Rotenburg Castle

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Front view of the Corps de Logis

The Rotenburg Castle was built by Landgrave Ludwig II of Niederhessen in 1470. It stands on the Fulda in the north Hessian city ​​of Rotenburg an der Fulda .

history

Inner courtyard with corps de logis and north wing
Inner courtyard with corps de logis and south wing

The first fortified castle existed in 1470, built by Ludwig II directly on the left bank of the Fulda . A big fire in the old town destroyed the castle as early as 1478, so that a stone castle was built as a result. It then became a popular summer residence for the landgraves and at times a landgrave's widow's residence.

In 1540 the morganatic marriage of Landgrave Philipp von Hessen and Margarethe von der Saale was concluded in this castle .

It was only between 1571 and 1607 that Landgrave Wilhelm IV of Hessen-Kassel and his son Moritz built a new four-wing building in the Renaissance style . The building was two-story and had stair towers at all four corners. The south wing and the stables are still preserved today. A palace chapel in the form of a transverse church was built into the east wing, which had long since been destroyed . This castle was recorded in 1646 by Matthäus Merian in an engraving. He wrote:

"After Cassel, Rotenburg is the noblest royal residence. Instead of being on both sides of the Fuldastrohms, the castle on the far side of the country is so completely square with stones, larger in size but not as high as that at Cassel."

- Matthäus Merian

From 1627 to 1834 the castle was the residence of the Kassel branch line Hessen-Rotenburg , which ruled the so-called Rotenburger Quart . During the Thirty Years War , the castle was plundered several times, but not destroyed. In 1750, the west wing was rebuilt in Baroque style under Landgrave Konstantin von Hessen-Rotenburg. His son and successor, Landgrave Charles Emmanuel in 1790, let the north wing, designed by architect François Ignace Mangin in Empire style rebuild. During this reconstruction, the east wing was completely demolished.

In 1834 the Landgravial branch line Hessen-Rotenburg expired, and the Rotenburger Quart and with it the castle fell back to the Electorate of Hesse . The palace was inhabited by court officials in the following period. After the annexation of Hessen-Kassel by Prussia in 1866, Rotenburg and the castle were in Prussian possession. After long negotiations with the Prussian administration, the castle was then awarded to the Hessen-Kassel branch line Hessen-Philippsthal-Barchfeld , which used it as a widow's residence.

In 1932 the city of Rotenburg bought the castle and the adjoining buildings. From 1933 to 1945, the military command school of the Reich Labor Service was housed in some rooms . From 1945 it was an emergency shelter for refugee families until it became state property in 1953. Since then, the State Finance School of the State of Hesse has been located in the entire palace complex .

Royal stables, built in 1570

In addition to the former farm buildings (e.g. Marstall ) in front of the castle, the castle complex now consists of three wings. The inner courtyard opens to the east towards the castle park. Today the Marstall is the seat of the Hessen Mobil training center - road and traffic management .

literature

  • Rudolf Knappe: Palaces and fortresses in North and East Hesse. Wartberg-Verlag, Gudensberg-Gleichen 1996, ISBN 3-86134-237-5 , pp. 32-33.
  • Heinrich Nuhn : Rodenberg castle ruins near Rotenburg. In: Barbara Händler-Lachmann (ed.): Kulturgeschichte, Bad Hersfeld 1995, ISBN 3-9804841-0-6 , pp. 237-238.
  • Rolf Müller (Ed.): Palaces, castles, old walls. Published by the Hessendienst der Staatskanzlei, Wiesbaden 1990, ISBN 3-89214-017-0 , pp. 300–302.

Individual proof

  1. ↑ Kathrin Ellwardt: Church building between evangelical ideals and absolutist rule. The cross churches in the Hessian area from the Reformation century to the Seven Years War . Michael Imhof Verlag, Petersberg 2004, ISBN 3-937251-34-0
  2. ↑ For more details, see [1]

Web links

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

Coordinates: 50 ° 59 ′ 43.4 "  N , 9 ° 43 ′ 44.3"  E