Location: Bad Arolsen, Hesse Map
Built: early 18th century
Tel. +49 5691 895526
Official site
Arolsen Castle was constructed in the 18th century as a private residence of Waldeck and Pyrmont family. The lands of Arolsen Castle were originally home to a medieval Catholic monastery, but after it was secularized it was abandoned by its former residents. Arolsen Castle was finally removed in 1710 to make room to a family house. Arolson Castle was home to several generations of this noble family. Also it was a birth place of Queen consort Emma of Netherlands (2 August 1858 – 20 March 1934). Today the mansion is open to the public. It is notable for its huge library that is known as "Prince Waldecksche Court Library" that was completed in 1840. It is famous for its extended collection of 18th century literature.
Previous construction
In 1131 the parish village of Arolsen
(or at that time still "Aroldessen") was first mentioned on the
occasion of the foundation of the Augustinian convent Aroldessen. As
with many castles, the previous building of today's residential
palace was a monastery. From 1526 to 1530 it was owned by Count
Philip III. von Waldeck-Eisenberg repealed and secularized and then
converted into a castle by him. This castle and the remains of the
monastery were finally demolished in 1710.
Construction and
history of the new castle
At the same place, builder Julius
Ludwig Rothweil the Elder built Ä. The new palace based on the
Versailles model from 1710 to 1728 for Count Friedrich Anton Ulrich
von Waldeck and Pyrmont. In 1711 the count was raised to the
hereditary prince status. Inspired by this elevation, the main work
on the building complex in Arolsen took place in the years 1713 to
1722. In 1719 the exterior construction with the two gables on the
courtyard side and then in 1720 that of the garden side was
completed. On September 13, 1720, Friedrich Anton Ulrich and his
wife, Louise von Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, moved into the castle. It
was not until 1725 that the inner and outer courtyard wings with
enclosures and guard houses were built.
After the completion
of the main building in 1728, the establishment, equipment and
furnishing took several decades until the castle was finally handed
over to its use. In 1728, Karl of Waldeck and Pyrmont became the
ruling prince; he had the two apartments redesigned by the prince
and princess. Since then, the Arolsen Mint has been housed in the
west wing. In 1740 the rooms in the inner west wing were still
furnished in Baroque style, but after 1746 the Princess's audience
room was furnished in a more contemporary Rococo style. In 1751 the
music room was redesigned and finally the two wings in the attic
were expanded in 1745 (??). From 1749 to 1758 the royal stables and
1755 to 1761 the government house of Friedrich Franz Rothweil the
Elder. J. built. From 1763 to 1778 the nearby "New Castle" was
completed as a widow's seat (Wittumspalais). From 1809 to 1811, the
state master builder Theodor Escher set up the “Great Hall”.
Emma von Waldeck and Pyrmont, who later became Queen of the
Netherlands, was born on August 2, 1858 in Arolsen Castle and
married King Wilhelm III on January 7, 1879 in the castle chapel.
the Netherlands.
Library
The “Fürstlich Waldecksche
Hofbibliothek”, established in 1840, now contains literature on
almost all fields of knowledge relevant to the 18th century. The
focus of the collection is on general, geography, history,
literature and militaria. The basis of the library were the 400
works, manuscripts and prints that were transferred to the Waldeck
House in 1576 when the Augustinian canons of Volkhardinghausen near
Arolsen were abolished. The library currently has 35,000 volumes
spread across five rooms. In addition, there are 300 maps, 500
copper engravings and several thousand individual engravings in the
library.
Financial and constitutional consequences
The
construction of the palace made excessive demands on the state
finances of the small principality. After the establishment of the
German Confederation, Waldeck was so indebted that it was unable to
raise the federal government's contributions. The Landtag therefore
enforced the accession agreement with Prussia in 1867, with which
Waldeck lost a considerable part of its independence.
The
last ruling prince, Friedrich zu Waldeck and Pyrmont, was deposed on
November 13, 1918 by an ultimatum from the workers 'and soldiers'
council who had traveled from Kassel. The negotiations about the
division of property and the whereabouts of the princely family
lasted until 1929. They ended with the establishment of the
"Waldeckische Domanialverwaltung", an own operation of today's
Waldeck-Frankenberg district, which took over most of the forest and
the princely castles. In return, the princely family was granted a
usufruct right to the Arolser Castle, the outbuildings and some
agricultural areas and a forestry office was given. A non-profit
family foundation was set up with the foundation of the Princely
House of Waldeck and Pyrmont to maintain and maintain the castle
inventory, the library and the art collections.
Todays use
In 2009 the renovation and restoration work that had been going
on since 1987 was completed. Today the castle houses a museum of the
Princely Foundation, which offers guided tours through the state
rooms and salons, an exhibition on Waldeck military history, a
municipal museum with changing exhibitions, a registry office, and
it is still inhabited by the descendants of the princely family. In
the summer months, the Arolser Baroque Festival is staged in the
castle and castle concerts are given in the Stone Hall. The Adolf
Brehm library, which is important in the German-speaking world, is
located in part of the west wing.
Interior
The baroque
staircase, the garden hall and the white hall are the dominant
representative rooms. Inside, the ceilings were stuccoed by Julius
Ludwig Rothweils the Elder. Ä. Andrea Gallasini ornately furnished
in baroque style. The ceiling paintings from 1721 to 1722 are by the
Italian painter Carlo Lodovico Castelli. In 1721 the Kassel painter
Magnus de Quitter made the over-portals for the Palatinate Room and
the Crown Prince's Room. Sculptures by Christian Daniel Rauch, Ernst
Rietschel and Alexander Trippel adorn the rooms. The living rooms
are furnished with valuable Dutch tapestries, furniture and
paintings from the 18th century. The only oil painting by Heinrich
Aldegrever, pictures by Martin van Meytens, Ziessens and Heinrich
and Friedrich August Tischbeins can be found in Arolsen Castle. The
most important painting is the work Iphigenie recognizes Orestes by
Wilhelm Tischbein. The White Hall with a gallery is located above
the garden hall. In a side wing there is an extensive library with
old, historically significant book holdings, as well as a rich
historical collection of graphics. An extensive collection of iron
art castings is also exhibited in Arolsen Castle.
Surroundings
park
The French garden belonging to the castle no
longer exists in its entirety. The small, circular boxwood rondel at
the main portal has been preserved in a purely stylistic manner in
French garden architecture. In 1992 Jeff Koons showed his work
“Puppy”, a twelve-meter-high “puppy”, consisting of 17,000 flowers,
in the boxwood rondel parallel to documenta IX. After modistic
changes, an English garden with a pond from the 18th century is
attached to the residential palace. The garden architectural design
elements include an old avenue by the castle pond, which is still
almost completely preserved today.
Farm buildings
The
castle includes a farm yard with an orangery, a garden center and a
riding hall built by Theodor Escher from 1819 to 1824.