Winsen Castle

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View of the Winsener Castle
Epitaph for Dorothea von Braunschweig-Lüneburg (built in 1911)

The castle in Winsen (Luhe) in northern Lower Saxony is the city's most important secular building. The building, some of which is over 700 years old, now houses the district court .

history

The castle emerged from a castle at a crossing of the Luhe and was first mentioned in 1315. Another document from 1277 indicates, however, that the castle probably already existed at that time. At the beginning of the War of the Lüneburg Succession in 1371, Duke Magnus II was forced to relocate the Grand Bailiwick of Lüneburg to Winsen. From then on, Winsen Castle served as the Grand Bailiwick of Winsen and administered the Guelph property in the northern part of the Principality of Lüneburg , which was a part of the Duchy of Braunschweig-Lüneburg . In the 14th and 15th centuries, the castle and the associated lands were pledged several times by the dukes. From 1374 to 1389 it belonged to the City Council of Lüneburg , went to Hamburg and Lübeck in 1396 , was again in possession of Lüneburg with interruptions from 1434 and even went to the Electors of Saxony from 1493 to 1523 . At the beginning of the 17th century, the castle was the scene of several witch trials . Schulz-Egestorf puts the number of “so-called witches” who were sentenced to death by fire in Winsen between 1611 and 1614 and who were finally burned in front of the “Luhdorfer Tore” at thirty.

From 1593 to 1617, Dorothea von Braunschweig-Lüneburg , the widow of Wilhelm the Younger, lived in the building as a retirement home. During this time, when Dorothea took over the administration of the Winsen Office, the witch trials mentioned above took place. She had the castle chapel rebuilt in the only preserved tower of the castle. In the course of the Thirty Years' War , the castle's fortifications were strengthened, and in 1628 it briefly served as the headquarters for Tilly and his staff. After the Thirty Years' War, the castle was only used as the seat of the officials of the Winsen office. In 1852 the district court moved into the premises, from 1885 the castle also housed the district administration of the district of Winsen until the district reform in 1932, when the district of Winsen became part of the district of Harburg and the seat of the district administration became the district-free city of Harburg . Due to the war-related destruction of the district administration in Harburg, the district administration was relocated to Winsen Castle and four barracks in the castle park in 1944 . The district administration stayed there until it moved into a new building in the immediate vicinity of the castle in 1961. The land registry office remained in the castle for some time until it moved into its own building in the 1990s. Today the Winsen District Court is the sole user of the castle.

architecture

View into the courtyard of the chapel tower

The castle, although freed from its fortifications, has retained its defensive character to this day. The existing components are largely from the Renaissance . The brick building with half-timbered elements stands within a dammed pond on the Luhe and consists of an irregular, three-winged structure with an open courtyard. The courtyard was once closed by a fourth wing, but this was demolished as early as the 18th century. The face of the castle facing the city is emphasized by the chapel tower and the gate, the other outer facades are relatively unadorned.

The long construction work on the castle can still be seen today in many construction details. A Gothic star vault from around 1500 has been preserved in the basement . During the Renaissance, the castle was adapted to contemporary tastes, a gallery was added to the courtyard and various improvements were made. Since the castle served as an official residence for a long time, there were fewer courtly representative rooms than more administrative rooms in the building. Court was only held longer in the castle under Dorothea, which is evidenced by the furnishings in the castle chapel.

Todays use

Today the castle is owned by the state of Lower Saxony. It was extensively renovated from 1994 to 2016. A small museum has been set up in the castle tower since 2008. Due to the use of the palace as a courthouse, the rooms are usually not open to the public, exceptions take place on the “Memorial Day”. Various cultural events such as concerts take place in the castle chapel. It can also be rented for weddings by the registrar of the city of Winsen (Luhe).

Cannon in the yard

Cannon in the yard

The cannon in the courtyard was never used to defend the castle. It was made in Liège , Belgium in 1863 and was set up as a decoration by then District Administrator Friedrich Ecker in 1917.

Surroundings

The castle park and the courtyard are freely accessible to visitors. The former fortifications were converted into a landscape park after they were demolished . The palace garden was included in the Winsen State Horticultural Show in 2006 . The large building of the half-timbered stables is within sight of the castle . Today it houses the city library, the tourist information and a museum.

literature

Web links

Commons : Schloss Winsen  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ H. Sudendorf, document book on the history of the dukes of Braunschweig and Lüneburg and their lands Volume I (Hanover 1859), No. 279, document dated November 28, 1315
  2. ^ WF Volger, document book of the city of Lüneburg up to the year 1369 (Hanover 1872), No. 122, document from April 10, 1277
  3. ↑ Flyer about the city of Winsen (Luhe), tourist information .
  4. ^ Castle history on the homepage of the city of Winsen
  5. ^ Heinrich Schulz-Egestorf: Chronicle of Sahrendorf in the district of Harburg. History of the courtyards under the rule of the Michaeliskloster in Lüneburg (=  publications of the Helms-Museumerein Naturschutzpark e.V. No. 15 ). Self-published, Hamburg-Harburg 1963, p. 32 .
  6. ↑ Dorothea of ​​Denmark (1546-1617) #Widwenschaft
  7. ↑ Dirk Stegmann (ed.) - The district of Harburg 1918-1949, Chapter III, 2, district reform 1932 by author Günter Könke, page 84, Christian's publishing house
  8. ↑ Dirk Stegmann - Der Landkreis Harburg 1918-1949, Chapter XIII, 2, Der Landkreis Harburg in the Second World War, page 425, Christians Verlag
  9. ^ Ilona Johannsen - The Marstall and its use, Lower Saxony Book 2008 Winsen (Luhe), Lower. Ministry of the Interior and Sport, pp. 32, 33.

Coordinates: 53 ° 21 ′ 47.1 ″  N , 10 ° 12 ′ 15.3 ″  E