Location: Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Map
Constructed: original castle 10th century
Schwerin Castle or Schweriner Schloss is a residence in Schwerin, capital of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern region in Germany. The original Schwerin Castle was constructed in 973. Over times it changed hands repeatedly. Much of the modern appearance is owed to the Dukes of Mecklenburg who bought the castle in the 14th century.
Middle age
The construction of the island with
a castle complex began in winter 941/942 or shortly afterwards. A
castle wall of around 45 m was built on a massive wooden grate.
However, within only 20 years it became dilapidated and overturned
inwards, including the outer facade. In 963/965 or shortly
thereafter, a new, stronger one was built over the collapsed first
wall.
Ibrahim Ibn Jakub, a merchant from Arab Andalusia, who
traveled from Magdeburg to Weligrad Castle (Mecklenburg Castle) in
965, reported on a castle that was apparently still under
construction near a freshwater lake in records from 973 about his
journey to the Slavic region east of the Lower Elbe. His description
of the island castle probably means the Obotritische border castle
on today's castle island. The existence of such a complex was
substantiated by excavations of parts of the old Slavic castle
ramparts in 1987. During excavations in the courtyard of the castle
in 2014, remains of the first castle building, apparently mentioned
by Ibrahim Ibn Jakub, were found, which initially suggests a smaller
castle complex than initially assumed. The datable timbers examined
in the scientific laboratories of the German Archaeological
Institute using dendrochronology could be dated to those years of
construction - 962, 964, 965 and 974. Apparently the size of today's
castle was only achieved by a fortified rampart built later.
In the year 1160, in connection with the eastward expansion efforts
of German feudal lords, the Schwerin Castle was the target of a
campaign of conquest led by Henry the Lion (1129–1195). The
Obotritischen defenders under the Wende prince Niklot destroyed and
left them in the face of the hostile superiority. But the German
conquerors also recognized the excellent strategic location and
rebuilt a fortress. The city of Schwerin was founded in the same
year. It gained special importance through the establishment of a
bishopric within its walls. In 1167 Heinrich the Lion enfeoffed his
vassal Gunzelin von Hagen with formerly obotritic areas from
Niklot's son Pribislaw.
In 1358 the county came into the
possession of Duke Albrecht II, a descendant of King Niklots,
through purchase. Albrecht II moved the residence from Wismar to the
inland Schwerin Castle Island. When the prince's seats were adapted
to the increased living demands and the growing need for
representation in the late Gothic period and the building of the
castle type was developed, this development was also reflected in
the building activity on Schwerin Castle Island. Of the buildings
erected at that time, the so-called bishop's house still stands on
the lake side
Early modern age
However, it did not receive
its facade decoration made of red terracotta panels until the New
Long House adjoining to the north was redesigned from 1553 to 1555
under Duke Johann Albrecht I (1525–1576). Both buildings are real
palace buildings, because in favor of a design that meets the
highest living standards, any consideration of any defensive
functions has been omitted. The use of terracottas in building
sculpture was dominant in Germany during the Renaissance period,
particularly in the North German architecture of the brick
Renaissance, for example at the Fürstenhof in Wismar and at
Gadebusch Castle. The material was supplied by the workshop of the
Lübeck master Statius von Düren (mentioned 1551–1566). A few years
later, Duke Johann Albrecht I arranged for the palace chapel to be
rebuilt. This first Protestant church building in Mecklenburg was
added at right angles to the New Long House under master builder
Christoph Haubitz (mentioned 1549–1587). From 1560 to 1563 the
chapel room was built with a rectangular floor plan and galleries on
the long and narrow sides based on the model of the palace chapels
in Torgau and Dresden, which were built only a few years earlier.
The sandstone portal on the courtyard side with the relief of the
carrying of the cross in the gable, in the form of the Venetian
early Renaissance, comes from the workshop of the Dresden sculptor
Hans Walther (1526–1586). Alabaster reliefs with biblical
representations are set into the window niches of the northern
gallery. Five of them were created by the Dutchman Willem van den
Broeck (1530–1580), known as Paludanus, who was well known at the
time. Schwerin owns a rare treasure with the "Elevation of the
Brazen Snake" signed by him. Since the castle needed additional
defenses despite its island location, the bastions in the northwest,
southeast and west were built around the middle of the 16th century,
probably by those Italian fortress builders who worked under
Francesco a Bornau in Dömitz, which were later changed several times
were, but have survived to this day.
Before the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War, the
builder Gerhart Evert Pilooth († 1629), who entered Mecklenburg
service in 1612, worked out plans for a completely new construction
of the Schwerin Castle in the form of a Dutch-influenced
Renaissance. In fact, work began under his leadership in 1617, but
it soon had to be stopped due to the war. According to Piloot's
plans, between 1635 and 1643 the house above the castle kitchen and
the house above the castle church were extended and facades were
given in the style of the Dutch Renaissance.
Remodeling
between 1700 and 1850
In the 18th century, a half-timbered
building for the ducal painting collection was built in front of the
west side of the chapel wing, and the tea pavilion on the
north-eastern bastion, for the staircase of which the sculptor
Johann Christoph Lücke (1703–1780) created four putti in 1742. In
1764, under the government of Duke Friedrich the Pious, the court
left Schwerin and moved to the newly emerging Ludwigslust Palace.
When the residence was moved back to Schwerin in 1835, the
castle buildings were in a poor structural condition. In addition,
the individual buildings from different stylistic epochs and the
farm buildings assigned to them did not correspond to the
sovereign's ideas of his future residence. The Grand Duke Paul
Friedrich I (1800–1842) therefore decided to have a new palace built
in the Old Garden, on the site of today's museum. The construction,
which began according to the plans of the court architect Georg
Adolf Demmler (1804–1886), was stopped after a few months because
the successor to the Grand Duke, who died suddenly in 1842, the only
19-year-old Friedrich Franz II. (1823–1883), refrained from the new
building and decided on a profound redesign of the historical
complex on the castle island.
According to the Grand Duke,
this conversion should initially extend to the entire complex.
Later, at Demmler's instigation, the decision was made to preserve
the four historic castle buildings from the 16th and 17th centuries
on the lake side. Another requirement of the client was the creation
of a representative entrance front in the axis of the Schloßstraße
(Schwerin), which has already been significantly upgraded by several
new buildings and which leads from the city to the castle. Demmler
was not enthusiastic about the task of redesigning the castle in an
older style. His related designs in the Windsor Castle style and in
the style of Pilooths were also inadequate and were rejected. For
this reason, the Dresden architect Gottfried Semper (1803–1879) was
commissioned with a competing design in 1843, which received the
highest praise, but was not accepted. At the same time, Demmler made
a new design. After a long study trip, including to France, Demmler
made a final draft with the inclusion of ideas from Hermann
Willebrand, who was accompanying him, which contained elements of
Semper's suggestions, but represented an independent concept. His
basic attitude was clearly oriented towards French Renaissance
castles, especially Chambord Castle.
Demmler was in charge of
the castle construction, including the construction of the new
castle bridge, from the beginning of the demolition work in 1843 to
the beginning of 1851. During this time, the builder also tried to
alleviate social hardship for the many workers employed in the
castle construction by establishing an accident and health
insurance, and several times he campaigned for fair wages for
employees.
1850 to 1990
After Demmler's dismissal from the
Mecklenburg state service in 1851, the Berlin master builder Stüler
took over the management of the palace. He changed the design of his
predecessor on the city-side front decisively by enriching the
facade with plastic elements and the large Niklot equestrian statue.
To top it off, he put a monumental ornate dome in place of the
lantern that Demmler had intended. He secured the collaboration of
Heinrich Strack (1805–1880) from Berlin on some interior design
designs. Schwerin and Berlin workshops supplied most of the plastic
jewelry and interior fittings. Particularly noteworthy as sculptors
are: Christian Genschow, Gustav Willgohs, Heinrich Petters and Georg
Wiese, Albert Wolff also provided designs.
The festive inauguration of the castle took place
on May 26, 1857. The composer Friedrich von Flotow (1821–1883)
created his opera Johann Albrecht based on a libretto by Eduard
Hobein especially for this occasion. Those involved in the
construction were honored with the castle medal.
On the night
of December 14th to 15th, 1913, a devastating fire of unknown cause
destroyed about a third of the building. The castle lake wing burned
to the ground, the south-facing castle garden wing on its upper
floors. The magnificent Golden Hall and the richly designed main
staircase were completely destroyed. The latter was replaced in
1926–1931 by the red marble staircase based on a design by Paul
Ehmig.
When the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin abdicated
in 1918 as a result of the events of the November Revolution, the
external restoration of the castle was only complete. In 1919 the
castle became the property of the state, and from 1921 historical
rooms were made accessible to the public as museums: castle museum,
farm museum, hygiene museum, exhibition of the archaeological
collection. There was also a radio studio and various offices. In
the time of National Socialism, a kindergarten of the
NS-Volkswohlfahrt also moved in. Towards the end of the Second World
War a hospital was set up in the castle. After the war, the Soviet
Military Administration (SMAD) occupied the building. The plenary
hall with the corresponding adjoining rooms for the state parliament
of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania was built in 1948 according to
designs by the architect Friedrich Schmidt. From 1952 to 1981 a
pedagogical school used most of the castle to train kindergarten
teachers. The Museum of Prehistory and Early History was established
in the Burgseeflügel until 1993. A polytechnic museum existed in the
orangery from 1961 to 1994. In 1974, when the restoration of
valuable interiors began, the Schwerin Palace was reused as an art
museum.
With the fall of the Wall in the GDR, extensive work
on the castle renovation began again. At the end of 1989 around 25
companies from Kiel and the surrounding area founded a development
association that supported immediate measures with 500,000 DM to
stop the historical building from falling into disrepair. In April
1990 the first delivery of urgently needed materials and equipment
for building projects on the castle arrived from Raisdorf in
Schleswig-Holstein.
Since 1990
The Mecklenburg-Western
Pomerania State Parliament has had its seat in Schwerin Castle since
autumn 1990. The part used as a museum belongs to the Schwerin State
Museum. In the area of the former 283 m² Golden Hall in the palace
garden wing, later the GDR ballroom, the new plenary hall of the
state parliament has been under construction since January 2014. A
total of 26 million euros is estimated to be invested in the palace
garden wing, of which seven million will go to the plenary hall
itself. The renovation according to the plans of the architectural
office Dannheimer & Joos was finally completed in September 2017
following the election of the Landtag in autumn 2016.
The
Schwerin Castle has been featured on a special issue of the German 2
euro coin since 2007, since Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania held the
Federal Council presidency in 2006/2007.
Large parts of the
palace park were redesigned or restored for the 2009 Federal
Horticultural Show. In 2007 the state parliament of
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania decided to apply for the title of
UNESCO World Heritage; In 2010 the city of Schwerin and the state
government also committed to support this project. In June 2012, the
application for inclusion on the German list of proposals under the
title “Schwerin Residence Ensemble - Cultural Landscape of Romantic
Historicism” was submitted to the Conference of Ministers of
Education. The application was confirmed on June 12, 2014; Schwerin
Castle is thus one of nine new candidates in Germany for the UNESCO
World Heritage List.