Confessions of a Castleholic

Have you ever wondered where the picture on the top of this website that is also our profile picture on various social media channels was taken? It is one of the most iconic views of the Baroque-style Great Garden of the Herrenhausen Gardens in Hanover . The building in the picture, the Gallery, is actually one of the few buildings of the ensemble preserved in its original state.  Unfortunately, most people will never get to see its interior as the Galerie isn't usually open to the public. If you have a few (more) spare euros lying around, you can rent it for your wedding or birthday celebration - or whatever kind of celebration floats your boat - but it is not part of a tour of the Herrenhausen Gardens or the rebuilt Schloss Herrenhausen . So how did I get in? This weekend were the European Heritage Days. The annual programme offers opportunities to visit buildings, monuments and sites, many of which are not normally accessible to the public - and the Gallery of ...

Truth be told, there aren't a lot of splenderous castles to be found around Hanover, the town where I live. By the time Baroque became en vogue, the Guelphs had adopted the concept of primogeniture instead of the division of lands between several sons thus not needing several residential towns anymore - and in 1701 they also got hold of another throne in addition to the Electorate of Hanover, thus making a move to London necessary and some of Hanover's rulers never even made it across the channel to mainland Europe to see their ancestors' home.  There are, however, several Renaissance-style castles in the area though most of didn't have a royal use anymore even during the last decades of the monarchy. One of them is  Schloss Landestrost in Neustadt am Rübenberge, just north of Hanover. The castle owes its existence to Duke Erich II of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Erich "the Younger" ruled the Principality of Calenberg-Göttingen, one of the several Guelph pri...

'Twas a weekend full of castles for yours truly: In addition to seeing Schloss Rössing , I also managed to revisit Jagdschloss Springe , the former hunting lodge of the Kings of Hanover and later the German Emperor. (Pssst, the most impressive one of them all - Schloss Marienburg - is still to be featured on this blog.) So as some mid-week entertainment, enjoy these shots of the interior of the Jagdschloss with more information about its history available in our previous post about this royal home.

Not too much is actually known - or to be found by yours truly - about the history of this Neo-Gothic beauty in the style of English castles near Hanover. Schloss Blumenau in the small village by the same name was built between 1865 and 1867 by Count Eduard of Kielmansegg, a grandson of King George II of the United Kingdom and Hanover by his illegitimate son Count Johann Ludwig of Wallmoden-Gimborn. Kielmansegg, who also served as the Minister-President of the Kingdom of Hanover, planned to use the L-shaped castle with a distinct octagonal tower as an old-age residence. However, I'm not actually sure how much use he got out of his Schloss . In 1866, the Kingdom of Hanover was annexed by Prussia. Count Kielmansegg and especially his wife née Juliane von Zesterfleth were instrumental in smuggling the Hanoverian crown jewels out of the country to London. Later Countess Juliane and her oldest son Count Alexander also managed to bring the Hanoverian crowns and other jewels from...

The other week, I visited the Great Garden of Herrenhausen Gardens with a friend. He asked how the garden looked like without the rebuilt  Schloss Herrenhausen . I dug deep and actually found a picture of mine, quite empty this walk down memory to the year 2006 when the reconstruction hadn't even started yet, non?

All the features about the wedding of Hereditary Prince Ernst-August of Hanover and Ekaterina Malysheva, right here: The Wedding Report Photos of the Bridal Couple Photos of the Wedding Guests Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4

After a week of sorting through all of my pictures from last weekend's wedding of Hereditary Prince Ernst-August and Princess Ekaterina of Hanover, here are some last pictures of the guests. If I am able to identify any more in the future, I will add them to this post, so make sure to check back every now and then. Prince Michael of Salm-Salm and his wife Princess Philippa, née Countess of Castell-Castell. Coordt and Inge von Mannstein. On the left: Baroness Helena of Cramm, née Countess Wolff-Metternich, and Baron Egbert of Cramm. I don't have a good picture of it but I saw Baron Egbert and Baroness Helena leaving the venue together in a car with Nikolaus and Anna von Veltheim. Pictured with the Cramms is Caspar von Veltheim. Baron Philip of Oldershausen and wife Baronee Thyra, née von Reden. In the foreground is Ludolf von Klencke, the couple behind him are Baron Ludolf of Oldershausen and his wife Baroness Sybille. Probably Count Philipp of Hochberg. ...

Wednesday night is a night as good as any for the my third post about the guests of last weekend's royal wedding of Ernst-August and Ekaterina of Hanover, so without further ado, let's go... Princess Olga of Hanover, aunt of the groom, in the middle together with her brother Prince Heinrich and his son Prince Albert. Prince Constantin of Salm-Salm and his wife Princess Friederike, née Gumberz von Rhonthal, who apparently had their fifth child recently. Princess Milana of Fürstenberg. Another picture of Princess Milana of Fürstenberg (middle) and on her right Lord Edward Spencer-Churchill.  Two of the ushers: Princess Hermann of Leinigen on the left and Prince Berthold of Baden on the right. Prince Georg and Princess Victoria of Hanover, possibly with their daughter Princess Nora of Hanover and a granddaughter.  Page boy Arcadj Hadey and flower girl Noa Hadey and their parents. Dirk Rossmann, owner of Europe's second largest drugstore chai...