Gifhorn Castle
Encyclopedia
Gifhorn Castle is a castle in Gifhorn
, Germany, built between 1525 and 1581 in the Weser Renaissance
style. The castle was fortified until 1790 with moats, ramparts and bastion
s and was never captured. In the 16th century it was the Residenz
of the Duchy of Gifhorn
under Duke Francis of Brunswick-Lüneburg for just 10 years.
towers were built on the four corners of the site. These were linked to the castle by underground rampart passages (Wallgänge) in the form of casemate
s.
A 45 metre long section is preserved today that led to the north bastion. Today it is used today to house exhibitions for the castle museum. The original entrance to the castle was over a bridge on the narrow side of the castle moat in the southeast, that led to the gatehouse
. Today the main entrance is through the old south bastion which has been reconstructed using sections of wall arranged in a circle.
The following castle buildings are grouped around the inner courtyard:
and Ise
. According to an investigation around 1900 by the pre-historian, Carl Schuchhardt
, the old castle - of which nothing remains today - was built around 1000. It is mentioned for the first time in a deed of 1296 where it is called Castrum Gifhorne.
It was besieged, probably during fighting between Duke Albert the Fat and his brother, Henry the Admirable. At the end of the 13th century renovation work was carried out on the castle under the direction of Otto the Strict. As the village of Gifhorn developed, the importance of the castle grew, both for security reasons and as a customs post on a trade route
. In the 14th century it was frequently enfeoffed to, amongst others, the lord of Veltheim and the town of Brunswick
. In 1396 Duke Frederick transferred the castle to his wife Anna of Saxony as a life annuity
. In the 15th century other tenants followed, like the von Bülows (1467), von Alvenslebens (1470), von Quitzows (1472) and von Bodendiekes (1477). During the Hildesheim Diocesan Feud the castle and town were destroyed in 1519. Both belonged at the time to the Duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
.
and his brother Otto of Celle. Ernest gave the castle as a wedding present to his wife, Sophie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, on the occasion of their marriage in 1528. It was given to her as an annuity
, under which she could use the building and its revenue. In 1539 Duke Ernest gave the castle and its surrounding Ämter to his youngest brother Duke Francis, who had returned from the court of the Elector of Saxony and was demanding his share of the inheritance.
and led an ostentatious, courtly life. At the same time he built Fallersleben Castle
as a rural aristocratic estate. Life with his more prudent brother, Ernest and the relatively modest standard of living in the small Celle
Residenz was not enough for him. Francis engaged the fortress architect, Michael Clare, from Celle. His works dominate the appearance of Gifhorn Castle.
After the death of Duke Francis in 1549 the castle ceased to be a princely Residenz. The Duchy of Gifhorn that had lasted just 10 years from 1539 to 1549 was re-absorbed into the main ducal house in Celle. The widowed duchess, Clara, had to move out of the castle rooms and take up her dowager residence at Fallersleben Castle. Thereafter Gifhorn Castle became the residence of a bailiff (Amtmann). Occasionally it was used as accommodation for the royal hunting parties of the Celle dukes, who came here in order to hunt in the great forests around Gifhorn.
Nevertheless the castle was retained as a fortress, because it had a strategically important function for the Celle dukes on the southeastern flank of their dukedom. The castle was run by a castellan
(Schlosshauptmann) and, from 1734, a seneschal
(Landdrost
). He was the fortress commander (Festungskommandant) and, from the 16th century onwards, commanded a force of armourers (Waffenmeister), Büchsenschützen and Landsknecht
en. From the time it was built the fortress withstood every attack. Enemy troops, like the Swedes, Danes, league (Ligisten) and imperial troops in the Thirty Years War and French armies in the Seven Years War quartered themselves in the town of Gifhorn but avoided attacking the castle.
The last Schlosshauptmann, Ulrich von Veltheim allowed the fortifications to be dismantled between 1770 and 1780, because it was no longer equal to technological advances of that time. The moats were reduced to half-width and entrances were constructed at the northern and southern bastions. The fortified gatehouse was converted into a grain store. From the 18th century, district administrators (Landräte) officiated in the castle. A fundamental renovation and redevelopment of the whole castle area took place between 1978 and 1983. Today the castle is home to the following:
Gifhorn
Gifhorn is a town and capital of the district Gifhorn in the east of Lower Saxony, Germany. It has a population of about 42,000 and is mainly influenced by the small distance to the industrial and commercially important cities nearby, Brunswick and Wolfsburg...
, Germany, built between 1525 and 1581 in the Weser Renaissance
Weser Renaissance
Weser Renaissance is a form of Renaissance architectural style that is found in the area around the River Weser in central Germany and which has been well-preserved in the towns and cities of the region.- Background :...
style. The castle was fortified until 1790 with moats, ramparts and bastion
Bastion
A bastion, or a bulwark, is a structure projecting outward from the main enclosure of a fortification, situated in both corners of a straight wall , facilitating active defence against assaulting troops...
s and was never captured. In the 16th century it was the Residenz
Residenz
Residenz is a very formal, otherwise obsolete, German word for "place of living". It is in particular used to denote the building or town where a sovereign ruler resided, therefore also carrying a similar meaning as the modern expressions seat of government or capital...
of the Duchy of Gifhorn
Duchy of Gifhorn
The Duchy of Gifhorn with its residence at Gifhorn Castle was founded in 1539 and lasted only 10 years until the death of its ruler, Duke Francis of Brunswick-Lüneburg in 1549...
under Duke Francis of Brunswick-Lüneburg for just 10 years.
Design
This well-fortified castle was built in the shape of a trapezium. It was surrounded by ramparts and a moat up to 50 metres wide. The immediate vicinity could be flooded to create a swamp. Stone bastionBastion
A bastion, or a bulwark, is a structure projecting outward from the main enclosure of a fortification, situated in both corners of a straight wall , facilitating active defence against assaulting troops...
towers were built on the four corners of the site. These were linked to the castle by underground rampart passages (Wallgänge) in the form of casemate
Casemate
A casemate, sometimes rendered casement, is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired. originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress.-Origin of the term:...
s.
A 45 metre long section is preserved today that led to the north bastion. Today it is used today to house exhibitions for the castle museum. The original entrance to the castle was over a bridge on the narrow side of the castle moat in the southeast, that led to the gatehouse
Gatehouse
A gatehouse, in architectural terminology, is a building enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a castle, manor house, fort, town or similar buildings of importance.-History:...
. Today the main entrance is through the old south bastion which has been reconstructed using sections of wall arranged in a circle.
The following castle buildings are grouped around the inner courtyard:
- The gatehouseGatehouseA gatehouse, in architectural terminology, is a building enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a castle, manor house, fort, town or similar buildings of importance.-History:...
(Torhaus) is the oldest building and was completed in 1526, one year after work began on the castle. Due to its oversized dimensions it was probably originally planned as a single building. The roof, with its semi-circular gables is extraordinary and none like it has been preserved anywhere else. Until the 18th century the entrance to the castle was through the gatehouse; after that it was used as a grain store. - The Ablagerhaus is the largest building in the east wing and acted from the 18th century as a residence for senior Gifhorn officials such as the Amtshauptmann. Its name, which means 'visit house', is derived from the fact that the occupants of its rooms had to vacate them when there was a lordly visit (Ablager) e.g. by royal hunting parties. This building contains the Great HallGreat HallGreat Hall may refer to* Great hall, the main room of a royal palace, nobleman's castle or large manor house* Great Hall of the People, Tiananmen Square, Beijing* Great Hall of the University of Sydney, Australia* Cooper_Union#The_Great_Hall, New York...
(Rittersaal). - The castle chapel (Schlosskapelle) was built in 1547 and was the first religious building built for Protestant services in Germany. It contains the sarcophagus of Duke Francis on a gallery (Empore) below a window and a life-size, kneeling statue of the duke. The sarcophagus of his wife, Clara of Lauenburg, is empty, because she died during a trip to her PomeraniaPomeraniaPomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
n home in Barth. Nevertheless, there is also a statue of her. - The Kommandantenhaus of 1581 was the residence of the Schlosshauptmann or Amtshauptmann. Later in the 19th and 20th century it became the seat of the county court (Amtsgericht)
- The staircase tower of 1568, with its spiral staircase, links the gatehouse tower with the Ablagerhaus
- The prison (Gefangenenhaus), armoury (Zeughaus) and grain store (Kornmagazin) in the west wing no longer exist. Instead, the prison complex (Justizvollzugsanstalt) was built here in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Earlier castle
The fortified predecessor of the castle was a moated castle on a defended, artificial hill built in the angle between the rivers AllerAller
The Aller is a river, long, in the states of Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony in Germany. It is a right-hand, and hence eastern, tributary of the River Weser and is also its largest tributary. Its last form the Lower Aller federal waterway...
and Ise
Ise (river)
The Ise is a roughly 50 km long, almost natural river in East Lower Saxony, Germany, which crosses the district of Gifhorn from north to south and discharges into the Aller at Gifhorn itself.- Course :...
. According to an investigation around 1900 by the pre-historian, Carl Schuchhardt
Carl Schuchhardt
Carl Schuchhardt was a German archaeologist and museum director.Schuchhardt studied classical philology, modern languages, and archaeology in Leipzig, Göttingen and Heidelberg...
, the old castle - of which nothing remains today - was built around 1000. It is mentioned for the first time in a deed of 1296 where it is called Castrum Gifhorne.
It was besieged, probably during fighting between Duke Albert the Fat and his brother, Henry the Admirable. At the end of the 13th century renovation work was carried out on the castle under the direction of Otto the Strict. As the village of Gifhorn developed, the importance of the castle grew, both for security reasons and as a customs post on a trade route
Trade route
A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a single trade route contains long distance arteries which may further be connected to several smaller networks of commercial...
. In the 14th century it was frequently enfeoffed to, amongst others, the lord of Veltheim and the town of Brunswick
Braunschweig
Braunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....
. In 1396 Duke Frederick transferred the castle to his wife Anna of Saxony as a life annuity
Life annuity
A life annuity is a financial contract in the form of an insurance product according to which a seller — typically a financial institution such as a life insurance company — makes a series of future payments to a buyer in exchange for the immediate payment of a lump sum or a series...
. In the 15th century other tenants followed, like the von Bülows (1467), von Alvenslebens (1470), von Quitzows (1472) and von Bodendiekes (1477). During the Hildesheim Diocesan Feud the castle and town were destroyed in 1519. Both belonged at the time to the Duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
The Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was a subdivision of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, whose history was characterised by numerous divisions and reunifications. Various dynastic lines of the House of Welf ruled Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel until the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806...
.
Construction
The present structure was built from 1525 as a completely new castle, not on the site of its predecessor, but on a hill on what was then the northern edge of the town of Gifhorn. It was commissioned by the Protestant dukes, Ernest the Confessor of Brunswick-LüneburgPrincipality of Lüneburg
The Principality of Lüneburg was a territorial division of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg within the Holy Roman Empire, immediately subordinate to the emperor. It existed from 1269 until 1705 and its territory lay within the modern-day state of Lower Saxony in Germany...
and his brother Otto of Celle. Ernest gave the castle as a wedding present to his wife, Sophie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, on the occasion of their marriage in 1528. It was given to her as an annuity
Life annuity
A life annuity is a financial contract in the form of an insurance product according to which a seller — typically a financial institution such as a life insurance company — makes a series of future payments to a buyer in exchange for the immediate payment of a lump sum or a series...
, under which she could use the building and its revenue. In 1539 Duke Ernest gave the castle and its surrounding Ämter to his youngest brother Duke Francis, who had returned from the court of the Elector of Saxony and was demanding his share of the inheritance.
Castle history
On taking over the castle in 1539, Duke Francis was able to indulge his noble image of himself and attended to his princely representational duties unfettered. He had Gifhorn Castle expanded as his ResidenzResidenz
Residenz is a very formal, otherwise obsolete, German word for "place of living". It is in particular used to denote the building or town where a sovereign ruler resided, therefore also carrying a similar meaning as the modern expressions seat of government or capital...
and led an ostentatious, courtly life. At the same time he built Fallersleben Castle
Fallersleben Castle
Fallersleben Castle is located in Wolfsburg in the German state of Lower Saxony and, together with Neuhaus and Wolfsburg Castles, is one of the most important historic buildings in the town. It is in the district of Fallersleben and forms an historic setting along with the castle lake, St...
as a rural aristocratic estate. Life with his more prudent brother, Ernest and the relatively modest standard of living in the small Celle
Celle
Celle is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the River Aller, a tributary of the Weser and has a population of about 71,000...
Residenz was not enough for him. Francis engaged the fortress architect, Michael Clare, from Celle. His works dominate the appearance of Gifhorn Castle.
After the death of Duke Francis in 1549 the castle ceased to be a princely Residenz. The Duchy of Gifhorn that had lasted just 10 years from 1539 to 1549 was re-absorbed into the main ducal house in Celle. The widowed duchess, Clara, had to move out of the castle rooms and take up her dowager residence at Fallersleben Castle. Thereafter Gifhorn Castle became the residence of a bailiff (Amtmann). Occasionally it was used as accommodation for the royal hunting parties of the Celle dukes, who came here in order to hunt in the great forests around Gifhorn.
Nevertheless the castle was retained as a fortress, because it had a strategically important function for the Celle dukes on the southeastern flank of their dukedom. The castle was run by a castellan
Castellan
A castellan was the governor or captain of a castle. The word stems from the Latin Castellanus, derived from castellum "castle". Also known as a constable.-Duties:...
(Schlosshauptmann) and, from 1734, a seneschal
Seneschal
A seneschal was an officer in the houses of important nobles in the Middle Ages. In the French administrative system of the Middle Ages, the sénéchal was also a royal officer in charge of justice and control of the administration in southern provinces, equivalent to the northern French bailli...
(Landdrost
Landdrost
Landdrost was the title of various officials with local jurisdiction. It is of Dutch origin, with land- corresponding to the English meaning of an area, suggesting a somewhat larger jurisdiction than just a village or estate; and drost being a short form of Drossaard, one of many similar titles in...
). He was the fortress commander (Festungskommandant) and, from the 16th century onwards, commanded a force of armourers (Waffenmeister), Büchsenschützen and Landsknecht
Landsknecht
Landsknechte were European, predominantly German mercenary pikemen and supporting foot soldiers from the late 15th to the late 16th century, and achieved the reputation for being the universal mercenary of Early modern Europe.-Etymology:The term is from German, Land "land, country" + Knecht...
en. From the time it was built the fortress withstood every attack. Enemy troops, like the Swedes, Danes, league (Ligisten) and imperial troops in the Thirty Years War and French armies in the Seven Years War quartered themselves in the town of Gifhorn but avoided attacking the castle.
The last Schlosshauptmann, Ulrich von Veltheim allowed the fortifications to be dismantled between 1770 and 1780, because it was no longer equal to technological advances of that time. The moats were reduced to half-width and entrances were constructed at the northern and southern bastions. The fortified gatehouse was converted into a grain store. From the 18th century, district administrators (Landräte) officiated in the castle. A fundamental renovation and redevelopment of the whole castle area took place between 1978 and 1983. Today the castle is home to the following:
- Gifhorn district with the district council rooms
- Great Hall Event Venue (Veranstaltungsort Rittersaal)
- Gifhorn Castle History Museum with 1000 m² of exhibition area showing the development of Gifhorn from ancient times to the present
- The castle restaurant
- The prison (Justizvollzugsanstalt)
Sources
- Jürgen Conrad (Text): Schloß Gifhorn. Landkreis Gifhorn, Gifhorn 1983.
- Ernest Andreas Friedrich: Wenn Steine reden könnten. Bd 3. Landbuch-Verlag, Hannover 1995, ISBN 3-7842-0515-1
- Hans Adolf Schultz: Burgen und Schlösser des Brunswicker Landes. Waisenhaus, Brunswick 1980, 1984 (4.Aufl.). ISBN 3-87884-012-8
External links
- Description of the castle
- Short account at Newsclick.de
- Historic reconstruction
- Article: Ein Schloss für alle Fälle in the Hannoversche Allgemeine ZeitungHannoversche Allgemeine ZeitungHannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung is a German newspaper with a circulation of 158.000 and a widespread resonance all over Germany. It is distributed in Hanover and in all Lower Saxony.Ulrich Neufert leads the HAZ as chief journalist...
- Interaktives 360° Panorama photograph of the castle courtyard