Schloss Haimhausen is a ''

Schloss ''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 cogn ...

'' in the

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

n town of

Haimhausen Haimhausen is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality located on the Amper, Amper River in the district of Dachau (district), Dachau in Bavaria, Germany, about 20 kilometres north of Munich. Geography Haimhausen borders directly on a marshy area ...

, Germany.

History

The site has been the location of a castle since at least 1281, when it was mentioned in written sources. This first castle was however destroyed during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

and not rebuilt until 1660. At that time, a

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 ...

palace was built on the site, the core of the present structure. It was rebuilt from 1747 to 1750 in a

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, and has remained largely unchanged since. During this time, the estate belonged to Count Sigmund von Haimhausen, an industrialist, politician and co-founder of the

Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities The Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities () is an independent public institution, located in Munich. It appoints scholars whose research has contributed considerably to the increase of knowledge within their subject. The general goal of th ...

who however died without heirs. After his death, the estate was sold to James Eduard Haniel. Descendants of Haniel still run a brewery located adjacent to the ''Schloss''. The park of the estate was transformed into an

English landscape garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (, , , , ), is a style of "landscape" garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal ...

during the ownership of Haniel. In 1794 it was sold again. It remained a family home until the 1930s, when the expensive upkeep of the buildings led to its abandonment as a home. 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 ...

, thousands of books from the

Bavarian State Library The Bavarian State Library (, abbreviated BSB, called ''Bibliotheca Regia Monacensis'' before 1919) in Munich is the central " Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria, the biggest universal and research libra ...

were housed in the palace chapel. After the war, the building has served several different purposes. It is today owned by the

Bavarian International School The Bavarian International School gAG (BIS) is an English-language International Baccalaureate-curriculum international school based in Haimhausen, a municipality in the district Dachau in Bavaria, Germany, just north of Munich. In 2016, a secon ...

. The buildings are used for education and hence not open to the public.

Architecture

The appearance of the ''Schloss'' today is characterised by the reconstruction during the 18th century. The architect responsible for the rebuilding was

François de Cuvilliés François de Cuvilliés, sometimes referred to as ''the Elder'' (23 October 1695, Soignies, Hainaut14 April 1768, Munich), was a Bavarian decorative designer and architect born in the Spanish Netherlands. He was instrumental in bringing the Roco ...

. He created the presently visible exterior and several of the interiors; during the reconstruction the house was also substantially enlarged. Among the interiors, the banqueting hall on the second floor, the so-called Golden Room and the chapel are especially noteworthy. The banqueting hall contains a ceiling painting depicting the four seasons, by Johann Georg Bergmüller, and two tile stoves from the

Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory The Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory (German: ''Porzellan Manufaktur Nymphenburg'') is located at the ''Nördliches Schloßrondell'' (northern palace circle) in one of the ''Cavalier Houses'' in front of the Nymphenburg Palace in Munich, Germa ...

. Bergmüller also decorated the ceiling of the Golden Room, whose other decorations were designed by Cuvilliés. The chapel was decorated by both Bergmüller and Egid Verhelst and his sons. The building was restored during the 1980s and another renovation was carried out in 1997-1998.

References

External links

*{{commons category-inline, Schloss Haimhausen
Comprehensive description of the palace chapel
(in German) Castles in Bavaria Dachau (district)