Veitshöchheim is a municipality in the district of Würzburg, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Main, 6 kilometres (4 mi) northwest of Würzburg. Veitshöchheim has a population just under 10,000.

de:Schloss Veitshöchheim is located in the town.This summer palace of the Prince-Bishops of Würzburg was built in 1680–82, and was enlarged to its present appearance in 1753 by Balthasar Neumann. The gardens were redesigned for Prince-Bishop Adam Friedrich von Seinsheim (1755–1779), with lakes and waterworks, and filled with hundreds of allegorical sandstone sculptures from the workshops of the court sculptors Ferdinand Tietz and Johann Peter Wagner.

Veitshöchheim has a railway station near the Schloss with a former royal pavilion.

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Marienberg Fortress (German: Festung Marienberg) is a prominent landmark on the left bank of the Main river in Würzburg, in the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. The mighty Fortress Marienberg is a symbol of Würzburg and served as a home of the local prince-bishops for nearly five centuries. It has been a fort since ancient times. Most of the current structures originally were built in Renaissance and Baroque styles between the 16th and 18th centuries. After Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden conquered the area in 1631 during the Thirty Years' War, the castle was reconstructed as a Baroque residence. After it ceased to serve as residence of the Bishops of Würzburg, the fortress saw repeated action in the wars of the late 18th and 19th centuries. Festung Marienberg was severely damaged by British bombs in March 1945 and only fully rebuilt in 1990. Today, it houses two museums.

The fortress is located on a prominent spur of the 266 metre high Marienberg which rises about 100 metres over the Main river on the opposite side of the city of Würzburg. On the slopes around the castle are vineyards.

Around 1000 BC, a Celtic refuge castle was built on the site by members of the Urnfield culture. Archaeological findings indicate that the locals of the later Hallstatt culture had trade contacts with Ancient Greece and marked an extreme northern point on the wine trade network of the time circa 500 BC. The hill may have been a Fürstensitz, the seat of a "prince".

From 100 AD onwards control of the area changed hands several times between different "tribes" (Suevi, Marcomanni, Allemanni, Burgundians), before the area was taken by the Franks in the 6th century. Würzburg became the occasional seat of a Franconian-Thuringian duke under the Merovingians. His court resided on the right bank of the Main, however. In the 7th century, a written document mentioned Uburzi (which later became Virteburch and then "Würzburg"), referring to the fortification on the hill. The name Marienberg was in use only from high medieval times onward. After missionary work in the area led by Saint Kilian in the late 7th century, in the early 8th century, the Franks under Duke Hedan II constructed a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary and a fortification (earth ramparts and half-timbered houses) on the hill. The chapel - probably built at the site of a former pagan holy site dedicated to some mother goddess - and later churches that replaced it, was the reason why eventually hill and fortress became known as Marienberg ("Mary's Mount"). This likely was the first Christian church built of stone north of the Alps outside of the territory formerly controlled by Rome (i.e. east of the Rhine and on the far side of the Limes).

Saint Boniface came to Franconia in 719 and at that point there was no duke at Würzburg any more. Even some of the local clergy practiced pagan customs. Boniface appointed his follower Saint Burchard as the first Bishop of Würzburg in 741. Saint Mary's Church (explicitly mentioned in a document from 822) became the See's cathedral. Over the next decades, the town of Würzburg began to grow and in 788 the hill-top church lost the role of cathedral to a predecessor of Würzburg Cathedral (except for a brief interlude after the latter was destroyed in a fire in 855). At that point, the remains of Saint Kilian, Saint Colman and Saint Totnan were moved from Saint Mary's to be reinterred at the new cathedral. However, Saint Mary's continued to serve as the burial site for the intestines of the Prince-Bishops. Their bodies were buried in the cathedral, their hearts until 1573 at Ebrach Abbey.

No mention is made of any fortification on Marienberg until, in the 13th century, the Prince-Bishops of Würzburg moved their residence to Marienberg. Beginning around 1200, medieval fortifications were constructed on the hill. Under Bishop Konrad von Querfurt (de) Saint Mary's became the court chapel of the See. He and Bishop Hermann von Lobdeburg (de) built what is today known as the Bergfried and the first palas. Lobdeburg used the castle as a temporary residence in 1242. Only after relations between the bishop and the people of the town - who supported the Emperor against their bishop - deteriorated in 1253, did he move his court permanently to the fortress. His successors remained there until the 18th century. Relations between bishop and town were fraught and the main reason for keeping an armed contingent stationed in the fortress. After 1308, the palas was enlarged under Bishop Andreas von Gundelfingen (de) with construction paid for by the townspeople to compensate their liege lord for a riot that year. Since access to water was at a premium on the hill and earlier attempts to link the fortress to a spring at Höchberg were less than satisfactory, the Tiefer Brunnen ("deep well", going down 100 metres) was dug inside the fortress. The reign of Bishop Otto II. von Wolfskeel (de) saw the construction of an additional ring of fortifications. In 1373, the burghers of Würzburg attacked the fortress with catapults whilst the fortress fired back with blackpowder weapons, the first documented use of guns in Würzburg. The first half of the 15th century saw a decline of the Hochstift and construction on the fortress mostly ceased. Only after 1466, under Bishop Rudolf von Scherenberg were more fortifications and the Scherenbergtor added, as well as some towers and outbuildings.

Bishop Lorenz von Bibra had the fortress rebuilt as a Renaissance residence and added fortifications after 1495.[1]:2

In 1525, during the German Peasants' War (Bauernkrieg), the fortress successfully withstood a siege by peasants led by Götz von Berlichingen. In May of that year, a peasant army of 15,000 men surrounded the fortification, but could not penetrate the concentric walls. The defence was commanded by Sebastian von Rotenhan  (de) and Friedrich von Brandenburg-Ansbach (de). When their political leader, Florian Geyer, went to Rothenburg ob der Tauber in early June to procure the heavy guns needed to attempt to breach the walls, the leaderless peasant army camped out around the castle allowed itself to be outflanked by the professional army of the Swabian League. In the ensuing battle, more than 8,000 peasants were killed by the army of the princes. Bishop Konrad von Thüngen was able to return to his fortress, from which he had earlier fled. Also that year, sculptor Tilman Riemenschneider was imprisoned in the fortress and tortured along with the other members of Würzburg's city council - as punishment for allying themselves with the peasants.

Bishop Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn took office in 1573 and again reconstructed the fortress and increased the size of the fortifications further after a fire in 1572 had damaged much of the medieval castle. Under his reign, the transformation of the fortress into a Renaissance residence was completed. In 1600, a fire destroyed the north wing of the main building and damaged some of the towers and the chapel. By 1607, the northern part of the fortress had been rebuilt. The goal was a rectangular four-wing palace, with towers at the corners, in accordance with the fashion of the time. However, the fourth tower was never built. Echter also had the chapel rebuilt and added a new well house.

In 1631, after some days of fighting the fortress was taken by Swedish forces under Gustav II Adolf of Sweden in the Thirty Years' War. Swedish troops plundered the fortress. Most of the well-known library was carried off to Uppsala. The fortress was held by the Swedish and their allies until 1635. Bernard of Saxe-Weimar had been appointed Duke of Franconia. In 1635, Bishop Franz von Hatzfeld was able to return to Würzburg.

After 1642, the princely residence was completely rebuilt and redesigned under Bishop Johann Philipp von Schönborn. In 1648, the fortress became a Reichsfestung and its fortifications were again increased to a considerable extent over the next decades.

After 1708, the palas (Fürstenhaus) and church were redesigned in Baroque style. The fortifications achieved their current form with the addition of a number of outer works to the southeast (Höllenschlund) in 1711-1715. In 1712, Charles VI was received by the Prince-Bishop at the castle, the last time a Holy Roman Emperor visited the fortress. Shortly thereafter, in 1719/20 the court of the Bishops moved into a palace on the other side of the Main river which was later replaced by today's Würzburg Residence. Marienberg now became just a military structure. Work on the last tower to be built (Maschikuliturm) began in 1724.

The fortress saw repeated action during the wars of 1795-1815. In 1796, during the War of the First Coalition, the well-stocked fortress was handed over by its garrison to the French. In 1800/01, however, it was successfully defended against a new French attack by Imperial General Dall'Aglio during the War of the Second Coalition. In 1803, the fortress was occupied by troops of the Electorate of Bavaria after the Bishopric of Würzburg was securalized. From 1805-1814, Marienberg was a fortress of the Grand Duchy of Würzburg, part of the Confederation of the Rhine, the puppet state of the First French Empire. In 1813/14, French troops tenaciously defended the fortress against coalition forces. The French Emperor Napoleon himself visited the fortress in 1806, in 1812 before the Russian campaign and twice in 1813.

In 1814, Fortress Marienberg passed to the Kingdom of Bavaria. The Prussians under Edwin Freiherr von Manteuffel bombarded the fortress from the south in 1866 during the Austro-Prussian War. Marienberg lost its official status as "fortress" in 1867. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71 it was used as a garrison and prison camp. Due to disuse, by 1900 the fortress had fallen into disrepair.

From 1914-18, during World War I, the fortress served as barracks for artillery. During the German revolution revolutionaries seized control of the fortress in 1918 but it was retaken by government troops. After the war, the Fürstenbau served as a barracks for the Landespolizei (state police), as a military depot and as an emergency accommodation (100 apartments). In 1935, the Bavarian Administration of State-Owned Palaces, Gardens and Lakes became the owner of the fortress and began the restoration of the castle.

Towards the end of World War II, the Echterbastei served as a medical depot and then as a depository of cultural treasures. During the bombing of Würzburg by the Royal Air Force on 16 March 1945, significant parts of the fortress were destroyed by fire caused by incendiary bombs. Reconstruction commenced after 1950 and was finished only in 1990.

Given the repeated destruction of the fortress' structures over the centuries, most recently and significantly in the bombing of 1945, many of the edifices visible today have been reconstructed to a lesser or greater extent. References in the following to a specific period thus do not necessarily imply that the substance of the extant structure dates to that period, but rather that it was originally built in the period's style.

The inner court features the free-standing Romanesque 13th century Bergfried (keep), the Renaissance well house from 1603 and the Marienkirche (or St Mary's Church). The Bergfried was originally known as Mittlerer Turm or Wartturm, the actual keep of the fortress was the predecessor of today's Kilianstum. The church's foundations go back to the 8th century, but the structure has seen repeated alterations over the centuries. While the basic form of two cylinders placed on top of each other remains, the building's proportions were changed in the 13th century and the size of the windows increased. The domed roof and the Echterchor were added by Bishop Echter. The interior also mostly dates to his reign, and reflects the Renaissance style with first indications of the coming Baroque period. The altars inside are Baroque.

Surrounding the inner court is the four-wing Fürstenbau. Three of its four corners are marked by towers (clockwise from the northwest) Kiliansturm, Marienturm and Randersackererturm. These mostly date to the rebuilding of the castle in the early 17th century. The Fürstenbau itself mostly reflects later 16th/17th century architecture and design but also features the Bibra Treppe (stairway) built in 1511. In the great hall (Fürstensaal) some 13th century structures have been revealed.

TheFürstenbau is surrounded by medieval fortifications (walls and towers), enclosing an outer ward known as Scherenbergzwinger (actually built under Bishop Otto von Wolfskeel). To the east this includes the Fürstengarten, a formal Baroque garden facing the city. Entrance to the inner castle is via the Gothic Scherenbergtor.

Beyond a moat, crossed by a stone bridge which in 1716 replaced the previous drawbridge, lie the outer ring of fortifications and the Echtersche Vorburg. This three-wing part of the fortress includes a large horse trough in the middle of a courtyard, stables and the Echterbastei with Echtertor. Most of these were built during Bishop Echter's reign and under his successors in the 17th century.

The outer court is made up of the Neues Zeughaus and the Kommandantenhaus (both early 18th century). Access to this part of the fortress is by the Schönborntor.

The outer bastions - Bastei Cesar, Bastei St. Johann Nepomuk, Bastei St. Johann Baptist and Bastei St. Nikolaus - surrounding the castle were built under Johann Philipp von Schönborn from 1649 to 1658.

Further out, more bastions once existed, but some were built over or are now covered by parks. However, extensive outworks from the early 18th century remain around the core fortress, notably to the west. These are pierced by the inner and outer Höchberger Tor.

To the south is the squat Maschiliturm, designed by Balthasar Neumann, architect of the Residenz, the last tower to be added to the fortress in the 1720s. The south-easternmost point is the bastion Höllenschlund.

Today, Festung Marienberg is mostly accessible to the public. This includes the Scherenbergtor (gate), the Burgfried (keep), Saint Mary's Church and the well house.

Since 1946, the Baroque Zeughaus (armory), originally built 1702-1712 but reconstructed after being destroyed in 1866 and 1945, houses the Mainfränkisches Museum (de), a collection of Franconian works of art from the Middle Ages to the Baroque period, including world-famous Gothic sculptures by Tilman Riemenschneider. There is also a collection of earlier artefacts from Franconia, stretching back to the paleolithic period. Founded in 1913 as Fränkisches Luitpoldmuseum in the town, the museum's previous location was destroyed by British bombers in March 1945. In 1950-1954, the Echterbastei (also damaged in the bombing) was rebuilt and the museum expanded into this part of the fortress.

The Fürstenbaumuseum in the Fürstenbau (palas) of the fortress, established in the 1930s (originally as two museums), offers a stroll through 1,200 years of Würzburg's history. It features the Bibra Stairs and apartments, and the Julius Echter apartments. These do not contain the original funishments (either lost in the Swedish sacking of the castle or transported to the new Residenz in 1720), but period pieces. There are also exhibits of ecclesial treasures as well as on the history of Würzburg and the fortress.

There are also two restaurants in the fortress.

Marienberg Fortress

The Würzburg Residence (German: Würzburger Residenz) is a palace in Würzburg, Germany. Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt and Maximilian von Welsch, representatives of the Austrian/South German Baroque style, were involved in the construction, as well as Robert de Cotte and Germain Boffrand, who were followers of the French Style. Balthasar Neumann, court architect of the Bishop of Würzburg, was the principal architect of the Residence, which was commissioned by the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn and his brother Friedrich Carl von Schönborn in 1720, and completed in 1744. The Venetian painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, assisted by his son, Domenico, painted frescoes in the building.

Interiors considered masterworks of Baroque/Rococo or Neoclassical architecture and art include the grand staircase, the chapel, and the Imperial Hall. The building was reportedly called the "largest parsonage in Europe" by Napoleon. It was heavily damaged during World War II, and restoration has been in progress since 1945. Since 1981, the Residence has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Prince-Bishops of Würzburg resided in the Marienberg Fortress on a hill west of the Main river until the early 18th century. Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn (1719–24) moved the court to a palace erected in 1701–4, the predecessor of the Residence. However, the rather small palace did not, in his opinion, measure up to his position as an absolute monarch - he was looking for something comparable to the Palace of Versailles or Schönbrunn Palace. Having won a sum of 600,000 fl. (a fortune at the time) in a court case in the year of his accession, he used the funds to undertake a building project that would proclaim his political standing to all.

In this, he was eagerly supported by two relatives, his uncle the Archbishop of Mainz and Elector of Mainz, Lothar Franz von Schönborn (who confessed to have been possessed by a "Bauwurm", a building bug) and his brother Friedrich Carl von Schönborn, from 1704 to 1734 Imperial Vice-Chancellor in Vienna. Both supplied ideas and, crucially, artists from their circles. Friedrich Carl had met Hildebrandt in Vienna during the construction of the Belvedere. The foundation stone was laid on 22 May 1720. The construction started with the north block.

However, Johann Phillip Franz' successor, Prince-Bishop Christoph Franz von Hutten (1724-9) had no great interest in building such an enormous palace. He only wanted the northern block to be finished. This construction was concluded in the year of his death. All other works ceased.

In the year 1730, however, under Prince-Bishop Friedrich Carl von Schönborn (1729-46), work on the south block began once more. In 1732-3, the front of the Cour d'honneur was completed. From 1735 onwards, the work on the central building took place with the participation of Lucas von Hildebrandt. In 1737, the main staircase by Balthasar Neumann was constructed. The garden front was completed in 1740 and the whole shell in December 1744. Neumann was mostly responsible for the Residence's town front, while Hildebrandt's work dominated on the garden side. The four interior courts of the side wings were an idea of von Welsch.

The completion of the vaulted ceilings over the Emperor's Hall and the White Hall took place in 1742; the vault over the staircase in 1743. At the same time, the decorations of the Court Chapel were realized and its consecration performed in 1743. From 1740-5, the southern Kaiserzimmer (Imperial Apartments) and the Mirror Cabinet (Spiegelssal) were decorated by Johann Wolfgang van der Auvera, Antonio Giuseppe Bossi (de) and Johann Rudolf Byss. Bossi also created the stucco-work in the White Hall during the years 1744-5.

Under the rule of Prince-Bishop Anselm Franz von Ingelheim (1746-9), all building work on the Residence ceased once again. After his death, once Karl Philipp von Greifenclau zu Vollraths (1749-54) became Prince-Bishop, he ordered a resumption of construction. In the same year, Antonio Bossi completed the stucco-work in the Garden Hall, the painting of which was finished in the next year. In 1750, Lorenz Jakob Mehling, a merchant at Venice, sent Giovanni Battista Tiepolo to the bishopric residence, after the painter Giuseppe Visconti had failed. Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, assisted by his sons, decorated the Imperial Hall and the ceiling above the staircase with frescoes in the early 1750s. In 1753, Balthasar Neumann died.

Under Prince-Bishop Adam Friedrich von Seinsheim (1755-79), Materno (de) and Ludovico Bossi created the stucco-work decoration over the staircase and in the first and second guest rooms of the northern Kaiserzimmer (Imperial Apartments) between 1769 and 1772. At the same time, the Green Lacquered Room and the Neoclassical Fürstenssaal (Princes' Hall) were finished. From 1776 to 1781, the Ingelheimer Räume (Ingelheim Rooms) were decorated, including stucco-work by Materno Bossi.

The total construction cost came to over 1.5 million guilders, at a time when a day labourer could expect a weekly wage of one guilder.

The episcopal principality of Würzburg was abolished with secularization. An eight-year interregnum by Grand Duke Ferdinand of Tuscany (reigned 1806–1814) followed, during which he had several rooms of the south block, the so-called Toskanaräume (Tuscany Rooms), decorated in Empire style. Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte slept in the Residence when he stopped in Würzburg three times between 1806 and 1813. On 2 October 1806 he signed the declaration of war against Prussia here. A Neoclassical double bed and bedside tables were installed in the sleeping room of the northern Imperial Apartments for him and his wife Marie Louise in 1812.

In 1814, Würzburg became part of the Kingdom of Bavaria. The wrought-iron gates across the Cour d'honneur, which had effectively separated this inner area from the large Residence Square, were demolished in 1821. In their place today is the Frankoniabrunnen (fountain) created by Ferdinand von Miller the Younger. This was unveiled in 1894 as a tribute by the city of Würzburg and the whole of Franconia to Prince Regent Luitpold, who was born in 1821 in the Würzburg Residence itself.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert stayed at the Residence on their way to Schloss Rosenau, Coburg, in August 1845. In 1921, the Residence was opened to the public

As a result of a devastating air raid on 16 March 1945, the residence was almost completely burnt out and only the central building with the Vestibule, Garden Hall, Staircase, White Hall and Imperial Hall survived the inferno, their roofs destroyed. From the attic the fire ate down through wooden ceilings and floors, and all the furnishings and wall panelling which had not been stored elsewhere were devoured by the flames. Much of the furnishing and large sections of the wall panelling of the period rooms had been removed in time and thus escaped destruction. Neumann's stone vaults withstood the collapse of the burning attic. However, because the roofs had gone, further damage was incurred in the ensuing period due to dampness. In the Court Chapel, for example, most of the ceiling frescoes by Byss succumbed to the subsequent consequences of the fire, in spite of the intact vault, and had to be laboriously reconstructed.

From 1945 to 1987, the building and its interiors were reconstructed to their current state. The rebuilding cost about €20m.

The Würzburg Residence with its Court Gardens and Residence Square was inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1981. According to the Advisory Body Evaluation, the inclusion in the List was a "measure... so clearly desirable that the proposal of the Federal Republic of Germany does not require lengthy justification... The Residence is at once the most homogeneous and the most extraordinary of the Baroque palaces... It represents a unique artistic realization by virtue of its ambitious program, the originality of creative spirit and the international character of its workshop."

The Residence was constructed on a baseplate of 92 × 167 meters. The main structure consists of a central wing with two side wings, the north and south blocks, each with two interior courts. On the town side the side wings extend 55 m from the main structure, partially enclosing the Cour d'honneur. Beneath the mansard roof there is a cornice, decorated with vases and trophies. The façade around the main portal in the Cour d'honneur is particularly richly decorated. It lacks the lower mezzanine floor (see below) but sports a large balcony above the three portals accessible from the Weisser Saal (White Hall). Above the entrance a large coat-of-arms of Friedrich Carl von Schönbaum is located. The Hofkirche (court chapel) is completely integrated into the western part of the southern wing and barely distinguishable from the outside.

Originally, the Cour d'honneur was limited by a wrought-iron enclosure. This masterpiece of ironworks by Joh. Georg Oegg was demolished in 1821 and sold at auction, because a member of the family of the King of Bavaria did not like them.

The square in front of the Residence today measures around 200 meters by 100 meters and is mostly used for parking. The de:Frankoniabrunnen from 1894 is located in the square.

The Residence has four floors, a high-ceiling ground and upper floor with a mezzanine floor above each. These served to enliven the façade and offered room for servants' quarters, kitchens and administrative offices.

The residence has almost 400 rooms.

In Baroque style, the staircase gained importance as part of a formal reception room. The staircase of the Würzburg Residence spans its vault, an area of 18 × 32 meters, without pillars. Beneath an unsupported trough vault, a masterpiece of construction with a maximum height of 23 meters.

The lowest part of the stair leads away from the reception hall, towards a blank wall and then splits into two stairs which double back. Thus the host on the upper landing was able to see his visitors first who initially walked away from him. When the guests turned and approached, the vast ceiling fresco above was increasingly revealed to them.

This fresco, the largest in the world, created from 1750-3 by Venetian painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo shows paintings of the four continents: Europe, America, Asia and Africa. Each continent is represented by a typical landscape and animals (or the painter's vision of these animals) and a female allegorical figure. Europe holds a sceptre, is symbolized by a bull, and has a boy playing with a cannon. America has natives with feathers, who practice cannibalism of prisoners, and a crocodile. Asia has a tiger and elephant, the crosses of Golgotha are visible in the background. Africans have an elk, and a caravan of turbanned Magi. Tiepolo was helped in his labors by his son Giandomenico and the stuccoist Antonio Bossi. There is also a picture of the Prince-Bishop with Mercury approaching from Olympus while Apollo launches the sun horses, surrounded by incarnations of the stars. The fresco also shows Tiepolo himself (in the southwest corner) and Neumann, in the center of the southern front, leaning on a cannon.

Court architect Balthasar Neumann had to fight concerns about the dangers of such an enormous vault. Contrary to the vault with its colors, the stairs and the walls have hardly any decoration at all. While the vault is decorated in the Baroque style, the rest of the staircase is already decorated in the following Neoclassical style.

Neumann originally wanted to add a second staircase on the other side of the White Hall, but this was vetoed by the Prince-Bishop's advisers due to the costs involved.

The staircase was depicted on the back of the final version of 50 Deutsche Mark banknotes, which featured Neumann on the front.

The Weisser Saal or White Hall in Rococo style was the audience chamber and is dominated by the stucco decorations of Antonio Bossi. The white stucco works on a light gray background are composed of a large quantity of rocailles, mixed with images of real items, especially of military purpose.

The lack of gold and colour allows the eye to rest between the splendours of the staircase and the Kaisersaal beyond. Five crystal chandeliers were used to light the room.

This hall opens to the east from the White Hall and is located in the center of the garden front. It was used to receive visiting dignitaries, including the Emperors-to-be on their voyage to Frankfurt and on the return trip to Vienna. It was created in 1749-51 at enormous cost.

The walls of the Imperial Hall consist of stucco work marble in shades of red, white and yellow. The dome is painted in white colour, decorated with golden stucco work and also frescoes by Tiepolo, showing an idealized history of the diocese of Würzburg. One picture, Die Trauung Kaiser Barbarossas und der Beatrix von Burgund durch den Würzburger Fürstbischof 1156 shows the marriage of Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa and Countess Beatrix of Burgundy, consecrated by Gerold, Bishop of Würzburg. The opposite picture shows Frederick II appointing the Bishop of Würzburg Duke of Franconia. On top of the dome a painting shows the Brautfahrt: Apollo in the sun chariot leads the bride Beatrix surrounded by Venus, Ceres and Bacchus towards the Emperor Frederick II, who is accompanied by the Bishop of Würzburg.

Giovanni's son Domenico created the supraportes: Emperor Justinian I publishes the Corpus Juris Civilis, Emperor Constantine the Great orders the execution of Gallus, Ambrose denies access to the church to Emperor Theodosius I. Bossi's figures show Poseidon and Juno as well as Flora and Apolllo.

When all the doors are opened between these halls they create an enfilade stretching along the garden front extending a total of 150 meters. These rooms served as reception halls and as accommodation for important guests.

The impact of both apartments is generated by a sequence of rooms of increasing degrees of decoration. The most decorated room of the Southern Apartment is the Spiegelsaal or Mirror Cabinet. Its walls consist entirely of glass panels, decorated on the back using either paintings, or drawings engraved into a gold ground and then underlaid with dark gloss paint. All the paintings and drawings show oriental, especially Chinese, scenes. The southern part also includes the Toskanasaal. The highlight of the Northern Apartment is the Green Lacquered Room. Its multilayered wall coverings consist of a metallic green color decorated with paintings and golden ornaments.

The Court Chapel is a prime example of the sacral Baroque style in Germany. The interior design is dominated by the curving walls and three intergradient oval dome vaults.

It extends upwards through both of the main floors of the Residence. The supporting columns are made from agate-coloured marble. The columns of the two side altars and the six statues are made from white marble, carved at Genova. The side altars are based on designs by Hildebrandt and were painted in 1752 by Tiepolo (Assumption of Mary to the south, War in Heaven to the north). The high altar is made from stucco created to look like marble by Antonio Bossi. Above the altar is an matroneum with a statue of the Immaculate Conception in the centre and oratories on both sides. Bossi was also responsible for the colourful stucco work on the ceiling (1735) and with painters Högler and Thalhofer created the frescoes in the domes (1735-6): martyrdom of the three Franconian apostles Kilian, Totnan and Kolonat (over the choir), Coronation of the Virgin (in the centre) and War in Heaven (above the organ).

The Residence was built when Würzburg was still a fortified town. Therefore, the garden too had to be planned within the fortifications. The solution included two bastions of the fortified town wall, using its differences in height to create a very special landscape. From west to east there is a rise in ground, until the level of the wall is reached. Near the residence itself, the Hofgarten (or Court Gardens) is designed in a very formal, Baroque style. Farther away, the style changes to an English garden with small forests and meadows. Designs for the former part were made by Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt, Neumann and François de Cuvilliés. It was mainly created in 1759-70. Johann Peter Alexander Wagner added putti, vases, urns and two monumental sculpture groups, the Rape of Europa and the abduction of Proserpina, sited in the central axis between the Orangery and the southern pavilion of the Residence. The figures were added to the park under Prince-Bishop Adam Friedrich von Seinsheim, who had the park at Veitshöchheim similarly decorated. Three monumental gates lead to the Court Gardens, commissioned by Friedrich Karl von Schönborn from Joh. Georg Oegg.

The gardens and representative rooms described above are open to the public. A memorial room is dedicated to the Residence's destruction in March 1945. It also honours Lieutenant John Davis Skilton, a "Monuments man" of the U.S. Army who was instrumental in preserving many of the art treasures after his arrival at Würzburg in June 1945.

Most of the rest of the residence is occupied by a the Martin von Wagner Museum (moved here in 1963) and organizations of the University of Würzburg.



Würzburg Residence

Die Burg Rothenfels ist eine Jugend- und Erwachsenenbildungsstätte und Jugendburg über der unterfränkischen Stadt Rothenfels im bayerischen Landkreis Main-Spessart in Deutschland.

Geschichte

Von 1150 bis 1919

Die ältesten Teile der Burg stammen aus dem Jahre 1150, Gründer war Markward II. von Grumbach (urkundlich seit etwa 1120 nachweisbar, 9. Februar 1171). Nachdem das ursprüngliche Adelsgeschlecht der Grumbacher im Jahre 1243 mit Albert von Grumbach, Herr zu Rothenfels, ausgestorben war, ging die Burg Rothenfels über seine Tochter Adelheid, die mit dem Grafen Ludwig von Rieneck verheiratet war, an die Grafen von Rieneck. Diese wiederum verkauften die Burg 1328 an das Ministerialengeschlecht derer von Wolfskeel, die sie jedoch bereits 1333 an das Hochstift Würzburg veräußerten (siehe Amt Rothenfels) und auf Schloss Burggrumbach übersiedelten. Die dort ansässige Linie der Wolfskeels nannten sich fortan Wolfskeel von Grumbach und später, wie die ursprünglichen Besitzer, nur noch Herren von Grumbach nannten.

Während der Säkularisation 1803 fiel das würzburgische Rothenfels an das Fürstenhaus Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, 1806 durch Mediatisierung an das Fürstentum Aschaffenburg, 1813 dann an das Königreich Bayern.

Seit 1919

Die Geschichte der Burg Rothenfels als christliches Bildungshaus begann 1919 mit dem Verkauf der Burg durch das Fürstenhaus Löwenstein an den Quickborn. Über die Grenzen hinaus bekannt wurde die Burg durch das Wirken des berühmten Theologen Romano Guardini (1885–1968), der von 1927 bis 1939 Burgleiter war. Die Kapelle der Burg wurde unter Guardinis Führung zum Herz der Liturgischen Bewegung, die wesentliche Ideen des Zweiten Vatikanischen Konzils vorwegnahm. Inspiriert vom Dessauer Bauhaus und der Studienzeit unter dem Baumeister Hans Poelzig in Berlin, gestaltete der Architekt Rudolf Schwarz zu dieser Zeit die Innenräume wie auch viele der Einrichtungsgegenstände.

Nach dem Kauf von Burg Rothenfels durch den Quickborn im Februar 1919 richteten Klemens Neumann mit vielen Freiwilligen die Burg her für den Ersten Deutschen Quickborntag im August 1919. Die dann jährlich stattfindenden Quickborntage machten Burg Rothenfels bekannt als einen Ort, an dem Jungen und Mädchen, junge Frauen und Männer gemeinsam Werkwochen aus christlichem Geist gestalteten und neue Wege erprobten, besonders in der Gottesdienstgestaltung, der Schriftlesung, im Gemeinschaftsleben, in Musik und Tanz.

Die Ausstattung der Kapelle mit (heute noch existierenden) Sakralgeräten oblag unter Schwarz’scher Leitung einer „Werkgemeinschaft“ aus Lehrern und Schülern der Kunstgewerbeschule Aachen, nämlich Fritz Schwerdt für den großen Ewiglichtleuchter, Anton Schickel und Fritz Schwerdt für das kleine Kruzifix bzw. Hein Minkenberg für den zugehörigen Elfenbeinkorpus. Die Entwürfe für Altar, Altarleuchter und Tabernakel – überwiegend mit benageltem Silberblech – stammen von Rudolf Schwarz selbst, während die Ausführung Anton Schickel besorgte.

Die mit der Beschlagnahme von Burg Rothenfels im August 1939 für Pädagogik, Liturgische Bewegung und Friedensbewegung gewaltsam unterbrochene fruchtbare Arbeit auf Burg Rothenfels wurde nach dem Krieg unter Leitung des Münchener Oratorianers Heinrich Kahlefeld weitergeführt und sprach mit ihren Oster- und Pfingsttagungen, Werkwochen für junge Menschen aller Kreise und anderen Veranstaltungen viele Menschen an. Ab 1959 bestand die Burgleitung aus Heinrich Fleckenstein, Würzburg; Bernhard Casper, Freiburg und Bruno Leuschner, Schlüchtern. In den sechziger Jahren wurde der Burgrat eingerichtet, ein für die Bildungsarbeit der Burg verantwortliches Beratergremium, das aus neun ehrenamtlichen Personen besteht. Seit dieser Zeit gibt es auch jeweils einen hauptamtlichen Bildungsreferenten, u. a. Hanna-Barbara Gerl-Falkovitz (1975 bis 1984), Ludger Bradenbrink (1986 bis 1995), Joachim Hake (1995 bis 2006), Achim Budde (2007 bis 2018). Ehrenamtliche Burgpfarrer war von 1983 bis 1991 Rolf Zerfaß, Würzburg, von 1996 bis 2018 Gotthard Fuchs, Wiesbaden und seit Pfingsten 2018 Joachim Negel, Fribourg/Schweiz.

Träger der Burg
Als Rechtsträger des Bundes Quickborn wurde die Vereinigung der Quickbornfreunde e.V. am 20. November 1917 ins Vereinsregister beim Amtsgericht Lohr eingetragen. Sie kaufte am 21. Februar 1919 Burg Rothenfels vom Fürsten zu Löwenstein. Erster Vorsitzender war Bernhard Strehler, Präfekt in Neisse, ab 1925 Rektor Josef Emonds, Dormagen, ab 1927 Rolf Ammann, Cannstatt. Burg Rothenfels war die erste Jugendburg, die aus der Deutschen Jugendbewegung hervorgegangen ist.

Besonders der Burgleiter Romano Guardini wollte durch eine Änderung des Vereinsnamens verdeutlichen, dass Burg Rothenfels nicht nur Quickborner ansprechen wollte, sondern alle aufgeschlossenen Christen. Mit Satzung vom 27. August 1933 nannte der Verein sich um in „Vereinigung der Freunde von Burg Rothenfels e.V.“; Rolf Ammann blieb weiterhin Vorsitzender, im folgte 1939 Kaufmann Josef Seipel, Düsseldorf. Die Vereinigung wurde durch Runderlass des Reichsführers SS und Chefs der Deutschen Polizei vom 24. Juli 1939 aufgelöst und Burg Rothenfels am 7. August 1939 beschlagnahmt.

Am 16. April 1948 wurde die Vereinigung wiedereröffnet unter Vorsitz von Josef Seipel, ab Oktober 1948 Vorsitzender Fabrikant Josef Heinrich Sommer, Düsseldorf. 1961 übernahm Ernst Ludwig, Präsident in Saarbrücken, den Vorsitz, ab 1964 Werner Hamelbeck, ab 1970 Klaus Boisserée, Düsseldorf, ab 1971 Friedrich Bayerl, München, ab 1979 Meinulf Barbers, Korschenbroich, ab 2007 Mathilde Schaab-Hench, Aschaffenburg, ab 2019 Claudia Hamelbeck, Bonn.

Mitgliederzeitschrift der Vereinigung der Freunde von Burg Rothenfels e.V. ist der Burgbrief, seit 2003 konturen – rothenfelser burgbrief. 2019 feiert die Vereinigung der Freunde von Burg Rothenfels e.V. unter dem Slogan "100 Jahre unsere Burg" das 100. Jubiläum des Kaufs der Burg.