''Schloss'' (; pl. ''Schlösser''), formerly written ''Schloß'', is the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

term for a building similar to a

château A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. No ...

palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

, or

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals with ...

. Related terms appear in several Germanic languages. In the

Scandinavian languages The North Germanic languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages—a sub-family of the Indo-European languages—along with the West Germanic languages and the extinct East Germanic languages. The language group is also r ...

, the

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical e ...

word ''slot''/''slott'' is normally used for what in English could be either a palace or a castle (instead of words in rarer use such as ''palats''/''palæ'', ''kastell'', or ''borg''). In Dutch, the word ''slot'' is considered to be more archaic. Nowadays, one commonly uses ''paleis'' or ''kasteel''. But in English, the term does not appear, for instance, in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, this type of structure would be known as a stately home or

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhouse (Great Britain), town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the cit ...

. Most ''Schlösser'' were built after the Middle Ages as residences for the nobility, not as true fortresses, although originally, they often were fortified. The usual German term for a true castle is ''burg'', that for a fortress is ''festung'', and — the slightly more archaic term — ''veste''. However, many castles were called ''schloss'', especially those that were adapted as residences after they lost their defensive significance. Many adaptations took into account new tastes arising during the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Like a castle, a ''schloss'' often is surrounded by a

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

and then, it is called a ''Wasserschloss'' (

water castle A water castle is a castle whose site is largely defended by water. It can be entirely surrounded by water-filled moats (moated castle) or natural waterbodies such as island castles in a river or offshore. The term comes from European castle s ...

). Other related structure types include the '' Stadtschloss'' (a city palace), the ''

Jagdschloss A ''Jagdschloss'' is a hunting lodge in German-speaking countries. It is a '' schloss'' set in a wildlife park or a hunting area (such as a forest, field or by a lake) that served primarily as accommodation for a ruler or aristocrat and his ento ...

'' (a hunting lodge), and the ''

Lustschloss In Renaissance and Early Modern German architecture, a ''Lustschloss'' (french: maison de plaisance, both equating in English to "pleasure castle/house") is a small country house or palace which served the private pleasure of its owner, usuall ...

'' (a pleasure palace or summer residence).

Examples of ''schlösser''

Although they appeared much earlier than the period defined by the term, sometimes, medieval

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippi ...

Kaiserpfalz The term ''Kaiserpfalz'' (, "imperial palace") or ''Königspfalz'' (, "royal palace", from Middle High German ''phal ne'' to Old High German ''phalanza'' from Middle Latin ''palatia'' luralto Latin ''palatium'' "palace") refers to a number of ...

en'' structures are considered as being ''Schlösser'' in nature. Among those that would qualify are, the

Palace of Aachen The Palace of Aachen was a group of buildings with residential, political and religious purposes chosen by Charlemagne to be the centre of power of the Carolingian Empire. The palace was located at the north of the current city of Aachen, today i ...

and the

Imperial Palace of Goslar The Imperial Palace of Goslar (german: link=no, Kaiserpfalz Goslar) is a historical building complex at the foot of the Rammelsberg hill in the south of the town of Goslar north of the Harz mountains, central Germany. It covers an area of abou ...

. ;Gothic * Schloss Albrechtsburg in

Meißen Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrech ...

, considered to be Germany's oldest ''Schloss''Schloss Albrechtsburg
/ref> * Schloss Allner * Schloss Blutenburg in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, a "castle" in English, but a ''Schloss'' in German ;Renaissance * Schloss Glücksburg *

Schloss Güstrow ''Schloss'' (; pl. ''Schlösser''), formerly written ''Schloß'', is the German term for a building similar to a château, palace, or manor house. Related terms appear in several Germanic languages. In the Scandinavian languages, the cognate ...

Schloss Johannisburg Schloss Johannisburg is a schloss in the town of Aschaffenburg, in Franconia in the state of Bavaria, Germany. It was erected between 1605 and 1614 by the architect for Johann Schweikhard von Kronberg, Prince Bishop of Mainz. Until 1803, it ...

* Schloss Mespelbrunn * Schloss Neuburg ;Baroque *

Schloss Belvedere The Belvedere is a historic building complex in Vienna, Austria, consisting of two Baroque palaces (the Upper and Lower Belvedere), the Orangery, and the Palace Stables. The buildings are set in a Baroque park landscape in the third district o ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Schloss Esterhazy ''Schloss'' (; pl. ''Schlösser''), formerly written ''Schloß'', is the German term for a building similar to a château, palace, or manor house. Related terms appear in several Germanic languages. In the Scandinavian languages, the cognat ...

Eisenstadt Eisenstadt (; hu, Kismarton; hr, Željezni grad; ; sl, Železno, Austro-Bavarian: ''Eisnstod'') is a city in Austria, the state capital of Burgenland. It had a recorded population on 29 April 2021 of 15,074. In the Habsburg Empire's Kingdom ...

* Schloss Hellbrunn in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

* Schloss Ludwigsburg *

Schloss Ludwigslust Ludwigslust Palace (german: Schloss Ludwigslust) is a stately home or '' schloss'' in the town of Ludwigslust, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, northern Germany. It was built as a hunting lodge, rebuilt as a luxurious retreat from the ducal capital, Schwe ...

* Schloss Mirabell in

* Schloss Moritzburg * Schloss Nymphenburg in

* Schloss Pillnitz * Stadtschloss Potsdam * Schloss Rastatt * Schloss Sanssouci * Schloss Schleißheim in Oberschleißheim, a northern suburb of

* Schloss Schönbrunn in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

* Schloss Schwetzingen ;Neo-Baroque *

Schloss Linderhof Linderhof Palace (german: Schloss Linderhof) is a Schloss in Germany, in southwest Bavaria near the village of Ettal. It is the smallest of the three palaces built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria and the only one which he lived to see completed. Deve ...

* Schloss Herrenchiemsee ;Neoclassicism *

Schloss Charlottenhof Charlottenhof Palace or Charlottenhof Manor (german: Schloss Charlottenhof) is a former royal palace located southwest of Sanssouci Palace in Sanssouci Park at Potsdam, Germany. It is best known as the summer residence of Crown Prince Frederi ...

* Schloss Glienicke *

Schloss Weimar Schloss Weimar is a '' Schloss'' (palace) in Weimar, Thuringia, Germany. It is now called ''Stadtschloss'' to distinguish it from other palaces in and around Weimar. It was the residence of the dukes of Saxe-Weimar and Eisenach, and has also be ...

* Schloss Wilhelmshöhe * Schloss Bellevue ;Historicism * Schloss Babelsberg *

Schloss Callenberg Callenberg Castle (''Schloss Callenberg'') is a castle on a wooded hill in Beiersdorf, an ''Ortsteil'' of Coburg, from the town centre. It was a hunting lodge and summer residence and has long been the principal residence of the House of Saxe-Cob ...

* Schloss Drachenburg * Schloss Granitz * Schloss Marienburg * Orangerieschloss Potsdam * Schloss Schwerin * Schloss Stolzenfels * Burg Hohenzollern, a "castle" both in English and German, when really a fully-flung ''Schloss'' *

Schloss Ringberg Schloss Ringberg (Ringberg Castle) is located in the Bavarian Alps, 50 km south of Munich, on a foothill overlooking the Tegernsee. Not open to the general public, it is a property of the Max Planck Society and used for conferences. Histor ...

in Kreuth,

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

;Cross overs (Relating to places in use for long periods of times, having been extended and perhaps having had renovations in different styles than those of their respective eras – and therefore, displaying at least two and often, multiple styles) * Stadtschloss Berlin * Münchner Residenz *

Schloss Weilburg Schloss Weilburg (Weilburg Palace) is a Baroque ''schloss'' in Weilburg, Hesse, Germany. It is located on a spur above the river Lahn and occupies about half of the area of the Old Town of Weilburg. It contains the ''Hochschloss'' ("High Palace"), ...

Note

In another context, ''Schloss'' is also the German word for a lock.

References

External links

* *{{Commonscat-inline, Castles in Germany, ''Schloss'' Buildings and structures by type * Architecture in Germany

Examples of ''schlösser''

Note

See also

References

External links