Wörlitz Castle

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wörlitz Castle
Park side of the castle

Wörlitz Castle in Saxony-Anhalt is considered the founding building of German Classicism and is one of the few German buildings of Palladianism . The castle located in Wörlitz , like the associated Wörlitz Park, is part of the UNESCO World Heritage .

history

From 1769 the Wörlitzer Park was at the instigation of the then 29-year-old Prince Leopold III. Friedrich Franz von Anhalt-Dessau furnished in the style of an English landscape garden . At the same time, construction of the castle began, for which the previous building, a Baroque hunting lodge, was demolished. The builder was Friedrich Wilhelm von Erdmannsdorff . The palace was built for the prince and his wife Princess Luise of Brandenburg-Schwedt and was intended to represent the ducal house. The construction was completed in 1773. It is considered the founding building of German classicism. Ancient and English buildings as well as the architecture of Andrea Palladio (1508–1580) served as models .

When the castle was built at the time, advanced furnishings such as cast iron stoves, wall folding beds, a water pump to supply the upper floor, a refrigerator, food lifts and retractable doors were used, which are still there today. There was also a bathroom for the princely couple, which has since been removed.

From 1770 to 1772 a kitchen building was built around 50 meters to the south-west and has been connected to the castle by an underground passage since it was built.

The palace and the entire park were open to the public as early as the 18th century.

Location, architecture and equipment

The castle with Lake Wörlitz

The castle is in the park and thus fits into the artificially created, but natural environment. It stands north of the city, separated from it by groups of trees and meadows. The back of the castle faces the nearby Wörlitzer See and is clearly visible from the opposite bank of the lake in front of the silhouette of the city.

The symmetrical building with a floor plan of around 36 meters × 24 meters has two floors as well as a basement and a final mezzanine . It is characterized by a portico with four Corinthian columns, to which an outside staircase leads. The triangular gable is modeled on ancient gables in Palmyra and Baalbek . Inside there is an atrium , which is covered by a glass roof that was attached later. Behind it is a single-storey belvedere with a rectangular floor plan, which is crowned by a dome and is flush with the rear facade. The windows are dependent on the floor vary in size and by different Verdachungen and cornices adorned.

Ten rooms and two halls are grouped symmetrically around the atrium. The ceilings and the dome are richly decorated with stucco , and there are paintings on the ceilings. There are also four Corinthian columns in the dining room. Numerous works of art are exhibited in the castle, such as paintings by old masters, a collection of antiquities and a ceramic collection, which mainly consists of replicas of antique works from the Wedgwood porcelain factory . The furniture comes from the workshop of Abraham and David Roentgen . The original furnishings are almost completely preserved. The “Palmensaal” is located in the Belvedere.

use

The castle can be visited on guided tours. The kitchen building is used as a restaurant. It served as the backdrop for the fairy tale film The Little Mermaid in 2013 .

literature

Kulturstiftung DessauWörlitz (publisher): Schloss Wörlitz. Architecture, Interior, Collections, Residents (German / English). Mitteldeutscher Verlag, Halle / Saale 2017, ISBN 978-3-95462-770-7

Web links

Commons : Schloss Wörlitz  - Collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Jens Bisky : As if I were a master builder : He built Wörlitz Castle and furnished the royal chambers in the Berlin Palace: Friedrich Wilhelm von Erdmannsdorff died 200 years ago in Dessau. Berliner Zeitung of March 4, 2000, accessed October 30, 2015
  2. ↑ a b Description at woerlitz-information.de , accessed on October 30, 2015
  3. ↑ a b c E. Flohr: From the investigation to the construction - standard and special procedures in wood protection and their implementation. In: Helmuth Venzmer (Ed.): Renovation of old buildings 4: Moisture and renovation of old buildings. 20th Hanseatic Renovation Days. Beuth, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-410-17613-8 , pp. 173ff. Excerpts from books.google.de
  4. ↑ Floor plan at pmp-architekten.de , accessed on October 30, 2015
  5. ↑ Reinhard Alex, Elke Borkowski: Wörlitz. Nicolaische Verlagsbuchhandlung, Berlin 1993, ISBN 3-87584-456-4 , p. 12.
  6. ↑ Reinhard Alex, Elke Borkowski: Wörlitz. Nicolaische Verlagsbuchhandlung, Berlin 1993, ISBN 3-87584-456-4 , p. 6.

Coordinates: 51 ° 50 ′ 46 ″  N , 12 ° 25 ′ 17 ″  E