The Osteiner Hof ("Court of Ostein") is one of several

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

-era palatial mansions along Schillerplatz square in the German city of

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

. The mansion, along the southern edge of the square, was built in 1747-1752 by architect-soldier Johann Valentin Thomann for Franz Wolfgang Damian von Ostein, brother of Johann Friedrich Karl von Ostein, who was prince-bishop of

at that time. Characteristic features for this building are the three round protrusions ( risalits) at the front entrance and on the two corners. The building is lavishly decorated; for instance, the windows are framed by

rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

-style

cartouche upalt=A stone face carved with coloured hieroglyphics. Two cartouches - ovoid shapes with hieroglyphics inside - are visible at the bottom., Birth and throne cartouches of Pharaoh KV17.html" ;"title="Seti I, from KV17">Seti I, from KV17 at the ...

s symbolising the elements of air, earth and water. The classical gods Diana and

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

are shown on the cartouches framing the balcony doors. The von Osteins, a dynasty of counts, were not able to make use of the mansion for very long. After the left bank of the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

was occupied by French Revolutionary armies, the mansion was appropriated by the state, and in 1798 it became the seat of a newly created département of France,

Mont-Tonnerre Mont-Tonnerre () was a department of the First French Republic and later the First French Empire in present-day Germany. It was named after the highest point in the Palatinate, the '' Donnersberg'' ("Thunder Mountain", possibly referring to Do ...

. The building continued to be used as a seat of government after the Napoleonic era, even gaining the nickname ''Gouvernement'' during the years 1854-1859, while emperor-to-be

Wilhelm I Wilhelm I (Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 1861 and German Emperor from 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the first head of state of a united Germany. ...

was serving as military governor of Mainz. During the early days of the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

(1870–1871), the Osteiner Hof served as military headquarters of a Prussian field marshal, Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia. In 1914, then-military governor General Hugo von Kathen announced the start of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

to the Mainz populace from the balcony of the Osteiner Hof. The mansion was destroyed by fire during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, but was restored in 1947-1948. From 1958 until 2014, the Osteiner Hof was in use by the

Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...

as military headquarters and officers'

mess The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...

. The Osteiner Hof plays an important part in the local

carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

traditions. Every year, on 11 November at 11 past 11, the start of the carnival season is proclaimed from the balcony of the mansion. File:Mittelrisalit Palais Ostein.jpg, The central risalit on the facade File:Arms Ostein.jpg, Coat of arms of the Ostein dynasty, framing the central risalit on the facade File:Ostein+Stefan.jpg, The Osteiner Hof with a view of the St. Stephan's Church

Sources

Landeshauptstadt Mainz: Historisches Mainz: Der Osteiner Hof
(German) Buildings and structures in Mainz Baroque architecture in Rhineland-Palatinate Heritage sites in Rhineland-Palatinate Palaces in Rhineland-Palatinate Houses completed in 1752 {{Germany-palace-stub