Confessions of a Castleholic

It's the second week of January and this Castleholic has managed to achieve something she never has before: I have written about all the castles and palaces I visited during the previous year. Procrastinator no more! (I wish...) That kind of brings us to a problem though about the future upkeep of this space on the world wide web though that is the matter for another post... First, let's learn more about the history of the place that served as the residence of the electors and later kings of Saxony for centuries, shall we? We shall. While the future Residenzschloss was firstly mentioned in the 13th century, the expansion of the castle into a princely residence started around the year 1400 under Margrave Wilhelm I of Meissen, known as 'the One-Eyed'. During the mid to late 15th century, the structure was further extended according to the plans of master builder Arnold von Westfalen and turned into an enclosed four-wing castle. The Saxon rulers continued to enhan...

Dresden famously is the Baroque jewel on the Elbe river, its architecture being influenced by the style of the 17th and early 18th century more than any else. The Coselpalais is just another stunning example of that. Located right next to the Church of Our Lady (or Frauenkirche ), it bears the name given to one of the most (in)famous mistresses in German history. Anna Constantia von Brockdorff, married Countess of Hoym and later created Countess of Cosel, was the mistress of August the Strong, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony, for a couple of years before she fell into disgrace and  was banished from the Saxon court and imprisoned. She, however, did bear King and Elector August, the original mastermind behind Baroque Dresden, three children including a son called Friedrich August just like his father. It was Friedrich August who commissioned architect Julius Heinrich Schwarze to build a residential palace in 1762 after purchasing several houses located o...

Rounding off our trio of Elbe palaces is Schloss Eckberg , located right next to Schloss Albrechtsberg and Lingnerschloss . The Elbschlösser , perched on the Loschwitz hillside high above the river, are all located on an area previously known as "Findlater's Vineyard", a number of vineyards previously owned by James Ogilvy, 7th Earl of Findlater. In difference to  Schloss Albrechtsberg  and  Lingnerschloss though, Schloss Eckberg was never owned by Prince Albrecht of Prussia. Already in 1832, the area the Schloss is situated on was separated from the rest of the estate and sold.  In 1858, the Eckberg vineyard and two other smaller ones were bought by merchant Johann Daniel Souchay, who was originally from Manchester. He commissioned Christian Friedrich Arnold, a student of Gottfried Semper, to build an English mansion in Neo-Gothic style instead of a cottage previously located on the estate. Construction on the castle, which is consi...

Time to get back to my pre-Easter castle adventures and introduce you to another castle I saw while visiting beautiful Dresden: Lingnerschloss literally located right next to Schloss Albrechtsberg . Originally known as  Villa Stockhausen , the Schloss was built by Prince Albrecht of Prussia, youngest brother of both King Friedrich Wilhelm IV und the future Emperor Wilhelm I, for his chamberlain Johann Karl Friedrich Ludwig von Stockhausen. Prince Albrecht had to leave the Prussian court after morganatically marrying Rosalie von Rauch and made Dresden his new home.  The Villa was built between 1850 and 1853 according to plans by Adolf Lohse, a student of Karl Friedrich Schinkel who had also given Schloss Albrechtsberg its current appearance. The chamberlain, however, could not enjoy the castle for very long as he died in the year of completion. His family continued to live there though. In 1891, Villa Stockhausen was sold to sewing machine manu...

Dresden's Großer Garten - or "Great Garden" - is a public park that was first established in 1676 by the future Elector Johann Georg III as a hunting ground. It was located outside the walls of the city, just to the southwest of the city centre. It's centrepiece is a maison de plaisance simply known as the Palais im Großen Garten  - or Palace in the Great Garden. The palace is considered one of the first secular buildings built in Saxony after the Thirty Years' War and is thus an early example of Baroque architecture in what today is Germany. Its facade actually mixes French Baroque and the architecture of the late-Renaissance palaces of Genoa. It was Elector Johann Georg III who commissioned the palace in 1678, two years after establishing the Great Garden. The exterior of the summer palace was completed in 1683 after designs by Johann Georg Starcke, the interior was finished in 1690. At the same time, major changes were made to the Great Garden adding sev...

Before I went to Dresden a few weeks ago, I had never heard of a place called Schloss Weesenstein . It was a special exhibition they are having this year that actually drew my attention to it: „Bomb-Proof! A Hideaway for Art - Weesenstein 1945“. Whatever urban castle, church, museum or other historical building you visit in Germany, the topic of the last years oft he Second World War is sure to come up at some point. Schloss Weesenstein lies outside of any city nestled away in the valley of the Müritz valley not to far from Dresden. As such it was destined to be a hideaway for the masterpieces of Dresden’s museums - and lots of wine.  The history of Schloss Weesenstein , however, starts much earlier than that. According to archaeological finds, its history began over 800 years ago. Firstly mentioned in 1318 as Weysinberg, the castle belonged to the burgraves of Dohna. Not long after, the Dohnas got involved in a feud actually bearing their name. The Dohna Feud was started ...