in 1975, a lively theater and concert life with internationally renowned artists has taken place here between Easter and late autumn. The theater has 75 seats and thus offers its very own, intimate atmosphere for theater and opera performances, chamber music events and readings. In 1993 the world premiere of Philipp Christoph Kayser's Goethe opera Scherz, List und Rache (1787) took place here.

The theater has been taken over by the Liebhabertheater Schloss Kochberg eV association. From May to October, the theater invites you to opera, theater performances and chamber concerts with renowned artists in the small, authentic theater from Goethe's time on the weekends, with a special focus on historical performance practice.

Literary references

  • Hanns Cibulka : declaration of love in K, diary entries . Mitteldeutscher Verlag, Halle (Saale) 1974.
  • Sigrid Damm : I'm not Ottilie. Novel. Insel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main / Leipzig 1992.
  • Felix Fhr. Von Stein-Kochberg: In Kochberg, the realm of Charlotte von Stein . JJ Weber, Leipzig 1936 ( Weberschiffchen-Bücherei 15).

Web links

Commons : Schloss Kochberg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Grit König: The jewel will be further polished. Kochberg Castle restored for around two million euros . Thuringian newspaper, March 28, 2012.

Coordinates: 50 ° 46 ′ 35 ″  N , 11 ° 21 ′ 27 ″  E