Author Topic: German Royal Palaces, Castles and Homes  (Read 113530 times)

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Offline Svetabel

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Re: German Royal Palaces, Castles and Homes
« Reply #135 on: October 10, 2012, 11:47:44 PM »
This summer I went for some German language course in Goethe Institute in Berlin and had a chance to see many Palace and Castles in these two and a half weeks in Germany:

Charlottenburg, Sanssouci, Neues Palais (Friedrich der Grosse exibition), Glienicke,seen Babenhausen from outside, Cecilienhof, Schönhausen, Wörlitz, Oranienbaum, Mosigkau, Georgium, Köthen, Wernigerode, Arolsen, Wilhelmshohe, Hinter und Forderglauchau, Waldenburg, Rochsburg, Ludwigslust, Schwerin, Heidecksburg, Sondershausen, Obergriez, Untergreiz, Sommer Palais in Greiz, Eutin, Gottorf and Rossla.

I must say it was a wonderful experience! If one has any question about any of these Castles and Palaces, I'll be happy to answer...

That's really an experience! I'd love to know more on Glienicke, once a home of Pr.Friedrich Leopold of Prussia - what's it like now? Any photos? ))

Offline Marc

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Re: German Royal Palaces, Castles and Homes
« Reply #136 on: October 11, 2012, 04:48:58 AM »
That's really an experience! I'd love to know more on Glienicke, once a home of Pr.Friedrich Leopold of Prussia - what's it like now? Any photos? ))

Unfortunately,due to wars Glienicke was for a long time an empty Palace or a palace with no living purpose.It was once even used as a Casino and during the time of Red Army,one of the rooms in the first floor was a stable for horses and the guide showed us the renovated floor which still holds some traces of the horses hooves...Exteriors are just magnificent as they are kept original with all the antiques Prince Carl brought with him from around the world and gave to be incorporated into an inner facade.Interiors,unlike exteriors,are not original.Once it became a museum,interiors started to fill by Prussian Stiftung,as the family fled before with most of what was in it...As you said,the last Prince to live in the very Palace there was Friedrich Leopold senior,but as he was the one who fled and took everything with him to Italy ,the least in interior was connected to him :-( His son Friedrich Leopold younger came to live at the estate at one point,not in the very Palace,but in the Cavalry House which stands near by.Today,the rooms and interiors are mainly connected to Prince Carl and Princess Marie Louise with a dash of Prince Karl von Hardenberg who was previous owner...

However,everything connected to the Schloss is very unique and the story is so very well packed by the Palace guide who makes everything easier to know and understand in one hour that the tour lasts.It is an interesting story about the lives of three Prussian brothers who lived all near by as their father King Friedrich Wilhelm III gave them estates one next to each other.King Friedrich Wilhelm IV lived in Neues Palais in Potsdam,Prince Wilhelm(future Emperor) lived in Babelsberg and opposite to him,across the lake Prince Carl who owned Glienicke.

While Friedrich Wilhelm IV was a ruler and to busy to be bothered,there was a tension between the families of Prince Wilhelm and Prince Carl who lived near by,or should I say between two sisters Marie Luise and Augusta...

Both Marie Luise and Augusta were brought very formal and with very strict etiquette by their mother Grand Duchess Marie von Sachsen-Weimar.They had to know almost everything,from knitting to painting,music,geography,history etc.The elder one Marie Luise was considered to be more beautiful,more educated and therefore was called "the pearl of Weimar".With such qualities she was expected,by her mother,to marry some King or an Emperor at least.But,Prince Carl,a younger son of the King fell in love and it was with great difficulty that he tried to persuade her to give her daughter Marie Luise to him.She loved him too...

But,as soon as younger Augusta married his elder brother Wilhelm,the problems started.They lived close by,and now she was the one who took precedence in family gatherings and it was a great blow to Marie Luise who,as the guide said,almost hated her sister afterwards...She,who was the elder,more bright,beautiful and intellectual thought that her sister was less deserving of such an honor...Therefore she often avoided those gatherings often choosing to ride or to stay alone in her palace.

The other thing that bothered Marie Luise is that she was very fond of her husband,but as he was away traveling for most of his time,she was often left alone on her own.She coped very well with it as she was brought to be very stiff and formal and most of the time she spent her life in Glienicke devoted to the education of her children...

In the Schloss Glienicke,one could see many portraits of Princess Marie Luise,Prince Carl,his favorite sister Princess Luise,his daughter in law Princess Marianne,King Friedrich Wilhelm III,Queen Luise etc.Most of them are in the red room or red Salon which was the also an audience room in the central part of the second floor.There is also a room with painted china and porcelain which describes all the travels of Prince Carl which I found to be very interesting...

The park outside the Schloss is just so green,beautiful and it looks directly into the Potsdame Lake...as is the Lion fountain which stands in front of the main entrance!

Here are few pictures I took:

Portikus,which was a House used for Ladies in waiting:


Inner garden or an inside yard where one could see antique heads between the windows incorporated into the walls:


Inside 1:


Inside 2 with portraits of Marie Luise riding and Queen Luise on the right:


Palace from the main entrance:


Lion fountain:


Park 1:


Park 2:


View from Glienicke Bridge to Schloss Babelsberg across the Lake:


And this same image zoomed in,which I find to be great:



« Last Edit: October 11, 2012, 05:21:17 AM by Marc »

Offline Svetabel

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Re: German Royal Palaces, Castles and Homes
« Reply #137 on: October 11, 2012, 09:20:06 AM »
Thanks so much, Marc, for the story about Glienecke! The photos are wonderful. I thought there was a Casino in the Palace (till now) but now I see they opened it for the public. But what the Palace is now? Public Museum or Private property?

Offline Marc

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Re: German Royal Palaces, Castles and Homes
« Reply #138 on: October 11, 2012, 10:06:38 AM »
Thanks so much, Marc, for the story about Glienecke! The photos are wonderful. I thought there was a Casino in the Palace (till now) but now I see they opened it for the public. But what the Palace is now? Public Museum or Private property?

Today the Casino belongs to the estate and is the walking distance from the Palace,but it's not in the very Palace,it's in the Park and next to the Lake,while the Palace is in the middle...It's placed in the Portikus,former House for ladies in waiting,also known as Klein-Glienicke!

But based on the story of the tour-guide at that time there was another Casino which was not even on the ground of the estate,but across the Lake to which people from Glienicke could go by boat!

As far as I know the the Schloss today belongs to "Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten Berlin-Brandenburg",as well as Babelsberg,which is closed due to renovation until 2016 and only the Park around the Castle can be visited!It is said that the Stiftung invested a lot of money for Babelsberg renovation for everything to be as it was once before and is bringing a lot of related objects back from various Palaces placed around Germany!

That is similar situation like in the Castle Mosigkau and some other Castles...When the Red Army came they didn't destroy interiors from some of the Castles,but just transmitted big part of Castle interiors to Dresden in Saxony and only in recent years some related objects were back to the place they belonged as well as even some which are not at all related...And today they can be seen in Castles also...But,sometimes the guides have problems with those kind of objects-don't know anything about them as they are cataloged,but not even identified,so one could see them,but not know anything about them!
« Last Edit: October 11, 2012, 10:12:06 AM by Marc »

Offline Joanna

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Re: German Royal Palaces, Castles and Homes
« Reply #139 on: October 10, 2017, 10:19:39 AM »
Behind the Hidden Doors in the Neues Palais, Potsdam Germany

http://winterpalaceresearch.blogspot.ca/2017/10/nicholas-iis-bathroom-in-potsdam.html

Joanna

Offline gleb

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Re: German Royal Palaces, Castles and Homes
« Reply #140 on: November 01, 2017, 04:06:20 AM »
Behind the Hidden Doors in the Neues Palais, Potsdam Germany

http://winterpalaceresearch.blogspot.ca/2017/10/nicholas-iis-bathroom-in-potsdam.html

Joanna

Really fascinating! Thanks for posting it.

Offline Joanna

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Re: German Royal Palaces, Castles and Homes
« Reply #141 on: April 09, 2018, 04:10:29 PM »
Rare c1870 photographs and interiors of the Crown Princess Vicky's palaces in Berlin & Potsdam

Empress Alexandra was born in Schloss Charlottenburg in 1798. Her children and grandchildren would visit her brother Emperor Wilhelm I in the Altes Palais in Berlin.

https://winterpalaceresearch.blogspot.ca/2018/04/crown-princess-vickys-berlin-potsdam.html

Joanna

Offline Kalafrana

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Re: German Royal Palaces, Castles and Homes
« Reply #142 on: April 10, 2018, 04:57:59 AM »
According to the guided tours in Potsdam, Alexandra's husband Nicholas I provided her brother Friedrich Wilhelm IV with materials for his building projects.

Ann

Offline HerrKaiser

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Re: German Royal Palaces, Castles and Homes
« Reply #143 on: July 02, 2018, 10:08:01 AM »
According to the guided tours in Potsdam, Alexandra's husband Nicholas I provided her brother Friedrich Wilhelm IV with materials for his building projects.

Ann

It was actually Charlotte of Prussia, and later Empress of Russia, who was the wife of Nicholas I. Her brother was King Friedrich Wilhelm IV. Another brother was Wilhelm I, German Kaiser.
HerrKaiser

Offline Превед

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Re: German Royal Palaces, Castles and Homes
« Reply #144 on: July 12, 2018, 07:37:22 AM »
According to the guided tours in Potsdam, Alexandra's husband Nicholas I provided her brother Friedrich Wilhelm IV with materials for his building projects.

Ann

It was actually Charlotte of Prussia, and later Empress of Russia, who was the wife of Nicholas I. Her brother was King Friedrich Wilhelm IV. Another brother was Wilhelm I, German Kaiser.

Prinzessin Friederike Luise Charlotte Wilhelmine von Preußen became императрица Александра Фёдоровна Всероссийская.
Берёзы севера мне милы,—
Их грустный, опущённый вид,
Как речь безмолвная могилы,
Горячку сердца холодит.

(Афанасий Фет: «Ивы и берёзы», 1843 / 1856)