CastleMemory: Neues Schloss Herrenchiemsee

Today, a walk down the memory lane to Neues Schloss Herrenchiemsee,
the never completed Versailles-style palace of Bavaria's swan king, Ludwig II.
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Schloss Köpenick

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In Germany, Köpenick isn't famous for its castle but for an infamous imposter, the Captain of Köpenick, who even amused the last German Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II. What did the imposter do? Wilhelm Voigt masqueraded as a Prussian military officer, rounded up a bunch of soldiers under his "command" and "confiscated" more than 4,000 German gold mark from the municipal treasury of Köpenick. It was on October 16, 1906, that the out-of-work shoemaker donned a second-hand military captain's uniform he had purchased in a store, walked out into the street and assumed control of a company of soldiers marching past.  He led them to the town hall of Köpenick, at the time a small town just outside of Berlin and today part of the German capital, arrested the mayor and the treasurer on charges of embezzlement, and took possession of 4,000 Mark from the town treasury. He then disappeared with the money but was later found out and arrested. Affectionately known as the &qu…
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Schloss Baruth

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Right in the heart of Baruth, a small town just south of Berlin, sits a Schloss whose former glory is slowly fading away. Boarded up windows, shattered glass and unresolved property rights - Schloss Baruth's future looks fairly bleak. Things, however, started out a lot more glamorous back in the day... The oldest part of the castle complex commonly called Schloss Baruth or Neues (New) Schloss Baruth dates back to the 18th century and actually started out as a garden house. Already since the late 16th century, the Lordship of Baruth had been held by one of the many branches of the extensive Solms family who originally came from Hesse. As you probably already guessed, when there is a 'new castle', there must be an 'old castle'. Located just a stone's throw away, the Altes Schloss Baruth, which you can see in the last two pictures of this post, was built starting in 1671 on the basis of an even older medieval castle. The fairly smallish Altes Schloss, however, so…
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Schloss Lübbenau

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Yours truly fell in love, in love with the Spreewald. Its thousands of little canals and dozens of quaint villages. And while I cannot wait to discover all the beauty this region just south of Berlin has to offer in the summer time, I cannot help but thinking that a visit during the colourful weeks of autumn also gives it a special charm.  One of the stops during my visit? Schloss Lübbenau, the former home of the Counts of Lynar turned luxury hotel. Count Rochus of Lynar, an Italian military engineer who you can see depicted in the left photo, was the first of his family to move north of the Alps where he was employed by both the Electors of Saxony and Brandenburg among others constructing various fortifications. It was Rochus' daughter-in-law Elisabeth who, in 1621 after the passing of her husband, purchased the demesne of Lübbenau. And with it came - lucky for us - a Schloss. Originally, a medieval moated castle was located on the same site as today's building. Sometime aro…
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