The Gothic House (Gotisches Haus) is a jagdschloss (hunting lodge) in the Dornholzhausen district of Bad Homburg, just within the town boundary and at the end of the Tannenwaldallee, which forms a direct link between Bad Homburg Castle and the Gothic House.
It was built in the castle's grounds in 1823 by Landgräfin Elisabeth, daughter of George III of the United Kingdom, for her husband Frederick VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg, with the foundation stone laid on 17 April that year. She funded it using her dowry and sited it in an ideal location for Frederick to host festivities and excursions. It was also sited about 100 metres south of the grave of Frederick's horse Madjar - the Landgrave had esteemed Madjar so much that he had him formally buried in 1773 and wrote a poem for the bronze plaque marking the site, which translates:
Here lies buried the finest horse
That combined all the virtues.
If one can have friendship with animals,Here lies my friend.
Also nearby was the 'Landgrafensäule' or 'Landgraf column', erected in 1816 on what later became the visual axis from the Gothic House to the Elisabethenschneise, which in turn leads to the Hirschgarten. The original column was moved to the castle in 1835, but a replica was built near its site in 2011. [1] The replica and original both bear an inscription, which translates as:
To the thoroughbred gentleman
Frederick Louis, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg
on 30th January 1816
[erected] on the occasion of his 69th year
[and] the 51st year of his reignby his faithful subjects
In the early Strawberry Hill variant of Gothic Revival architecture, the Gothic House's designer is unknown, but Friedrich Lotz argues it was Jeffry Wyatville, who had designed the remodelling of Windsor Castle for Elizabeth's elder brother George IV of the United Kingdom - Jeffry's uncle James Wyatt had also worked in the Gothic Revival style at Windsor and at the Castellated Palace at Kew for George and Elizabeth's father George III. Construction was overseen by Georg Moller, but was stopped permanently after scaffolding collapsed on 9 November 1823, burying and injuring eight workers, one of whom later died of his injuries. [2]
In 1860 it became part of the Forstverwaltung of the landgraviate, though that body only used eight of its rooms, with the others left available for visitors and renting. Hesse-Homburg was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia in 1866 after the Austro-Prussian War, but for a while the Gothic House's use remained the same as before, though some rooms were taken on for use by the Prussia court. Wilhelm II of Prussia sold it to a restaurant owner but still wanted it "secure as a monument", for reasons that remain unclear. [3] In 1929 the new owner turned it into a hotel, restaurant and café - it became a popular attraction and from 1899 to 1923 was a stop on the town's tram network.
After World War Two the house went through several changes of owner, sending it into a slow decline and at one point housed the "Ponderosa Saloon" disco. The site was sold in 1968 by the Obertaunuskreis district of Hesse to Jan Lipinski, a property speculator from Frankfurt. Two seven-storey tower blocks were built near the Haus to house the staff for a planned hotel that never came to fruition. The Gothic House was listed as a historic monument in 1977 "at the last minute" [4] and in 1980 the building passed to a property management company in Frankfurt after the Lipinskis went bankrupt. The Gothic House suffered a fire on 9 December 1980 and was completely restored from 1981 onwards. Since 1985 it has housed the town's archive and its cultural history museum. (The museum was founded in 1916 but was previously sited elsewhere. [5] )
The museum houses many temporary exhibitions and permanent displays on the history, art, fashion, coinage and hat-industry of the town, its spa and the landgraviate as a whole, including the "Hutmuseum", centred on the Homburg hat. [6] [7] The Gothic House now also houses the museum café.
The 'Romantik-Zimmer' was set up as a period room to display furniture, decorative pieces and paintings from the period in 2012.
The display on millinery tells of the town's importance to the hat industry and its worldwide fame as the originatory of the 'Homburg', made popular by the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII) and made in the Möckel factory in the town from the 1880s onwards. [8]
| Image | Sculptor | Title | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Hans Steinbrenner | „Figur" | 2005 | |
 | Hartmut Stielow | „Ohne Titel" (Untitled) | 1997 | Part of the first Blickachsen exhibition |
 | Bruce Beasley | „Spokesman II" | 1994 | Image shows it at its former site on Ferdinandsplatz |
 | Isolde Schmitt-Menzel | Maus | 2013 | Bronze |
Hesse-Homburg was formed into a separate landgraviate in 1622 by the landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt; it was to be ruled by his son, although it did not become independent of Hesse-Darmstadt until 1668. It was briefly divided into Hesse-Homburg and Hesse-Homburg-Bingenheim; but these parts were reunited in 1681.
Bad Homburg vor der Höhe is the district town of the Hochtaunuskreis, Hesse, on the southern slope of the Taunus mountains. Bad Homburg is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. The town's official name is Bad Homburg v.d.Höhe, which distinguishes it from other places named Homburg. The town has become best known for its mineral springs and spa, and for its casino.
Homberg is a small town in the northern part of Hesse, a state in central Germany, with about 15,000 inhabitants. It is the seat of the Schwalm-Eder district. In 2008, the town hosted the 48th Hessentag state festival.
Sankt Goar is a town on the west bank of the Middle Rhine in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde Hunsrück-Mittelrhein, whose seat is in Emmelshausen.
Wehrheim is a municipality in Hesse, Germany some 30 km (20 mi) north of Frankfurt am Main.
Frederick II of Hesse-Homburg, also known as the Prince of Homburg was Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg. He was also a successful and experienced general for the crowns of both Sweden and of Brandenburg, but is best remembered as the eponymous hero of Heinrich von Kleist's play Der Prinz von Homburg.
Princess and Landgravine Christiane Amalie of Hesse-Homburg, full German name: Christiane Amalie, Landgräfin von Hessen-Homburg was a member of the House of Hesse-Homburg and a Princess and Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg by birth. Through her marriage to Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, Amalie was also a member of the House of Ascania and Hereditary Princess of Anhalt-Dessau.
Frederick V Louis William Christian, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg was from 1751 to his death landgrave of Hesse-Homburg.
Frederick III James of Hesse-Homburg was a Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg
Landgrave Philip III of Hesse-Butzbach was Landgrave of Hesse-Butzbach from 1609 to 1643.
Ulrike Louise of Solms-Braunfels was a German regent, Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg by marriage to Frederick IV of Hesse-Homburg, and regent of Hesse-Homburg, on behalf of her minor son Frederick V Louis William Christian from 1751 to 1766.
Casimir William of Hesse-Homburg was a prince of Hesse-Homburg.
Philip August Frederick was Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg from 19 January 1839 until his death. He was a field marshal in the imperial Austrian army.
Landgravine Auguste Fredericka of Hesse-Homburg (full German name: Auguste Friederike, Landgräfin von Hessen-Homburg; 28 November 1776, Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Landgraviate of Hesse-Homburg, Holy Roman Empire – 1 April 1871, Ludwigslust, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a German noblewoman.
Bad Homburg Castle or Homburg Palace is a castle and palace in the German city of Bad Homburg vor der Höhe. Originally the residence of the Landgraves of Hesse-Homburg, it was first built in the 12th century.
Eduard Christian Trapp was a German physician, most notable as the founder of the spa baths in Homburg vor der Höhe, where he later died.
Ferdinand Heinrich Friedrich was a German nobleman and the last landgrave of Hesse-Homburg.
Leopold Victor Friedrich of Hesse-Homburg was a prince of Hesse-Homburg.
Friedrich Karl Kasimir von Creutz was a German poet, philosopher, writer and politician. He was born in Bad Homburg, where he also died, and was a councillor and ally of Frederick V, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg.
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