Das Schloss Rauenberg in Rauenberg, einer Stadt im Rhein-Neckar-Kreis (Baden-Württemberg), wurde ab 1737 errichtet. Das Gebäude ist ein geschütztes Baudenkmal.

Geschichte und Beschreibung

Das Schloss wurde ab 1737 auf den Gewölben und den Grundmauern einer ehemaligen Wasserburg errichtet. Es diente dem Hochstift Speyer als Amtssitz, über dem Portal ist das Wappen des Fürstbischofs August von Limburg-Stirum (1721–1797) angebracht. Die zweigeschossige hufeisenförmige Anlage ist funktional gestaltet und ohne besonderen baulichen Schmuck.

Heutige Nutzung

1986 öffnete das Winzermuseum Rauenberg im Schloss seine Türen. Es zeigt zahlreiche Exponate zu den Themenschwerpunkten Weinbau und bäuerliches Dorfleben.



Schloss Rauenberg

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Steinsberg Castle is a castle in the village of Weiler, a suburb of Sinsheim in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.

The castle was first mentioned in the year 1109. In the thirteenth century the owners of the castle were the Counts of Oettingen. Later the castle became home to the Counts palatine of the Rhein. In 1517 the castle was purchased by the Lords of Venningen. Shortly after this purchase the castle was burnt down during the Peasants' revolt. The rebellious peasants had to pay 5000 Gulden for the rebuilding of the castle. After heavy damage in 1777 by a strike of lightning the castle was left in disrepair. Since 1973 the castle has been owned by the Sinsheim council, who had large parts of the castle restored. The keep, the moat and the towers may still be viewed today.

Steinsberg Castle

Heidelberg Castle

Schloss Schwetzingen, or Schwetzingen Palace is a schloss in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Schwetzingen was the summer residence of the Electors Palatine Charles III Philip and Charles IV Theodore (of the House of Wittelsbach). It is situated in Schwetzingen, roughly equidistant from the electors' seats at Heidelberg and Mannheim, and is most notable for its spacious and ornate gardens. Other than these exceptionally well preserved gardens and the palace proper, the compound also features the Schlosstheater Schwetzingen, the principal venue for the annual Schwetzingen Festival.

The main building replaces a 17th-century hunting lodge built on the foundations of an older moated castle of which it also retains some foundations and walling (hence the slightly irregular layout). It was built in its current form in several building campaigns between 1700 and 1750, in part to plans of the Heidelberg architect, Johann Adam Breunig. Construction began in the reign of Johann Wilhelm von der Pfalz, for whom the palace was not yet to be an official summer residence, but a simple hunting lodge. However, an ornate, if comparatively modestly scaled first garden was laid out at the same time, which was retained and embellished by Karl Philip. When the new, greatly expanded gardens of Charles Theodore began to take shape in the 1750s and 60s, plans were commissioned from the court architect, Nicolas de Pigage, for a new palace that would have been of a scale on a par with its surroundings. However, mostly due to concurrent projects that siphoned off funds (the completion of the gigantic new residential palace at Mannheim and the reconstruction of Schloss Benrath), nothing came of these plans. As a result, the modest building as it stands today is completely overwhelmed by the garden's sheer size and magnificence. It would, therefore, be more appropriate to call it "the gardens and palace of Schwetzingen", and not the reverse.

Much of the original interior decoration and furnishings survive. Following a major restoration effort in the late 20th century, several of the electoral and ducal apartments are now back in the state their previous occupants would have known. These rooms may not have the supreme splendour found elsewhere in German princely dwellings, but they do convey a particularly vivid image of the court's everyday life. The building was too small to also accommodate the reception rooms required for the gatherings of the court. These - comprising two large halls and the theater- were instead incorporated into the two symmetrical curved outbuildings (the Zirkelbauten) on the garden front, initially intended to serve only as orangeries.

During the second half of the 18th century, when the current Schwetzingen garden was created, the "French" formal garden was gradually being supplanted by the "English" landscape garden as the prevalent style of gardening. The numerous princely estates in the Holy Roman Empire were quick to pick up the change, often remodelling older gardens according to the new taste. The Schwetzingen garden perhaps uniquely reflects this fundamental change in attitude, as its creators actually sought to reconcile the two conflicting styles. Accordingly, while the oldest portions are strictly formal, the newer ones subsequently introduced more "natural" features. However, great care was taken so that the finished work would still form a coherent whole. As a result, Schwetzingen is sometimes described as the principal surviving example of an intermediary style, the "anglo-chinese" garden, but in its diversity actually transcends the boundaries of that particular - and short-lived - style.

The first plan, devised by the gardener Petrie of Zweibrücken, introduced one highly unusual motive, namely the layout of the main parterre as a full circle. This remains unchanged and is a prominent feature that distinguishes Schwetzingen from most contemporary creations. Other than that, the first design was fairly conventional, even somewhat antiquated, in character.It appears to have relied heavily on French theorist Dezallier d'Argenville's influential textbook Théorie et practique du jardinage, with a certain penchant for the less revolutionary solutions Dezallier d'Argenville proposed; as a case in point, the design of the parterre's broderie ("embroidery") plantings, pretty though it is, looks rather timid when compared to some of d'Argenville's bolder suggestions.

Under the auspices of Nicolas de Pigage, the garden's plan was thoroughly updated and substantially expanded, all the while preserving most of its original features. Unlike his predecessor, Pigage was familiar with the latest developments in style. Most of the designs he prepared for Schwetzingen, spanning a period of more than twenty years, have to be considered progressive and up-to-date. However, not all of them were carried out, and as time progressed, the prince's (and possibly also the architect's) reluctance to make a full switch towards the "English" style also provoked critical scorn (most notably from the garden-design theorist Christian Cay Lorenz Hirschfeld). Exempt from Hirschfeld's criticism were only the numerous fabriques that Pigage built in various parts of the garden. The outstanding architectural quality of these small, yet elaborate, buildings was universally acknowledged (Hirschfeld, in fact, objected mostly to their number - he would have preferred fewer of them). On the newer, more fully developed landscaped portions, Pigage collaborated closely with the up-and-coming garden designer Friedrich Ludwig von Sckell.

The sculpture throughout the garden is of varied quality, with a few mediocre decorative pieces, salvaged from the earlier garden and various other locations, as well as some impressive works by Gabriël Grupello and Peter Anton von Verschaffelt, among others. One sculpture in particular, a depiction of Pan sitting atop a cliff and playing his flute, was very highly regarded in its time. It is a work by the Mannheim sculptor, Peter Simon Lamine. A similar statue, by the same master, was unveiled some twenty years later at Nymphenburg Palace. Most of the sculpture within the parterre, and some of the works scattered elsewhere, was acquired at auction in the 1760s. Most of it is the work of then-celebrated French artist Barthélemy Guibal and had previously adorned the Lunéville palace of the deposed Polish king Stanisław Leszczyński. The majority of the sculpture is now replaced with modern replicas to avoid further degradation. The originals are on display within the premises themselves, in the "new orangery" building.

Much like the gardens, the theatre is in many ways a synthesis of conflicting styles. Originally built in 1753, to the plans of Nicolas de Pigage (1723 - 1796)and in a very short time, it could be considered a pure rococo creation. In the course of a later refurbishment, this was blended with early neoclassical tendencies. In its first state, the theatre, following the example of French court theatres of the time, did not have boxes (these were a staple of "Italian" theatres). In order to enlarge it, the auditorium's back wall was then pierced with a row of arcades, thus creating a more "box-like" impression. As a result, the theatre can, at least visually, also be considered a combination of the customary "French" and "Italian" layouts, even if the adjustment was, in this case, made mostly for practical reasons. As with the garden, the overall effect is very homogeneous as well as esthetically pleasing. Well into the 20th century, the theatre had preserved its original stage machinery. This was then lost and replaced with modern facilities, first in the 1950s, and again in the 1970s, when the backstage area was also expanded.

The mosque (German: “Moschee”) in the gardens complex is the earliest mosque-style building in Germany. It was built in 1779–1791 by a French architect for the Prince Elector of the Palatinate. Built at a time when the “Turkish” style was fashionable in Germany, it was never intended for prayer but later served religious purposes at various times.

After many years of restoration, and at great expense, the mosque is fully restored and open to the public.



Schwetzingen Palace

Schloss Bruchsal is a palace complex built in the Baroque style in the town of Bruchsal, Baden-Württemberg. It was built in the first half of the 18th century to serve as the lavishly decorated official residence of the Prince-Bishops of Speyer, though they occupied it for less than a century. Bruchsal was only a hamlet when construction began but grew to be a substantial town that now surrounds the complex. A three-winged palace decorated by some of the leading artists of the 18th century stands at the heart of the complex, alongside over fifty other buildings.

On March 1st, 1945, only two months before the end of the Second World War, much of the palace was destroyed in an American air raid directed against nearby railway installations. It has since been completely rebuilt in a restoration project that lasted until 1996. Its interiors have been partly restored and the palace now houses two museums. It is noted for its fine Roccoco decoration and in particular its grand Baroque entrance staircase, which is regarded as one of the finest examples of its genre.

Schloss Bruchsal is dominated by a large three-winged building standing at the heart of a complex of over fifty buildings. Painted in a yellow, red and white colour scheme reflecting the state colours of the then Margraviate of Baden, the main building or Mittelbau comprises a central corps de logis flanked by residential and church wings. Around it and along the adjoining Schönbornstrasse are a series of administrative quarters for the Prince-Bishop's staff, the Damianstor, a triumphal arch leading to the main courtyard, the Hofkirche and the Kammerflügel, now used as a concert hall. A formal garden, the Hofgarten, is situated to the west and was designed by Johann Scheer in an austere French style.

The corps de logis has been called "the high water mark of the Baroque style" with its "perfect unity of space and decoration". It is entered via a two-storey Baroque staircase which is considered to be one of the most important Baroque architectural features in Europe. Described as "ingenious and ravishing", it gives access to the upper floors and both wings. The architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner described how the staircase appeared before the Second World War:

(The arms of the staircase) start in the rectangular vestibule. After about ten steps one enters the oval. On the ground floor it is a sombre room, painted with rocks in the rustic manner of Italian grotto imitations. The staircase itself then unfolds between two curved walls, the outside wall solid, that on the inside opened in arcades through which one looks down into the semi-darkness of the oval grotto. The height of the arcade openings of course diminishes as the staircase ascends. And while we walk up, it grows lighter and lighter around us, until we reach the main floor and a platform the size of the oval room beneath. But the vault above covers the larger oval formed by the outer walls of the staircase. Thus the platform with its balustrade separating it from the two staircase arms seems to rise in mid-air, connected only by bridges with the two principal saloons. And the vast vault above is lit by many windows, painted with the gayest of frescoes and decorated with a splendid fireworks of stucco.

The interior of the dome is covered by a trompe l'oeil painting by Johannes and Januarius Zick, renowned as the best German decorative painters of the time. It depicts the history of the diocese of Speyer with a perspective that makes it appear as if the dome extends into heaven. The adjoing Fürstensaal and Marmorsaal rooms were the product of collaborations by Zick and Balthasar Neumann, the main designer of the corp de logis. The first room portrays the bishops of Speyer, while the gilded and marble-inlaid Marmorsaal borrows from classical mythology by portraying the bishopric of Speyer as Mount Olympus, the home of the Greek gods.

St Peter's Church, within the palace complex, was designed by Naumann in 1736 and built between 1740 and 1749 by Johann Georg. Its interior houses the ornate Baroque tombs of the Prince-Bishop of Speyer.

Schloss Bruchsal was commissioned in 1720 by Cardinal Damian Hugo Philipp von Schönborn, Prince-Bishop of Speyer (1719–1743) and of Konstanz (1740). His predecessors' residence in Speyer had been destroyed by fire in 1689 but due to a bitter dispute with the townspeople of Speyer, it was never replaced or rebuilt. The dispute dragged on for thirty years before von Schönborn decided to establish a new residence across the Rhine at Bruchsal, which was a mere hamlet at the time. The newly established palace was one of only two ecclesiastical residences on the Upper Rhine, the other being the Bishop of Strasbourg's residence at Rohan Castle in Saverne.

The central three-winged building was based on the plans of Maximilian von Welsch but went through a number of design changes. He managed the construction for its first decade, erecting the right wing, while Michael Rohrer erected the left wing. The main part of the building was designed by Baron Anselm von Grünstein. Balthasar Neumann took over the role of Chief Engineer from 1731 and constructed the main building's staircase. It was created to resolve an architectural conundrum created by von Schönborn's late decision to add a mezzanine floor to the corp de logis. Originally, the plan had been for a circular staircase, but the addition of the mezzanine left no room for additional steps to link it to the staircase. Neumann resolved this with a novel helical staircase design that fitted into the gap.

Von Schönborn and his successors engaged some of Europe's finest sculptors, painters and stucco workers to decorate the interior. The stuccos were by Johann Michael Feuchtmayer and took until 1755 to be completed, while in addition to Zick, the Lombard painter Giovanni Francesco Marchini painted various interior spaces between 1731 and 1736. Work on the decoration continued until 1760 and in the Kammerflügel until 1776. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, his father Leopold and his sister Maria Anna visited in July 1763 while on a concert tour of Europe. Leopold expressed his admiration of the palace in a letter to his friend Lorenz Hagenauer, saying, "The residence of Bruchsal is worth seeing, its rooms being of the very best taste, not numerous, but so noble, indescribably charming, and precious."

After the Prince-Bishops of Speyer were deposed at the start of the 19th century and their secular powers were ended, the palace became a royal residence between 1806 and 1832 when it served as the residence of the widowed Princess Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt, mother of Charles, Grand Duke of Baden. She shared the residential wing of the palace with the last Prince-Bishop, Wilderich of Walderdorf, who was permitted by the new secular government to live there and draw a pension of 200,000 guilders until his death in 1810. Many items from the palace were dispersed to other locations in the newly established Grand Duchy of Baden. The early 19th century traveller Charles Edward Dodd, who visited the palace around 1818, described its "deserted splendour" wherein "the gay ladies of (Princess Amalie)'s court complain bitterly of its magnificent dreariness.

The palace subsequently fell into disrepair and its artistic importance was not recognised until the end of the 19th century. Restorations were carried out in the 1900s and 1930s, but on 1 March 1945, two months before the end of the Second World War, the Schloss was badly damaged by a United States Army Air Force air raid that had been aimed at Bruchsal's rail facilities, leaving it completely burned out. More than 80 per cent of the palace was destroyed. The famous staircase largely survived, though it was badly damaged, but the dome above it did not. Many of the most valuable items of furniture had already been removed for safekeeping and so survived.

After lengthy discussions about whether and how it should be done, the corps de logis was restored to its original form to serve as a museum, while the church wing was modernised. The restoration work took almost 30 years, lasting into the 1970s. Fortunately for the restorers, the interior had been extensively photographed in colour before the war, enabling the destroyed frescoes to be recreated. The palace was reopened in 1975, while restoration elsewhere in the complex lasted until 1996.

Schloss Bruchsal now houses two museums. The Städtisches Museum displays tapestries, paintings and furniture from the part of the palace's collection that survived the war, and also houses examples of porcelain, faience, hunting weapons and gold objects. The palace also houses the separate Deutsche Musikautomatenmuseum which displays German-made self-playing musical devices, such as musical clocks and instruments which use piano rolls, such as player pianos and organs. The gardens are also open to the public.

Schloss Bruchsal

Dilsberg Castle (German: Bergfeste Dilsberg) is a castle on a hill above the River Neckar in Neckargemünd, Germany. The castle was built by the counts of Lauffen in the 12th century. In the 13th century it became the main castle for the counts. In the 14th century it became part of the Electorate of the Palatinate and received town rights in 1347. During the Thirty Years' War, the castle was considered impregnable until Imperial forces under Tilly took the castle in 1622 after a long siege. In 1799, French forces tried and failed to storm the castle. A 46-metre-deep well helped keep the defenders supplied during this assault. In the 19th century the castle fell into ruin and was used as a quarry. Today the castle and its town are a tourist attraction and are administered by the Staatliche Schösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg, attracting thousands of visitors.

Dilsberg Castle

The Hinterburg is part of a series of four castles in a string along the Neckar River, just to the east of Heidelberg and near the village of Neckarsteinach.  These also include the Vorderburg ("Forward Castle"), Schadeck, also called the "Schwalbennest," or Swallows Nest, and the Mittelburg.  Hinterburg literally means "Behind Castle," but is more aptly translated as the "Concealed Castle."  It is indicative of its location and purpose, being essentially an advanced fortification to protect Neckarsteinach from the west and not readily visible from a distance.

The castle was started in the 1100s by the von Steinach family, and was the oldest of the four, serving a strategic purpose in allowing the lords to observe the Neckar and Steinachtal.  One of the earliest records mentions Bligger von Steinach, c 1160.  His son, Bligger II, who was also a famous minstrel of the time, added much of the outer wall that helped drastically improve the castle's defensive posture.  At one time it also had a dry moat with a drawbridge.  The castle continued to be used up until the 1600s, largely in the service of the Elector Palatine.   Afterwards it began to decay from neglect as it lost its importance in the era of cannon.  There is no indication that it was ever seriously besieged.  

To the right, two views of the castle from below, showing the defensive posture.  Placing the castle on a hill naturally made an assault difficult, but the Hinterburg was vulnerable from behind. 

Below, a view of the main entrance to the castle, with the tower beyond.  This entrance takes you into the outer ward, where there is another gate before you can enter the inner ward.

Below, left, the entrance to the inner ward.  The walls here are not too thick and are not designed to withstand bombardment.  However, they could deter a basic attack by brigands or an angry mob. 

Below, the same entrance but seen from above, at the walkway entrance to the tower.  An examination of the wall at the right indicates there was at least one additional story here, with the Gothic windows providing natural light for the lower story.  The lower wall facing the river was also thicker than that facing the outer ward (on the left).  The wall for the upper story is clearly quite thin, being only about a foot thick.

The castle has some interesting semi-underground passages that lead to various defensive battlements.  These provide an interesting glimpse into life in a medieval castle (dark and damp!) and how they were defended.  In this case, the loophole below is small and narrow, and does not provide much windage for the use of a crossbow or arblast.  Therefore, it was probably designed more for observation than as a fighting position.

http://castlesingermany1.homestead.com/


Hinterburg
(Alt-Schadeck)

Die Vorderburg, auch Landschadenburg genannt, ist eine mittelalterliche Höhenburg auf 155 m ü. NN bei Neckarsteinach im Landkreis Bergstraße in Hessen. Sie ist die drittälteste der vier Burgen Vorderburg, Mittelburg, Hinterburg und Schwalbennest.

Geschichte

Um 1200 wurde die Burg von Ulrich I. von Steinach, Sohn des Minnesängers Bligger II. von Steinach, erbaut. Die Burg war jeweils zur Hälfte Lehen des Bistums Speyer und des Bistums Worms. Nachdem 1268 die ältere Linie der Herren von Steinach mit Bligger V. ausgestorben war, kam die Burg an die jüngere Linie der Landschad von Steinach. 1393 wurde der Speyerer Anteil (Steinernes Haus mit halbem Turm) an Henne Triegel von Daudenzell und dessen Sohn Hans entlehnt. 1427 wurde ein Burgfrieden zwischen dem Teil der Landschad und dem Triegelschen Teil geschlossen, jedoch erscheint alsbald im Speyrer Teil ein Eberhard von Angelach als Speyrer Amtmann und Lehensträger sowie bald darauf Weiprecht III. von Helmstatt, der auch Anteile an der Hinterburg und der Mittelburg besaß. 1474 erscheinen die Landschad wieder als Besitzer der gesamten Vorderburg, die überwiegend als Sitz der von Hans IV. († 1571) begründeten Hansischen Linie benutzt wurde und nach dem Tode seines Enkels Dieter VIII. 1625 an Friedrich Landschad von Steinach kam, mit dem 1653 das Adelsgeschlecht erlosch.

Nach dem Aussterben der Landschad zogen die Stifte Worms und Speyer den früheren Lehensbesitz (Hinterburg, Vorderburg und halbe Mittelburg) wieder ein, unterstellten ihn kurz der Selbstverwaltung und übertrugen ihn 1657 Wolf-Heinrich von Metternich zu Burscheid als Lehen. Dieser erwarb im selben Jahr von Dieter VIII. Landschads Tochter Eva Elisabeth auch den früheren Landschad-Allodialbesitz und ebenso die restliche Hälfte der Mittelburg von den Freiherren von Venningen, so dass ab der späten Mitte des 17. Jahrhunderts der Besitz der vier Burgen wieder in einer Hand vereinigt war. Nach dem Aussterben der Metternich-Linie 1753 wurden die früheren Lehen und sogar der früheren Allodialbesitz von den Stiften Speyer und Worms eingezogen. 1803 kam der gesamte Besitz im Rahmen der Mediatisierung an das Land Hessen, das die Vorderburg einem Dr. Wegerich verkaufte. Nachdem der Erbe des Allodialbesitzes, Freiherr von Dorth, durch einen Vergleich mit dem Land Hessen die als Amtssitz benutzte Mittelburg auch die Ruine der Hinterburg erhalten hatte, erwarb er auch die Vorderburg von Dr. Wegerich. 1910 verzichteten die Herren von Dorth auf die Ruine der Hinterburg, die darauf wieder an den hessischen Staat fiel. Mittel- und Vorderburg gelangten beim Tode des letzten Freiherrn von Dorth, Ludwig, im Jahre 1925 an den Sohn seines vor ihm verstorbenen Adoptivsohns Alexander, Boemund Freiherr von Warsberg-Dorth, dessen Nachfahren die Burgen bis heute besitzen.



Vorderburg (Neckarsteinach)

The Ottilienberg is a mountain near Eppingen in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The mountain has been a cult place in ancient times. On top of the mountain are the remains of a late medieval pilgrimage church and remains of a fortification from the 17th century.

The mountain itself is a sandstone oval about 3 km south east of Eppingen. Because of the extraordinary geological formation, the 310 m high mountain is assumed to be a very early refuge and cult place. The pilgrimage church was donated in 1473. South of the chepel was a graveyard. 1697 the mountain top was dismantled to an artillery fortress. While the fortress decayed through the following decades, the church and some surrounding economy buildings did remain, until they were severely damaged during World War II in April 1945. The chapel was reconstructed in simplified shape in 1954/55.

