Architectural History
Exhibition
Dear visitors!
In the exhibition about the building history you can learn more about the varied history of the castle and its predecessors.
Origin
The origins of the castle can be traced back to a castle that was built as a base for the colonization of the Pleißenland from 1165 to 1172. From this founding phase, the lower part of the donjon, composed of dark hunchback blocks, has survived to this day.
In 1430 Hussites besieged the castle and destroyed it almost completely. In the following years, Veit II von Schönburg had a new facility built at the same location, which was destroyed by fire in 1519. The building complex was rebuilt shortly after.
Under Hugo I of Schönburg, the new building of the front part of the castle took place in Renaissance forms from 1556 to 1565, resulting in a double castle complex. The western wing of this new building was two-storeyed, the northern wing was one-storeyed. Both castes stood side by side until 1619, when a fire on 9 February destroyed the rear palace complex again. Only the portal, which was converted into the Grünfelder Park, has survived (Gate "Zur stillen Naturfreude"). The remaining ruins of the rear castle were not rebuilt and remained unchanged or partially used until they were demolished in 1783. With the building rubble they filled the moat, which was located between the two castles.
In the years 1778 to 1800, at the instigation of Otto Carl Friedrich (1756-1800), from 1790 Prince of Schönburg-Waldenburg, a renovation of the front castle took place, also under his son Otto Viktor I. in 1835.
In connection with the Civil Revolution, the Renaissance castle was plundered by angry demonstrators on April 5, 1848.
New Castle Building 1855 – 1859
The plans for the new castle, which was built between 1855 and 1859 as a historic four-winged building with Romanesque and English Tudor Gothic style elements, were designed by the architect Eduard Pötsch, Leipzig.
The building was commissioned by Prince Otto Victor I of Schönburg-Waldenburg (1785-1859) as a three-storey, castle-like building with courtyard and tower.
The interior design of the social rooms corresponded to the historical taste of the time.
Above the main entrance of the castle, there was a balcony, which today is an almost unchanged facade element of the construction period on the west side of the castle.
In the late summer of 1858, Otto Terscheck, the court gardener from Pillnitz, designed the palace park.
Reconstruction And Extension 1909-1912
Castle Waldenburg received its present appearance as a result of an elaborate reconstruction under Prince Otto Victor II of Schönburg-Waldenburg (1882-1914) between 1909 and 1912.
Under the supervision of the Royal Saxon Court Building Councillor Gustav Frölich (1859-1933), parts of the 19th-century building were removed, and all rooms and their functions were rearranged according to contemporary requirements. Technically, Gustav Frölich equipped the castle with the most modern achievements for the time around 1910, such as complete electrification, telephone, central steam heating, hot water system, complex ventilation, food lift, separate extinguishing water pipe and central vacuum system.
Significant changes to the architecture resulted from the insertion of the eastern side wing, the change of roof shapes and the layout of the terraces.
The north and south sides of the castle were provided with sandstone veneering, porphyry pilasters and gable structures at the middle risalit.
The main portal was upgraded by the addition of a protruding altar with a sandstone driveway.
The interior is, according to the aristocratic living culture, very luxurious. The vestibule was designed by the architect with carved artificial limestone, the floors and stairs are covered with white and black marble.
The spacious staircase with skylight was created by overbuilding the centrally located old courtyard.
Particularly valuable in terms of art history are the festive hall, the blue and yellow hall, the library, the Chinese room, the tapestry room and mirror rooms as well as the staircase and vestibule. This ensemble of reform architecture is one of the most consistent and comprehensive examples of eclecticism.
The architect Gustav Frölich, who was striving for the highest quality of Dresden's building tradition at the turn of the century, engaged companies and craftsmen who had already worked for the Saxon court.
In 1928 the property was transferred to the property of an association in order to make it and the art collections in the castle accessible to the public and the scientific community.
Post-War Period
After the end of the war in 1945, the property was partially plundered. In 1948, the district council of Glauchau made it possible to open a lung sanatorium in the building. This not only prevented the planned demolition but converted Schloss Waldenburg for decades until 1998 into a use as a specialist hospital, which ensured the preservation of the building and its equipment.
