Wolfenbuttel Castle

Schloss Wolfenbüttel ( German Schloss Wolfenbüttel ) is the second largest castle in Lower Saxony , which served from 1283 to 1754 as one of the main residences of the owning family of Wels . Around the castle, the city ​​of the same name arose over time.

It arose in the XI century as a fortification protecting the crossing of the Oker River . Known for documents from 1074 (according to other sources, from 1118). The castle, surrounded by a moat , was repeatedly destroyed, including in 1255 by Albrecht of Braunschweig and in 1542 by troops of the Schmalkalden Union . In 1432, the Welsh were expelled from Braunschweig and moved to Wolfenbüttel, which for a long time became the capital of the principality of the same name .

The appearance close to the modern one began to acquire the castle in the 3rd quarter of the 16th century. The Welfare residence of that time was one of the centers of Renaissance art and culture in Northern Germany. The actors invited from England created here the first permanent theater in Germany. The court bandmaster Michael Pretorius entertained the duke and the court with dance tunes. The ducal library was famous throughout Europe, the curators of which were the most enlightened people of their time (such as Leibniz and Lessing ). Charlotte Christina, the mother of the Russian emperor Peter II , was born and raised in this castle .

The existing baroque facade of the castle was erected in 1714-1716 according to the design of Herman Korb . In the first half of the 18th century, the existing decoration of the front apartments was also completed, which now houses a museum exhibition. The other part of the castle’s premises is occupied by the higher school of art .

In 1753, the Welfare courtyard moved from Wolfenbüttel to the Braunschweig Palace , after which the old residence began to come to desolation. Almost no new construction and finishing works were carried out. To accommodate the library, a separate building was built nearby. Other attractions of the castle park are Lessing's House, the Armory, and so on. Small Castle - a miniature palace built in the 1830s, where the future Empress of the Holy Roman Empire Elizabeth Christina grew up.

Wolfenbuttel in 1654		Baroque front facade		Renaissance courtyard