Pillnitz Castle

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Panorama of the Wasserpalais on the Elbe

The Pillnitz castle from the 18th century is situated on the Elbe in the former village of Pillnitz , which today as district to Dresden belongs. It essentially consists of three parts of the building: the Wasserpalais on the Elbe, the Bergpalais facing the slope and the New Palais connecting them on the east side. The baroque pleasure garden enclosed by the buildings is complemented by a surrounding palace park.

Pillnitz Castle is an excellent example of 18th century Chinese fashion . Shortly after completion, a meeting of princes took place here in 1791, the result of which went down in world history as the Pillnitz Declaration .

Today the Pillnitz Castle Museum is located in the New Palace , while the Museum of Applied Arts of the Dresden State Art Collection is housed in the Berg- und Wasserpalais .

The castle around 1800
Ruins of the old castle after the fire in 1818
View around 1880

Pillnitz is owned by the Free State of Saxony and by the state enterprise State Palaces, Castles and Gardens of Saxony operated.

history

The manor located roughly on the site of today's New Palais was one of two on Pillnitzer Flur, the beginnings of which date back to around 1400 (the other was located above the slope at the site of the artificial ruin that was later built ). The first-mentioned lower manor was developed as a defensible residential castle (with moat and drawbridge) and therefore later also referred to as a castle . Christoph Ziegler sold the Pillnitz manor to Christoph von Loß the Elder. Ä. , Thigh and councilor of Elector Christian I , who received the fief in 1569. In 1594 he laid the foundation stone for the castle church. His grandson Joachim , the "evil Loß", is said to haunt the castle as a black dog.

In 1640 Günther von Bünau inherited the castle. After further changes of ownership, Elector Johann Georg IV acquired Pillnitz in 1694 to give it to his mistress Magdalena Sibylla von Neitschütz . After Johann Georg's death in 1694, his brother Friedrich August (August the Strong) acquired the castle in 1706 through repurchase. Soon afterwards he gave it to his mistress, Countess von Cosel . In 1718 he took the castle back into his possession by expropriating it after the countess had fallen out of favor. It should now serve as a representative building for games and the entertainment of court society.

First construction period: 1720 to 1730

Central pavilion of the Wasserpalais with the stairs (1724) to the landing stage for the gondolas arriving from Dresden

August the Strong had the renaissance castle rebuilt and expanded in the baroque style from 1720 after he had planned the building measures in 1718. He soon began the work with the demolition of the castle church. The plans for the renovation were developed by Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann and Zacharias Longuelune , who brought in the early classical elements and the right-angled forms. Along with Moritzburg Castle and the Zwinger , the castle is one of the main works of the royal commissioned Dresden Baroque .

In 1721 the water palace in the form of three separate pavilions was completed on the banks of the Elbe . In 1722 the two side pavilions were connected to the central pavilion by corridors. The roofs and cornices of the water palace give a Chinese impression. The use of such East Asian and Oriental elements, so-called chinoiseries , enjoyed great popularity in the Baroque period. August wanted the palace to be designed in an "Indian" style, which meant oriental or Asian , basically Chinese , although there was not so much difference between the individual "exotic" cultures (cf. Japanese Palace in Dresden). The elegantly curved Pöppelmann's castle staircase was extended by Longuelune in 1724 as a grandiose ship staircase down to the Elbe, in such balanced proportions that it retains its gravity at every water level.

In the years 1723/1724 the Bergpalais was built as a mirror image of the Wasserpalais. Between the two was the pleasure garden, to the south the old castle. In 1724 the staircase leading down from the Wasserpalais to the Elbe was completed as a landing stage for the gondolas arriving from Dresden and the Weinbergkirche (also called Schlosskirche im Weinberg ) was built between 1723 and 1725 according to the design and under the direction of Pöppelmann . In 1725 August had the Temple of Venus built, an octagonal ballroom with four adjoining pavilions. Soon afterwards, August the Strong lost interest in Pillnitz and turned to the castles of Moritzburg and Großsedlitz .

Representation of a Chinese group of figures on the facade of the Bergpalais

Second construction period: 1778 to 1791

The castle was since 1765 by Elector Friedrich August III. used by Saxony , a great-grandson of Augustus the Strong, as a summer residence. This required new buildings, so that wing buildings were built on both sides of the Berg- and Wasserpalais. They were built by master builder Christian Friedrich Exner according to plans by Christian Traugott Weinlig and Johann Daniel Schade . The English Pavilion was built in 1780 and the Chinese Pavilion in 1804.

The New Palais today

The New Palais: 1819 to 1826

The castle and the Temple of Venus were completely destroyed by fire on May 1, 1818, while the water and mountain palaces remained intact. Thereupon King Friedrich August I commissioned the master builder Christian Friedrich Schuricht to build a new palace. It should both take over the functions of the old lock and complete the system. Construction work began in the spring of 1819. In 1822 the main building, which contains a classical, domed ballroom, was completed. From 1822 to 1823 the kitchen wing facing the Elbe was built with the royal court kitchen and the brewery. The chapel wing facing the Bergpalais with the Catholic chapel, consecrated in 1830, was built by 1826.

Castle buildings

Wasserpalais - In the foreground the Elbe island between Pillnitz and Kleinzschachwitz

The main buildings are the Wasserpalais (1720–1721) with its large flight of stairs to the Elbe, the Bergpalais (1722–1723) and the New Palais (1819–1826), which connects the water and mountain palaces.

The palace buildings were designed by Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann and, from 1724, by Zacharias Longuelune , a representative of the French classicist baroque . In a second construction phase from 1788 the wooden side wings of the palaces were replaced by stone buildings, designed by Christian Friedrich Exner and Christian Traugott Weinlig , who was also responsible for furnishing the interior of the palace. The equipment has been partially preserved to this day. This is how the Weinlig room , located in the Kaiser wing of the Bergpalais and restored between 1966 and 1971, presents itself with rich stucco decoration in the plaited style preferred by the architect Christian Traugott Weinlig .

Catholic chapel

The New Palais houses the domed hall, the Catholic chapel and the court kitchen. The domed hall, inaugurated in 1823, is the only classical domed building in Dresden. Six free-standing columns on each side support the hanging dome . The representative festival and dining room is decorated with paintings, etc. a. by Carl Christian Vogel von Vogelstein . He has wide access to the pleasure garden.

The Catholic Chapel in the New Palais is a hall church that was built from 1822 to 1829 and consecrated in 1830. Its rich furnishings and paintings by Carl Christian Vogel von Vogelstein are characteristic. The artist depicts scenes from the life of Mary on ten wall and ceiling panels, including on the altarpiece of the Assumption of the Virgin . On the west side, ie towards Lustgarten, is the sanctuary ; on the east side are the entrance with the gallery above for the Jehmlich organ .

The royal court kitchen has extensive equipment and is divided into various kitchen-specific areas, such as "mouth side", "frying side", "baking side", "spickkammer", "meat vault", "eating garden", "ice pit" and "kitchen clerk". Up to 27 employees took care of the physical well-being of the royal family and the court.

Castle Park

Bergpalais with a baroque pleasure garden
Camellia with greenhouse
English pavilion

While the gardens at the old castle were only used for business purposes, they were intensively expanded and rededicated after they were taken over by the Saxon electors. Countess von Cosel had the hedge gardens planted in 1712. Between the Bergpalais and the Wasserpalais, the baroque pleasure garden with fountains and bosquets was created , and above the Bergpalais around 1723 the large palace garden with its twelve rows of trees. Other extensions were the English Garden in 1778 and the Chinese Garden in 1790. From 1874 to 1880 a coniferous plantation with rare domestic and foreign conifers was laid out. The collection center created in this way for plants from all over the world now comprises six connected gardens on an area of ​​28 hectares.

The Pillnitz camellia, which is over 230 years old and around 8.90 meters high, is a botanical attraction. Planted in its current location in 1801, it is one of the oldest Japanese camellias in Europe . Up to 35,000 flowers appear in the period from February to April. In the warm season, the camellia's protective winter house is moved to the side. The air-conditioned, 54-tonne and 13.2-meter-high glass house was built in 1992 and replaced a wooden protective structure that had previously been set up and dismantled around the precious camellia at great expense for the cold half of the year.

In addition to the botanical treasures, other attractions in the park are the orangery , a pavilion in the English Garden, a Chinese pavilion, the Triton gondola and the palm house.

After visiting the castle park was free for 200 years, a debate began in 2005 about the introduction of an entrance fee, which led to an entrance fee being charged in the summer half of the year.

English garden with pavilion

Juno Ludovisi
Chinese pavilion

The English Garden was created in the spring of 1778 on land acquired in 1725 in the northwestern part of the park. The artificially created landscape in the style of a love of nature manages without essential accessories. Only a larger than life head of Juno Ludovisi , a bronze cast of the ancient woman's head in the Roman thermal bath museum , was placed on the island in the pond here in the 19th century.

In 1780 Johann Daniel Schade designed the English Pavilion, a round temple based on the model of the Tempietto in Rome. The three rooms inside are designed differently. While the pigtailed salon on the first floor surprises with its classy color scheme, the upper floor is white.

Chinese garden with a pavilion

The last expansion of the castle area took place through the acquisition of further properties in the northern part of the park in 1790, which also included a fountain pond. The Chinese garden, named after the pavilion built later, was created here.

The Chinese pavilion was built in 1804 under the direction of Christian Friedrich Schuricht . Its architecture reflects the reception of China at the time. The inside consists of only one room. Its wall surfaces are painted with eight Chinese landscape paintings, most likely by Johann Ludwig Giesel . The Chinese pavilion is considered to be the best European replica of a closed East Asian structure.

Triton gondola

Triton gondola

A red Elbe gondola (Triton gondola) belonging to Elector Friedrich August III is also on display in the palace gardens . of Saxony . It was built together with a “green sister” according to designs by Christian Friedrich Schuricht around 1800 by the Hamburg ship carpenter Johann Christoph Pätzold. The gondolas were used for courtly traffic between Pillnitz and the residence in Dresden . Severe weathering damage forced it to be restored in 1954, with parts of both boats being used to create a gondola based on the historical model. This is now exhibited in the park under a protective structure that adopts chinoising forms.

Palm house

Palm house

The palm house, built from 1859 to 1861 under Johann von Sachsen as a modern cast steel construction, was then the largest greenhouse in Germany and is now one of the oldest preserved cast steel and glass buildings in Europe. The greenhouse complex, which consists of three glasshouses joined together, has a total length of 93.70 meters. On 660 square meters, it now houses plants from Australia and South Africa in various hot and cold areas. The south wing with South African "Cape plants" is divided into a cold and warm area. There are palm trees in the 12 meter high and 15 meter wide central hall, the octagon . In the north wing, the Australian vegetation of the cold and warm areas is shown.

Surroundings

View from the artificial ruin of Pillnitz Castle

In 1723 August the Strong had a new church, the vineyard church "Zum Heiligen Geist" , built as a replacement for the castle chapel for the local Protestant community in the vineyard east of the castle . Here, too, the construction planning was in the hands of Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann . The consecration took place in 1725. The altar created in 1648 by the sculptor Johann Georg Kretzschmar found a worthy place in the church.

The Friedrichsgrund , which runs from the castle to the northeast, was made around 1780 by careful interventions in the existing forest and valley landscape for hikes by Elector Friedrich August III. adapted from Saxony . The historic hiking trail runs here to the Meixmühle, about 2.5 kilometers away, and on to the Borsberg , which is adorned by numerous stone bridges and other smaller staffage structures.

As a symbol of the transience of everything created, an artificial ruin was built in 1785 in the form of a dilapidated medieval knight's castle on the nearby hill above the Friedrichsgrund. It was designed in the neo-Gothic style, most likely by Johann Daniel Schade . Its Gothic walls were a deliberate addition to the baroque Pillnitz Castle, its symbol for transience a contrast to the cheerful character of the pleasure garden. In addition, there is the historical memory of the medieval castle on the same site, the remains of which were used in the construction. The interior designed in plait style was u. a. Used as a dining room.

In 1872 a column of honor was erected a few meters from the neo-Gothic ruins on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the marriage of the Saxon King Johann and his wife Amalie Auguste .

The Pillnitz Elbe Island, located opposite the Wasserpalais, 900 meters long and 10.5 hectares in size , was primarily used for pheasant breeding after its inclusion in the courtly festivities of August the Strong. A bath for the electoral family was also built here towards the end of the 18th century. The last remaining island of the 18 Elbe islands in the Saxon area of ​​the Elbe in 1831 has been a nature reserve since 1924. Here you can still find the remains of an alluvial forest , as it was originally widespread throughout the Elbe valley.

Exhibitions

The Pillnitz Castle Museum is housed in the New Palace. It presents the domed hall, the Catholic chapel and the royal court kitchen. It also illustrates the history of Pillnitz Palace and Park as well as court life.

In water and mountain palace is located since 1962, which was founded in 1876 and the Dresden State Art Collections belonging Museum of Decorative Arts (Museum of Arts and Crafts). It shows objects and rooms associated with the electors and kings of Saxony , such as gilded thrones, silver furniture, glasses from the court winery, textiles and earthenware objects. The electoral-royal atmosphere is represented in the Bergpalais in particular by the dining room designed in the style of Antoine Watteau and the Weinlig room with its rich stucco decoration. Further areas lead through the history of regional and international handicrafts from five centuries, including valuable handicraft objects from East Asia.

Visitor numbers

  • 2016: 400.023
  • 2017: 354,462

See also

literature

in alphabetical order by authors / editors

  • Anke Fröhlich-Schauseil: The Pillnitz Castle Park as a place to play and celebrate . In: Die Gartenkunst  28 (1/2016), pp. 33–46.
  • Hans-Günther Hartmann: Pillnitz. Castle, park and village. 3rd, revised and revised and changed edition. Hermann Böhlaus successor, Weimar 1996, ISBN 3-7400-0995-0 .
  • Hans-Günther Hartmann: Pillnitz Castle. Past and present. 5th expanded and revised new edition. Verlag der Kunst Dresden, Husum 2008, ISBN 978-3-86530-099-7 .
  • Stefanie Krihning: Between pomp and pragmatism. On the planning, building and planting history of the Pillnitz Palm House. In: Die Gartenkunst  29 (1/2017), pp. 57–96.
  • Jürgen Trimborn: The garden of Pillnitz Castle. Design through the ages. In: Die Gartenkunst  13 (1/2001), pp. 53–64.

Web links

Commons : Pillnitz Castle  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files
Wikivoyage: Pillnitz Castle  - Travel Guide

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Statute of the state enterprise "State Palaces, Castles and Gardens of Saxony". (PDF) In: smf.sachsen.de. P. 1 , accessed on March 24, 2017 (derived from the preamble and §1).
  2. Measurement sheet Matthias Oeder . In: Hans-Günther Hartmann: Pillnitz. Castle, park and village. Hermann Böhlaus Successor, Weimar 1981 (3rd, reviewed, revised and changed edition. Ibid 1996, ISBN 3-7400-0995-0 ).
  3. Martina Schattkowsky (ed.): The von Bünau family. Aristocratic rule in Saxony and Bohemia from the Middle Ages to modern times (= writings on Saxon history and folklore. Vol. 27). Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Leipzig 2008, ISBN 978-3-86583-235-1 . P. 285.
  4. ^ Catrin Lorenz: Baroque game in Pillnitz. The play facilities in the Pillnitz Castle Park and their effects on its garden design . In: Die Gartenkunst  12 (1/2000), pp. 42–62.
  5. In the baroque castle Rammenau there is also a Chinese room in the Pillnitz style from around 1730.
  6. ^ Hagen Bächler and Monika Schlechte: Guide to the Baroque in Dresden , Dortmund 1991, p. 152.
  7. http://www.sz-online.de/nachrichten/erneut-streit-um-eintritt-fuer-schlosspark-pillnitz-1601027.html Article in the Sächsische Zeitung from February 12, 2007
  8. http://www.sz-online.de/nachrichten/eintrittpreise-fuer-pillnitzer-park-stieg-3605506.html Article in the Sächsische Zeitung from February 4, 2017
  9. ^ Hans-Günther Hartmann: Schloss Pillnitz past and present. 3rd, improved edition. Verlag der Kunst, Dresden 1991, ISBN 3-364-00222-3 , pp. 32–33.
  10. a b Hans-Günther Hartmann: Pillnitz Castle past and present. 3rd, improved edition. Verlag der Kunst, Dresden 1991, ISBN 3-364-00222-3 , p. 41.
  11. ^ Hans-Günther Hartmann: Schloss Pillnitz past and present. 3rd, improved edition. Verlag der Kunst, Dresden 1991, ISBN 3-364-00222-3 , p. 61.
  12. a b Hans-Günther Hartmann: Pillnitz Castle past and present. 3rd, improved edition. Verlag der Kunst, Dresden 1991, ISBN 3-364-00222-3 , pp. 53–54.
  13. ^ Hans-Günther Hartmann: Pillnitz. Castle, park and village. 3rd, revised and revised and changed edition. Hermann Böhlaus successor, Weimar 1996, ISBN 3-7400-0995-0 , pp. 136-137.
  14. ^ A b Hans-Günther Hartmann: Pillnitz. Castle, park and village. 3rd, revised and revised and changed edition. Hermann Böhlaus successor, Weimar 1996, ISBN 3-7400-0995-0 , p. 138.
  15. ^ Hans-Günther Hartmann: Schloss Pillnitz past and present. 3rd, improved edition. Verlag der Kunst, Dresden 1991, ISBN 3-364-00222-3 , p. 35.
  16. ^ Hans-Günther Hartmann: Pillnitz. Castle, park and village. 3rd, revised and revised and changed edition. Hermann Böhlaus successor, Weimar 1996, ISBN 3-7400-0995-0 , p. 139. See Fritz Löffler : Das Alte Dresden. History of his buildings. 16th edition. Seemann, Leipzig 2006, ISBN 3-86502-000-3 , p. 335.
  17. Stefanie Melzer: 17th Elbhangfest: Look at the beautiful gardens Zier - The Pillnitzer Friedrichsgrund. In: Elbhangkurier , edition 5/2007, ZDB -ID 1151080-8 , p. 3.
  18. a b Decline in visitors to Pillnitz. In: Dresdner Latest News from 17./18. February 2018, p. 17.

Coordinates: 51 ° 0 ′ 32.1 ″  N , 13 ° 52 ′ 12.6 ″  E