Szczecin Castle
| Castle of the Pomeranian Princes in Szczecin | ||
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 Szczecin Castle |
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| Alternative name (s): | Zamek Książąt Pomorskich w Szczecinie | |
| Creation time : | before 1200 | |
| Conservation status: | Reconstructed | |
| Place: | Szczecin | |
| Geographical location | 53 ° 25 '34 " N , 14 ° 33' 37" E | |
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The Szczecin Palace is a former residence of the Dukes of Pomerania in Szczecin . Until the heavy damage in World War II, it was the best-preserved castle of during the Thirty Years' War extinct gripping Dukes . After the reconstruction in the People's Republic of Poland , the ducal castle is now one of the largest cultural centers in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship under the name Zamek Książąt Pomorskich ("Castle of the Pomeranian Dukes") .
history
Under the griffins
In Stettin there was already a Slavic castle wall in the 12th century , which the Pomeranian dukes had castellans administer. In 1249, Duke Barnim I had the castle torn down at the request of the Szczecin citizens and left the castle square to the city, with the exception of two larger pieces of land. When his grandson Barnim III. In 1345 a new castle was built on the castle hill instead of the courtyard, and the citizens drove the construction workers away. The conflict was decided by an arbitration decision by Duke Bogislaw V and the Bishop of Cammin , Johann von Sachsen-Lauenburg . After that, the city had to build a stone house with a surrounding wall and a chapel, the Ottenkirche , for the duke , while in return the duke confirmed lendings and privileges to the city . In 1428 Duke Casimir V had the castle fortified.
Bogislaw X began to rebuild the palace in 1490 on the occasion of his impending marriage in his second marriage to Princess Anna of Poland. The wedding with the 14-year-old took place in Stettin on February 2, 1491, but the building of the palace was not yet completed as the city refused to surrender land claimed by the duke. There were protracted disputes. In 1503 he persuaded the city to give him parts of the Altböterberg and demolish the houses there, in the place of which a new south wing of the castle was built. Under Barnim IX. the east wing was built in 1538.
After taking office in 1573, Duke Johann Friedrich had the palace completely rebuilt according to plans by the Italian master builder Antonio Wilhelmi . Under him, the castle was largely given its present form. The south wing built by Bogislaw X remained largely unchanged, the old house of Barnims III. and the Ottenkirche were demolished. In 1576 a fire that killed five people caused great damage. As a replacement for the Ottenkirche, Duke Johann Friedrich had the castle church built, which now served as the burial place of the Pomeranian dukes. The main construction work was completed by 1577.
For Duke Philip II , a renaissance building was added to the west wing, which was connected to the palace by intermediate wings. He planned to accommodate his extensive art collection in the new building, but did not see the completion, which took place under his successor Franz .
Memorial plaque for Barnim III. († 1368) from around 1538 on the north wing
Foundation plaque from Barnim IX. with complete coat of arms - east wing 1538
Foundation plaque of Philip II and Francis I in the forecourt from 1619 with the coats of arms of the regions
Sweden and Prussia
After the death of the Griffin family with Bogislaw XIV during the Thirty Years' War, the castle served the Swedish governors in Pomerania as the seat of government until 1720. During the siege of Szczecin in the Swedish-Brandenburg War , the castle was badly damaged by the cannons of the Brandenburg besiegers. From 1709 to 1711, the former Polish king Stanisław Leszczyński and his wife Katharina spent the first years of their exile at the castle. After the transition from Stettin to Prussia , the commander of the Stettin garrison , Christian August von Anhalt-Zerbst , the father of the later Tsarina Katharina II. Friedrich Wilhelm I , had construction and renovation work carried out to handle the government, courts and the Pomeranian War - and domain chamber , an arsenal and living quarters for the king. In 1752 Friedrich II ordered the establishment of a mint .
Friedrich Wilhelm IV. , Who as Crown Prince lived in the castle for a time, had further construction work carried out, including the eight-sided tower at the northeast corner and the north wing raised by one floor. For the Prussian Crown Prince, who held the title of “Governor of Pomerania”, the castle was the appropriate residence in the province of Pomerania . After the arsenal had been relocated to Stettiner Neustadt, the south wing was demolished from 1872 to 1874 except for the lower surrounding walls. During the renovation work in the 19th century, which served the needs of a civil administration, many Renaissance elements of the building complex were lost. After the authorities were outsourced in 1902, attempts were made to restore the residential character in the first quarter of the 20th century.
After 1945
The castle was badly damaged in an Allied bombing raid on Szczecin in 1944. After Stettin was placed under Polish administration in 1945 together with Western Pomerania and part of Western Pomerania , the first security work was carried out from 1946 and archaeological investigations in the courtyard from 1948.
According to the plans of the ducal residence, the castle was rebuilt in the Renaissance style from 1958 to 1980 . Under the name "Zamek Książąt Pomorskich" it was set up as a cultural center in which, among other things, the Opera na Zamku ("Opera in the Castle") and the Urząd Marszałkowski Województwa Zachodniopomorskiego ("Marshal Office of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship") are located.
In the last few years (before 2016) the former castle church, now the Bogislaw Hall, has been renovated and restored. Today the hall serves as a theater and concert hall. The crypt of the Pomeranian Dukes is now located under the component again, after their coffins were previously temporarily in a basement room in the east wing.
After several ceiling pillars collapsed in the northern part of the castle in May 2017, part of the ceiling also collapsed. The cause of the disaster is still unclear.
literature
- Gustav Kratz : The cities of the province of Pomerania: Outline of their history, mostly according to documents. A. Bath, Berlin 1865, p. 381 f. ( Google books ).
- Album of Pomeranian Monuments and Art. Stettiner Latest News, Stettin 1899, pp. 3–34.
- Franz Kugler : Pomeranian art history . In: Baltic Studies . Volume 8 AF, Stettin 1840, pp. 1 ff., Especially pp. 152–157 .
- The architectural and artistic monuments of the Pomerania province. T. 2, Bd.2, H. 14, Section 1, The Royal Palace in Stettin. Stettin 1909 ( digitized version of the Książnica Pomorska ).
- Rafal Makała: The residential palace of the Dukes of Pomerania in Szczecin in the 16th and 17th centuries. In: Kilian Heck , Sabine Bock and Jana Olschewski: Castles and mansions in the Baltic Sea region. Castle and Manor Houses in the Baltic Sea Region. Thomas Helms Verlag , Schwerin 2017, pp. 257–282 ISBN 978-3-944033-24-2 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Gustav Kratz : The cities of the province of Pomerania. P. 381 .
- ^ Gustav Kratz : The cities of the province of Pomerania. P. 388 .
- ^ Gustav Kratz : The cities of the province of Pomerania. P. 392 .
- ^ Fr. Thiede: Chronicle of the City of Stettin . Stettin 1849, pp. 363-366
- ^ Gustav Kratz : The cities of the province of Pomerania. Pp. 395-396 .
- ↑ a b c The Castle of the Pomeranian Dukes - History. Retrieved December 16, 2010 .
- ↑ www.ndr.de, Stettiner Schloss partially collapsed, May 12, 2017, accessed on May 16, 2017
