Arenenberg

Arenenberg Castle was conceived as a country residence, and was built in the 16th century by the Constantine Mayor (1546–1548) by Sebastian Geisberg ( German: Sebastian Geissberg ). In its place was previously located the peasant courtyard of Narrenberg , which can also be translated as "a mountain of fools." The later owners therefore tried to replace the not too harmonious name with “Ar (en) nberg” ( Arnberg ), apparently derived from Arnhalde (= "Eagle's slope"), and finally became common from the 18th century.

In 1585, Arenenberg, then owned by Hans Konrad von Schwarach, acquired the status of an exempted estate from taxes and taxes ( German: Freisitz ).

Moving from one owner to another, in the XVIII century Arenenberg fell into the possession of the von Strang family, one of whose representatives Johann Baptist von Strang in 1817 sold the castle to the ex-Queen Hortense de Beauharnais who was then in exile in Constance.

Hydrangea Beauharnais, daughter of the first wife of Napoleon I Empress Josephine , and wife of Napoleon’s brother Louis Bonaparte , from 1806 until the French annexation of Holland in 1810 was the Dutch queen; and after the final defeat of Napoleon I was forced to retire into exile, constantly traveling around Europe . Before Hortense Bogarne moved to Arenenberg in 1818, the castle was rebuilt according to the direction of the Constantine architect Johann Baptist Wehrle : the wall surrounding the estate and almost all the outbuildings were demolished, the tower and the roof toothed decorations towered above the main building ; The interior was decorated in Empire style . In addition, an extensive park was laid, the project of which was most likely developed by the famous architect Louis-Martin Berthault .

In 1819, in the neighborhood, on the lands of the former possession of Zandegg ( Sandegg ), his summer residence was built by Eugene Bogarne - brother of Hortense Bogarne.

Hortense de Beauharnais, who died in Arenenberg in 1837, turned it into one of the most important centers of secular and, above all, aristocratic culture on Lake Constance. The guests of Arenenberg at different times were Alexander Dumas, father , Julie Recamier , Chateaubriand , Casimir Delavin , Friedrich von Zeppelin and other representatives of the highest nobility of southern Germany and Switzerland.

The future French emperor Napoleon III, the youngest son of Hortense Beauharnais, spent his childhood and youth in Arenenberg. After several years of training in Augsburg, Charles Louis Napoleon continued his education at Arenenberg: specially invited professors from Constance taught him here natural science , art , philosophy and military art . Under the influence of the mother and cult of Napoleon I, he was prepared, ultimately, for his future political career. In 1832, Louis Napoleon became an honorary citizen of the Salenstein community. But already in 1836, after the failed coup in Strasbourg , he was forced to leave Europe. A short stay in Arenenberg in 1837, on the occasion of the death of his mother, ended - at the request of the Swiss government - by emigration to England. The second coup in Boulogne, undertaken in 1840 (and even more unsuccessful), put Louis Napoleon in a difficult financial situation, which forced him to sell the Arenenberg estate in 1843 to the former music teacher Carl Keller, who had grown rich thanks to his advantageous marriage to the widow of the Marquis de Marcillac.

In April 1855, Arenenberg was bought by his wife by then Emperor Napoleon III Eugenia , and presented to him as a birthday present. At the same time, and again in 1874, Arenenberg was restored and partially rebuilt. Napoleon III, however, was only a few times here; last time in August 1865. After the death of Napoleon, Arenenberg remained in the possession of his widow until 1906, when she transferred the castle to the canton of Thurgau. Subsequently, a museum was opened in it.

Today, the cantonal Napoleon Museum ( Napoleonmuseum ) is located in the perfectly preserved main building of the Arenenberg estate, which presents an opportunity to plunge into the world of private life and big politics of the XIX century. The rooms on the first and second floors are open for visitors, mostly furnished with original furniture and art objects: a winter garden, Queen Hortense's salon, lower salon, library, dining room, upper salon, salon of Empress Eugenia, as well as the once private rooms of the Napoleon III family. Periodic exhibitions are organized on the third floor.

In 2008, an English-style landscape park was partially restored, which once occupied 12 hectares and was broken in 1834 by Prince Louis Napoleon together with Hermann von Pückler-Muskau .

• Jakob Hugentobler: Die Familie Bonaparte auf Arenenberg. Napoleon-Museum, Salenstein 1989
• Pierre Grellet: Königin Hortense auf Arenenberg Huber, Frauenfeld 2001, ISBN 978-3-7193-1262-6
• Dominik Gügel und Christina Egli: Arkadien am Bodensee. Europäische Gartenkultur des beginnenden 19. Jahrhunderts. Huber, Frauenfeld 2005. ISBN 978-3-7193-1389-0
• Dominik Gügel, Christina Egli: Napoléon III. - Der Kaiser vom Bodensee. Labhard, Konstanz 2008. ISBN 978-3-939142-26-3