Arenenberg is an estate with a small chateau, Schloss Arenenberg, in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

of Salenstein at the shore of Lake Constance in

Thurgau Thurgau (; french: Thurgovie; it, Turgovia), anglicized as Thurgovia, more formally the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts and its capital is Frauenfeld. Thurgau is par ...

, Switzerland that is famous as the final domicile of

Hortense de Beauharnais Hortense Eugénie Cécile Bonaparte (; , ; 10 April 1783 – 5 October 1837) was Queen consort of Holland. She was the stepdaughter of Emperor Napoléon I as the daughter of his first wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais. Hortense later married Napol ...

. Today it houses the ''Napoleonmuseum''. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

History

Arenenberg was built in the early 16th century by the mayor of Constance (1546–48) Sebastian Geissberg. The name of the farm that had been located there before was ''Narrenberg'' ("fools' mountain"), perhaps not a suitable name to hold on to, but also the hill towards the lake was named "Arnhalde". By the 19th century the current name was used. The estate saw a number of owners. In 1817, Johann Baptist von Streng sold it to the exiled Hortense de Beauharnais, the daughter of ex-Empress Joséphine, for 30,000 guilders. As arranged by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, Hortense had to marry his brother

Louis Bonaparte Louis Napoléon Bonaparte (born Luigi Buonaparte; 2 September 1778 – 25 July 1846) was a younger brother of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. He was a monarch in his own right from 1806 to 1810, ruling over the Kingdom of Holland (a French cl ...

, and the couple were named King and Queen of Holland (1806–10). The royal couple not only suffered with the demise of the rule of Napoleon, but also had an unhappy marriage leading to a separation. Hortense initiated reconstructions and renovations in an attempt to recreate the atmosphere of Malmaison. The surrounding park was possibly designed by Louis-Martin Berthault. In 1818 she moved in. Her brother,

Eugène de Beauharnais Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg (; 3 September 1781 – 21 February 1824) was a French nobleman, statesman, and military commander who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. Through the second marr ...

, bought the nearby Schloss Sandegg and built a villa close by. While Hortense initially spent time at her house in

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ...

, Arenenberg soon became her main domicile. At her Parisian-styled salon she entertained many luminaries. Her son Louis Napoléon, the future emperor Napoléon III, who had attended school in Augsburg, visited Arenenberg as a teenager; there he was further educated and then attended the Swiss military academy at

Thun , neighboring_municipalities= Amsoldingen, Heiligenschwendi, Heimberg, Hilterfingen, Homberg, Schwendibach, Spiez, Steffisburg, Thierachern, Uetendorf, Zwieselberg , twintown = , website = www.thun.ch Thun (french: Thou ...

, receiving Swiss citizenship. In 1837, while he was exiled and living in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, Louis Napoleon received notice of his mother's deteriorating health and returned to Arenenberg. Hortense died on 5 October 1837. After mourning, Louis Napoleon had to leave Switzerland, due to French pressure, and moved to London. In 1843, in need of money to finance his aspirations, he sold the property to Heinrich Keller. Once he was emperor, his empress Eugénie bought it back in 1855. Further renovations were made between 1855 and 1874. After Napoleon III's death, Eugénie visited Arenenberg several times before she donated it in 1906 to the Canton Thurgau. Today the château is home to the ''Napoleon Museum''. The ''Napoleon Park'' is being restored.

References

Literature

* Johannes Meyer, ''Die früheren Besitzer von Arenenberg''. Frauenfeld 1920 * Jakob Hugentobler, ''Die Familie Bonaparte auf Arenenberg''. Salenstein 1989 * Dominik Gügel and Christina Egli: ''Arkadien am Bodensee. Europäische Gartenkultur des beginnenden 19. Jahrhunderts.'' Frauenfeld 2005.

External links

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Views inside

{{Authority control Castles in Thurgau * Museums in Thurgau Parks in Switzerland Cultural property of national significance in Thurgau Napoleon museums