Wallwitzburg
The Wallwitzburg is a miniature castle built towards the end of the 18th century in the form of a medieval castle ruins. The artificial ruin is located in the Beckerbruch of the Georgium Landscape Park in the Dessau-Roßlau district of Ziebigk .
As part of the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm , the monument on the Wallwitzberg (about 75 m above sea level) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site . The landmark was once particularly visible from the Elbe and from the Chaussee in the direction of Roßlau .
history
Prince Johann Georg von Anhalt-Dessau (1748–1811), the brother of Prince Franz , who created large parts of the garden kingdom and the Wörlitz complex , had the Wallwitzburg built between 1796 and 1800. It was named after the von Wallwitz family, who owned this area until the 16th century.
Since 1908, the platform has been accessible after it was opened by the ruling prince.
The partially reconstructed building, originally a tower with an attached "castle ruins ", was supposed to represent the ruins of a medieval castle. It was built out of romantic motivation and as a destination. The brickwork of the tower - like neo - Gothic building was originally plastered. The tower served as a lookout tower . The building was visible from afar as a landmark. At the end of the Second World War , a large part of the building, especially the stair tower , was destroyed by artillery fire. In the following years the Dessau people used the building as a quarry. In the GDR , the facility continued to fall apart and was used, among other things, for mountain climbing. In the 1990s, vandalism hit the site. The lines of sight grew.
reconstruction
The first attempts at reconstruction came from Gerd Förster, who, as a professor, had a student thesis written on the Wallwitzburg and made it available to the responsible environmental agency in Dessau.
Efforts have been made since the beginning of 2005 to restore the building to its original state. An initiative group led by Martin Förster from Dessau takes care of the castle and the grounds, which were founded in 2006 in the non-profit organization Wallwitzburg Dessau e. V. rose. The city of Dessau then secured the ruin with European funding and made it temporarily accessible again with a steel tower. The Wallwitzburg is to be rebuilt completely with a stair tower through donations.
The first success for the association was the restoration of a historic sandstone urn in 2008.
The next step was the installation of the bay window and castle room as well as the production of the neo-Gothic window, financed by donations and personal contribution of the association, as well as a support from Lotto-Toto Sachsen-Anhalt. This construction project was completed on September 10, 2011 with an inauguration ceremony. The tower room can now be used for events and is opened daily by the association on a voluntary basis.
In 2016 the flagpole was rebuilt.
The Wallwitzburg today
The association has been the leaseholder of the building since 2009 and is bringing the grounds to life with a variety of events at the castle, thereby financing the reconstruction. The castle room can be viewed daily and the viewing platform can be climbed. There are drinks. An exhibition provides information on the history and future of the Wallwitzburg.
outlook
According to the statutes of Wallwitzburg Dessau e. V. will be reconstructed in its external appearance in the state before the destruction in 1945, while the interior is to receive modern elements. The association wants to finance the necessary preliminary planning with donations.
Specifically, the following approval plans are to be drawn up in order to force an early start of construction:
- Reconstruction of the historic stair tower
- Connection to the drinking water supply and disposal
- Installation of a sanitary wing for visitors
- Year-round temperature control of the building to prevent frost damage, for the temporary stay of visitors and club members
- Electricity supply through renewable energies on the club premises
- Conservative energy renovation of the building
literature
- Georg Dehio : Handbook of the German art monuments. Saxony-Anhalt II, administrative districts Dessau and Halle . Deutscher Kunstverlag, Berlin 1999, pp. 145–146 (cf. Dehio ).
- Harri Günther : Between Wörlitz and Mosigkau, issue number 24, Park Georgium . Published by the Dessau City Council, Culture Dept. 1983
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 51 ′ 36.7 " N , 12 ° 13 ′ 59.7" E