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Oranienburg Palace (German : Schloss Oranienburg) is a Schloss located in the town of Oranienburg in Germany.
It is the oldest Baroque Schloss in the Margraviate of Brandenburg and was built from 1651 to 1655 by Louise Henriette of Orange-Nassau, the first wife of Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, on the site of an older hunting lodge. The architect was Johann Gregor Memhardt. The building was based on the contemporary architecture of Dutch classicism in its external form, with its vertical orientation and the turrets on the side wings. The extensive garden was primarily used for the cultivation of trees, ornamental shrubs, flowers and vegetables. Among other things, the Electress introduced potatoes and cauliflower to the Mark Brandenburg.
From 1689, the Electress' son, Frederick I, who loved splendour, had the palace and gardens enlarged, influenced by Italian and French baroque architecture. Johann Arnold Nering was in charge of construction until 1699. He changed the facade of the corps de logis and added two north rear wings with final pavilions, connected by a walk-in arcade, and thus a second courtyard. After him, Johann Friedrich Eosander von Göthe mainly complemented the interior design.
After the death of Frederick I in 1713, the palace was hardly used. His son Frederick William I only lodged occasionally in Oranienburg, and just the most necessary funds were granted for the maintenance of the palace. His son Frederick II transferred the estate to his younger brother Prince Augustus William of Prussia on the occasion of his marriage in 1742. Augustus William died here in 1758 at the age of only 35. His widow Luise of Brunswick used it until her death in 1780. In 1794 the later Prussian Queen Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz received it as a gift.
From 1858 to 1925 it was converted into a teacher's seminary, 1933–37 SS barracks, then police academy. Damaged by bombs in World War II, it was externally restored in 1948-1954. After a temporary use by the Red Army, it was an officer school for the barracked People's Police from 1952 and later barracks for the Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic until 1990.
Today the palace is a museum of the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg. Numerous valuable objects of baroque handicrafts and paintings are on display, including paintings with connections to the castle and its inhabitants, partly also individual pieces of the original interior.
The Berlin Palace, formally the Royal Palace, adjacent to the Berlin Cathedral and the Museum Island in the Mitte area of Berlin, was the main residence of the House of Hohenzollern from 1443 to 1918. Expanded by order of Frederick I of Prussia according to plans by Andreas Schlüter from 1689 to 1713, it was thereafter considered a major work of Prussian Baroque architecture. The royal palace was one of Berlin’s largest buildings and shaped the cityscape with its 60-meter-high (200 ft) dome.
Bellevue Palace, located in Berlin's Tiergarten district, has been the official residence of the president of Germany since 1994. The schloss is situated on the banks of the Spree river, near the Berlin Victory Column, along the northern edge of the Großer Tiergarten park. Its name – the French for "beautiful view" – derives from its scenic prospect over the Spree's course.
Ludwigsburg Palace, nicknamed the "Versailles of Swabia", is a 452-room palace complex of 18 buildings located in Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Its total area, including the gardens, is 32 ha – the largest palatial estate in the country. The palace has four wings: the northern wing, the Alter Hauptbau, is the oldest and was used as a residence of the Duke of Württemberg; the east and west wings were used for court purposes and housing guests and courtiers; the southern wing, the Neuer Hauptbau, was built to house more court functions and was later used as a residence.
The Nymphenburg Palace is a Baroque palace situated in Munich's western district Neuhausen-Nymphenburg, in Bavaria, southern Germany. The Nymphenburg served as the main summer residence for the former rulers of Bavaria of the House of Wittelsbach. Combined with the adjacent Nymphenburg Palace Park it constitutes one of the premier royal palaces of Europe. Its frontal width of 632 m (2,073 ft) even surpasses Versailles.
Sophia Charlotte of Hanover was the first Queen consort in Prussia as wife of King Frederick I. She was the only daughter of Elector Ernest Augustus of Hanover and his wife Sophia of the Palatinate. Her eldest brother, George Louis, succeeded to the British throne in 1714 as King George I.
Schloss Charlottenburg is a Baroque palace in Berlin, located in Charlottenburg, a district of the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf borough, among the largest palaces in the world.
The Schleißheim Palace comprises three individual palaces in a grand Baroque park in the village of Oberschleißheim, a suburb of Munich, Bavaria, Germany. The palace was a summer residence of the Bavarian rulers of the House of Wittelsbach.
Schönhausen Palace is a Baroque palace at Niederschönhausen, in the borough of Pankow, Berlin, Germany. It is surrounded by gardens through which the Panke river runs. The palace is maintained by the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg and reopened to the public in 2009 after extensive restoration.
The New Palace is a palace situated on the western side of the Sanssouci park in Potsdam, Germany. The building was begun in 1763, after the end of the Seven Years' War, under King Friedrich II and was completed in 1769. It is considered to be the last great Prussian Baroque palace.
Sanssouci is a historical building in Potsdam, near Berlin. Built by Prussian King Frederick the Great as his summer palace, it is often counted among the German rivals of Versailles. While Sanssouci is in the more intimate Rococo style and is far smaller than its French Baroque counterpart, it, too, is notable for the numerous temples and follies in the surrounding park. The palace was designed and built by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff between 1745 and 1747 to meet Frederick's need for a private residence where he could escape the pomp and ceremony of the royal court. The palace's name is a French phrase meaning "without worries" or "carefree", emphasising that the palace was meant as a place of relaxation rather than a seat of power.
Moritzburg Castle or Moritzburg Palace is a Baroque palace in Moritzburg, in the German state of Saxony, about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) northwest of the Saxon capital, Dresden. The castle has four round towers and lies on a symmetrical artificial island. It is named after Duke Moritz of Saxony, who had a hunting lodge built there between 1542 and 1546. The surrounding woodlands and lakes were a favourite hunting area of the electors and kings of Saxony.
Friedrich August Stüler was an influential Prussian architect and builder. His masterpiece is the Neues Museum in Berlin, as well as the dome of the triumphal arch of the main portal of the Berliner Schloss.
Louise Henriette of Nassau was a Countess of Nassau, granddaughter of William I, Prince of Orange, "William the Silent", and an Electress of Brandenburg.
Johann Arnold Nering was a German Baroque architect in the service of Brandenburg-Prussia.
Rheinsberg Palace lies in the municipality of Rheinsberg, about 100 kilometres (62 mi) northwest of Berlin in the German district of Ostprignitz-Ruppin.
The Electoral Palace in Trier, Germany, was the residence of the Archbishops and Electors of Trier from the 16th century until the late 18th century. It now houses various offices of the federal government and often hosts classical music concerts.
The Friedrichsfelde Palace is a Neoclassical-style building in the centre of the Tierpark Berlin in Berlin-Friedrichsfelde. It was property of various noble Prussians and occasionally owned by Prussian Kings. The last owners were the Treskow family, whose landmarked family burial ground is located in the surrounding park. Currently, the palace offers exhibitions about its history and is a place for classical concerts and cultural events.
The Jagdschloss Grunewald, a hunting lodge, is the oldest preserved castle of Berlin, Germany. It is on the south waterfront of the Grunewaldsee and is part of the locality Dahlem in the borough Steglitz-Zehlendorf.
The Stern Hunting Lodge in Potsdam was built between 1730 and 1732 under the reign of the Soldier King Frederick William I in the style of a simple Dutch town house. The contract for the construction was probably awarded to Cornelius van den Bosch, a grenadier and master carpenter from Holland, and the building was supervised by Pierre de Gayette, Captain of the Corps of Engineers and Court Architect.
Schlobitten Palace is a ruined baroque palace in Słobity, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in Poland. Formerly, it was part of East Prussia. The palace, constructed between 1622 and 1624, was the seat of the Schlobitten branch of the Dohna family. In 1945, it was looted and plundered by the Red Army, before it was set afire. Since, then it has been a ruin.