Location: Wernigerode, Saxony- Anhalt Map
Constructed: 1213
Tel. 03943- 55 30 30
Open: May- Oct: 10am- 6pm
Nov- Apr: 10am- 4pm Tue- Fri; 10am- 6pm Sat, Sun
Wernigerode Castle or Schloss Wernigerode is a medieval castle situated in Wernigerode, Saxony- Anhalt region of Germany. Construction of the military citadel of Wernigerode Castle began in 1213 on the orders of Counts of Wernigerode on a strategic high ground in the Harz mountains. The citadel was badly damaged during military action in the Thirty Years' War between 1618 and 1648. After the war the castle was abandoned in ruins. In 1710 the stronghold war reconstructed by Count Christian Ernest in a Baroque architectural style. Later it was turned into a Neo- Romantic mansion in the late 19th century under supervision of a Vienna architect Friedrich von Schmidt. At the conclusion of World War II it was seized by the Soviet Military Administration in Germany. The next year it was transformed into a museum.
The first documentary mention of a Count of
Wernigerode in 1121 is also the first mention of the clearing
settlement Wernigerode, whose beginnings can be dated about a
century earlier. Wernigerode Castle was built between 1110 and 1120
over the existing Wernigerode settlement. It was first mentioned in
a document as "Castrum Wernigerode" from the year 1213. At that time
it was considered one of the most solid castles in the Harz region.
Its builder was Count Adalbert, who was named for the first time in
1121 as “Comes de Wernigerothe” in a document from Halberstadt's
Bishop Reinhard von Blankenburg. The Counts of Wernigerode did not
come from the Harz region, but the former Swabian Ministerial
Adalbert von Haimar, who owned a county in the Hildesheim area, was
only settled on the northern edge of the Harz by Emperor Heinrich V
in order to consolidate the imperial position of power here.
The Counts of Wernigerode had their rulership and property rights in
an area that was characterized by a variety of other small
territorial powers. Immediately adjacent were the Counts of
Blankenburg and von Regenstein, with whom there were frequent
arguments.
The counts had the castle built as a ring-shaped
complex with a polygonal curtain wall on a protruding hilltop of the
Agnesberg as a well defensible hilltop castle. Two trade and
military roads crossed at their feet, which was one of the main
reasons why numerous craftsmen and traders settled in Wernigerode
under the protection of the castle. On the side of the valley facing
the Wernigerode settlement, the necessary residential buildings were
inserted directly into the wall ring. The associated buildings such
as the “Hofstubenbau”, “Steinernes Haus”, and “Neues Haus” are only
partially preserved today, as they were rebuilt in the 16th and 19th
centuries. Today, in their changed shape, they determine large parts
of the west and north façades of the palace and in the museum tour
they house the style rooms of the Renaissance, Baroque and
Classicism as well as the so-called “King's Rooms”.
On April
17, 1229, the Counts of Wernigerode granted the rapidly growing
settlement town charter based on the example of neighboring Goslar.
The largely self-contained territory of the County of Wernigerode,
as it existed for many centuries, was not formed until 1343. At that
time, the Counts of Regenstein, who were defeated in a devastating
neighborhood war, were forced to cede large parts of their territory
to the Counts of Wernigerode.
The castle chapel and the keep
were originally located within the courtyard, which appears so
spacious today. Both buildings were demolished in the 14th century.
The chapel was replaced by a new, larger church on the east side of
the territory of the castle. The function of the defense tower was
taken over by the tower built in the 14th century on the northwest
corner of the castle grounds. His job was to protect the valley side
of the castle with the castle entrance.
When the Counts of
Wernigerode died out in the male line in 1429, the related Counts of
Stolberg took over the County of Wernigerode and with it the castle.
While the newly acquired property was initially pledged to Count
Heinrich von Schwarzburg, several representatives of the Counts of
Stolberg settled here in the 16th century.
To improve the defense of the castle, the
originally wooden palisades above the moat were replaced by stone
walls between the 14th and 16th centuries. A coherent defense system
was built around the main castle, which consisted of various moats,
ramparts, walls, gates and kennels and made the castle almost
impregnable well into the 16th century. In contrast to the castles
Hohnstein, Stolberg and Heimburg, it was not conquered by the rebels
during the German Peasant War. However, this military importance was
canceled in the 17th century by the development of heavier firearms
and the associated decisive changes in warfare. During the Thirty
Years' War the castle could no longer be defended and after disputes
with representatives of the city of Wernigerode it was given up as
the seat of power and the Stolberg residence was relocated to
Ilsenburg. It was abandoned by the counts and stood empty for years.
Troops passing through looted the inventory and the walls and
buildings fell into disrepair. Only after the end of the Thirty
Years' War did the counts decide to have the castle repaired. In the
period from 1671 to 1676 the castle was converted into a baroque
residential palace that no longer had a military defense function.
The main focus of construction activity during this time was the
construction of a new baroque half-timbered building, the so-called
"summer building", on the south side of the castle. The entrance to
the upper castle of this “summer building” was via a terrace that
extended into the middle of today's inner courtyard. The wooden
portal, decorated with coats of arms and carved angels, still serves
as a window frame, as the access terrace has been relocated.
The young Count Christian Ernst zu Stolberg-Wernigerode, who had
inherited the rule in 1710, moved his court seat back to
Wernigerode. In the second half of the 19th century, this baroque
palace underwent major architectural changes. After taking office in
1858, Count Otto zu Stolberg-Wernigerode began to have smaller, then
more and more extensive renovations and new constructions carried
out on the castle. The simple and provincial baroque palace was no
longer sufficient for the count's growing need for representation,
who as President of the Prussian mansion and as Vice Chancellor of
the German Empire temporarily held very important political offices.
Between 1862 and 1885 he had it converted into a spacious,
prestigious palace.
The inner courtyard of the palace
received its picturesque design. The castle church, which was
completed in 1880 according to plans by the Viennese architect
Friedrich von Schmidt, was also built. The notch carvings in the
parapet fields of the neo-renaissance framework on the hall building
erected from 1878 to 1881 and on the wooden house were made by the
wood sculptor Gustav Kuntzsch from Wernigerode. Today's building
complex was built in the historicist, predominantly neo-Gothic style
with around 250 rooms and numerous towers and individual buildings
connected by stairs. The interior design details such as the
coffered ceilings, wall paneling and parquet floors make the palace
particularly valuable.
In 1929 the castle was given up as the
permanent residence of the Fürst zu Stolberg-Wernigerode family.
Parts of the outdoor facilities and internal rooms could be viewed
publicly from April 1930 to the end of December 1943 as part of
guided tours for a fee. At that time, over 40,000 people visited the
castle every year. From 1944 onwards, most of the castle was used
for residential purposes by the armaments office. Botho Fürst zu
Stolberg-Wernigerode as the owner of the castle was expropriated in
1945 through the land reform.
In mid-December 1946 there was
an uncontrolled destruction of all historical weapons and armor as
well as the paintings of people in uniforms or with military
decorations by Soviet military personnel.
The branch of the
Sachsen-Anhalt Cultural Foundation located in the castle is headed
by Konrad Breitenborn.
After handing over to the city of Wernigerode in
1946, a “feudal museum” was set up in the castle, “which not only
documents the splendor of earlier centuries, but also their misery”.
For this purpose, “furniture, boxes and boxes were brought in from
the castles of Blankenburg and Ilsenburg,” as Spiegel reported in a
1949 report. The Spiegel author describes the orientation of the
museum as follows: “Sensible signs on the exhibits indicate the
direction. "For the prince the magnificent bed, for the subjects the
straw sack" is written on an old-fashioned carved alcove. "
From 1990 onwards, the castle initially operated as a castle museum
and since 1998 has served as the first German museum center for art
and cultural history of the 19th century. Originally furnished
living rooms of the German nobility before 1918, as well as thematic
rooms on the history of the Stolberg-Wernigerode family and the
second German Empire are shown in almost 50 rooms. Additional
focuses are also handicrafts and furniture from the 16th to the 19th
century. In one room there are exhibits with the accompanying
original commentaries from the time of the “Feudal Museum”.