Stolberg Castle (german: Schloss Stolberg) is a palace in the town of Stolberg in the

Harz Mountains The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German w ...

of Germany. It dates to the 13th century and stands above the town on a hill with steep drops on three sides. Since 2003 it has been completely restored and renovated by the German Foundation for Monument Conservation.

History

Its oldest element, the round tower, dates to the time around 1200, the more recent elements were built in the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

style between 1539 and 1547. In the southeast wing is the

Classicist Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

Great Reception Room (''Großes Empfangszimmer'') and the Red Room (''Roter Saal'') designed by

Karl Friedrich Schinkel Karl Friedrich Schinkel (13 March 1781 – 9 October 1841) was a Prussian architect, city planner An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning. ...

. The castle was given its present appearance thanks to rebuilding between 1690 and 1700. Until they were dispossessed in 1945, the castle was owned by the family of the Prince of Stolberg-Stolberg. From 1947 the castle was used as a holiday home for the

Free German Trade Union Federation The Free German Trade Union Federation (german: Freier Deutsche Gewerkschaftsbund or ''FDGB'') was the sole national trade union centre of the German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) which existed from 1946 and 1990. As a mass organisa ...

(FDGB). The work carried out for this purpose and its numerous guests left behind many traces in the fabric of the building and the appearance of the interior. In 1990, ownership of the castle was transferred to the

Treuhand The (" Trust agency"), colloquially referred to as , was an agency established by the government of the German Democratic Republic to reprivatise/ privatise East German enterprises, Volkseigene Betriebe (VEBs), prior to German reunification. ...

and it then stood empty. A private investor bought it in 1993, in order to open it as an hotel. Inadequate roof renovation work subsequently caused damage through damp and

dry rot Dry rot is wood decay caused by one of several species of fungi that digest parts of the wood which give the wood strength and stiffness. It was previously used to describe any decay of cured wood in ships and buildings by a fungus which resu ...

. After the hotel project foundered in 1994, the Stolberg Castle stood empty again and was in danger of being completely lost. At the end of 2002 the German Foundation for Monument Conservation took over the construction work following an agreement with the state of

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...

. The fabric of the building was made safe and gradually renovated. In 2008 the Prince's Wing (''Fürstenflügel'') opened its doors and, in 2009, the castle chapel was reconsecrated. By 2008 about 12 million euros of support had been made available by the German Federation, the state of Saxony-Anhalt, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...

, the town of Stolberg and the German Foundation for Monument Conservation for the repairs to the building. Since March 2008 parts of the castle have been open to the public again and used as a tourist centre and reception venue (''Haus des Gastes'').Press release by the German Foundation for Monument Conservation

References

External links

{{Authority control Stolberg Castles in the Harz