Neuburg castle in Germany, Bavaria resort
Rating: 8,1/10 (5903 votes)  Neuburg Castle – castle, the former residence of the rulers of the Palatinate-Neuburg, representatives of the Wittelsbach dynasty. It is located in the Bavarian city of Neuburg on the banks of the Danube River. Georg Bogaty and his wife Jadwiga Jagellonka had no son-heirs and tried to give the Duchy of Landshut to their daughter and her sons. But during the Landshut War, the boys were orphaned and Emperor Maximilian in 1505 established their own principality of Palatinate-Neuburg for them. Since then, the city's coat of arms has depicted two boys on small toy horses. After a while, one of these boys, who became Count Palatine Otto Heinrich, began construction of a Renaissance castle in 1527. Later, he erected a hunting castle Grunau with a lush garden outside the city for his wife Suzanne. Otto Heinrich lavishly decorated the castle walls with trophies and heraldic symbols in the spirit of the Middle Ages. In 1537, an Italian-style wing was added to the palace. In 1543, the count palatine, who converted to Lutheranism, built a chapel in the western wing of the castle. It is considered the oldest Protestant chapel in Germany. The walls in the chapel were painted by the Salzburg-based artist Hans Boxberger the Elder. Construction work dragged on until the end of the 1550s due to financial difficulties. Under Wolfgang Zweibrucken, Otto Heinrich's successor, the west wing was decorated with sgraffito inspired by the biblical story of Joseph and his brothers. As the legends say, Joseph, betrayed by his brothers, managed to become the governor of the pharaoh thanks to his wisdom. For Protestants, he became a symbol of virtue and kindness. His fate, in the opinion of the Protestant princes, echoes the way they themselves were persecuted by the papacy and the Habsburgs. In 1575, the Knights' Hall was designed by Hans Pigel. In 1655, the castle was reconstructed in the Baroque style by the Count Palatine Philip Wilhelm. Two towers were added. Today, the castle houses museums: the Archaeological Museum, the Neuburg Castle Museum and the Flemish Baroque painting department of the Baroque State Collections, whose collection includes paintings by Rubens, Snyders, Van Dyck and others.  We also recommend reading Burghausen Castle in Germany, Bavaria resort Topic: Neuburg castle in Germany, Bavaria resort. |
