Ueckermünde Castle

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Courtyard side with passage,
stair tower and keep

Ueckermünde Castle is one of the last surviving buildings of the Pomeranian dukes in Germany. It is located in the town of Ueckermünde in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district , which has been used as the town hall since 1780 .

history

It is documented that Rochow Castle was on the lower reaches of the Uecker as early as 1178 , where the dukes Bogislaw I and Casimir I held a state parliament at that time. In 1284 the castle and the adjoining district were first called castrum ukermund . When the Pomeranian country was divided, Ueckermünde came to the partial duchy of Pomerania-Stettin. The Dukes of Szczecin used the castle as an escape apartment, treasure trove and, above all, as a starting point for their hunts in the Ueckermünder Heide .

During the Stettin inheritance dispute , the Ueckermünder castle was besieged unsuccessfully by the troops of Elector Friedrich II of Brandenburg in 1469 . Often Duke Bogislaw X stayed in the castle. His first wife, Margaretha von Brandenburg, lived here when the duke was out on government or war matters. His second wife Anna of Poland died in Ueckermünde in 1503.

In the 16th century the building had become dilapidated. Parts of the medieval castle complex were demolished. On behalf of Duke Philip I of Pomerania, construction of the palace began in 1540. A sandstone plaque on the staircase tower of the castle bears the year 1546, probably the year of completion.

The castle on the left on the Lubin map at the beginning of the 17th century

During the Thirty Years War in 1628 Wallenstein stayed in the castle. The Swedish general Dodo von Knyphausen occupied the castle and the city with his troops in 1630. Imperial troops recaptured Ueckermünde in 1637. The castle was badly damaged by the war. The spire of the keep was in danger of collapsing. Therefore the clock was removed in 1662. During the occupation by Brandenburg troops, the spire was demolished between 1675 and 1680.

During the Great Northern War (1700–1721), Peter I of Russia, the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm I and August II the Strong were accommodated in the palace. The times of war, after which Ueckermünde fell to Brandenburg- Prussia , left further damage. In 1726 the north wing fell into disrepair. Three wings of the palace were demolished in 1730 on royal orders. Only the south wing and the keep remained. Royal officials and later a hospital were housed here.

The city's application from 1774 to use the castle as a town hall was approved on August 24, 1780. After the Prussian state had built an extension, the castle was handed over to the city in 1781. However, this could only use a small part, since the military and judicial treasury were also housed in it. The extension was replaced in 1857 by a two-story building made of stone framework. On January 30, 1866, it was destroyed in a fire that also destroyed the roof structure of the south wing. The castle roof and annex were replaced immediately. After that, the city administration and the district court were able to move back into the castle. From 1907 the city was the sole user of the castle. On November 16, 1908, a fire destroyed the roof of the keep, which had previously contained an open lantern. It was renewed in neo-baroque form and clad with copper, which was removed again during the First World War . In 1923 a one-story building was added on the east side of the south wing, which served as a savings bank.

After the Second World War , the cross-vaulted hall, which had temporarily served as a prison and library, was set up again as a meeting room. From 1950 the Ueckermünder Haffmuseum was set up in the castle. In 1986 there was another extension on the east side, in which the marriage room of the registry office was housed. In 1988, the damaged tower cover was replaced by a new copper roof. Various renovation measures have been carried out since the beginning of the 1990s.

Ueckermünde Castle has a special meaning for the history of Pomerania, as it is one of the few secular buildings that have been preserved by the dukes in Western Pomerania.

investment

From the castle of the Pomeranian dukes only the keep is preserved, which was probably built on the stone foundations of Rochow Castle. A hill 6 to 8 meters high had been made for the castle. The castle was surrounded by a moat and was accessible via a drawbridge .

The keep was included in the new building of the castle, which was completed in 1546. The castle was originally built with four wings in the Renaissance style and had three floors. The castle church was located in the eastern wing, while the northern wing contained living and utility rooms. The royal stables were housed in the west wing and the chancellery above. Guest rooms were set up in the south wing. The pointed spire towered over the castle. The roofs were provided with elaborate dormitories .

The preserved south wing was reduced by one floor in the 18th century. In it there is a segmental arched passage to the castle courtyard. The courtyard side of the south wing has seven axes. There are shamrocks over the arched curtain windows on the upper floor. On the ground floor to the left of the passage there are three windows with arched lintels. A smaller stitch arch window is on the right.

The arched gate of the stair tower with the Wendelstein has bar frames. Above the gate is the sandstone relief with the image of Duke Philip II and the nine-field Pomeranian coat of arms. The keep has a polygonal structure with a squat hood.

Inside the ground floor there are vaulted rooms that originate from the previous building. The mesh vault of the original dining room should be emphasized.

literature

  • Neidhardt Krauss, Egon Fischer: On the way to castles, palaces and parks in Western Pomerania . Hinstorff Verlag, Rostock 1991, ISBN 3-356-00391-7

Web links

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

Coordinates: 53 ° 44 '9.4 "  N , 14 ° 2' 54.77"  O