Wilhelmsburg Castle

The Wilhelmsburg Castle in the city of Schmalkalden was a secondary residence of the Landgraves of Hesse. It is one of the most important Renaissance buildings in central Germany, which has experienced no structural changes to this day and is preserved in almost its original condition.HistoryIn 1583, the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel became the sole owner of the Lordship of Schmalkalden, which had been shared with the Counts of Henneberg until then. Landgrave William IV immediately decided to make the city one of his secondary residences. He had the 12th Century Waltaff Castle demolished and began the construction of the castle named after him on the same location. The castle was inaugurated on 23 May 1590, although it had not yet been completed. The interior was procured from Kassel. William's son Maurice often stayed at Wilhelmsburg castle. During his reign, the castle was finally completed in 1618. His successors used the castle less and less and in the early 19th Century the castle was abandoned altogether. In 1873, the Association for Henneberg History and Geography purchased the castle and began using it as a museum.BuildingThe palace is a four-winged structure with a nearly square floor plan. The comprehensive facilities include an outdoor parade grounds, a gatekeeper's house, pleasure gardens, a kitchen garden, a prison tower, stables, a bakery and a brewery. The spatial arrangement is typical for a residential palace. The halls were decorated with scrollwork and strapwork and adorned with decorative paintings, including a copy of the Iwein epos by Hartmann von Aue the basement.