Castle Map

Palace

Dessau Palace

Germany · 14th century

Founded
1341
Location
Dessau-Roßlau
Coordinates
51.8323°, 12.2482°
Links
Wikimedia Commons
Open on the map →Wikipedia ↗
Dessau Palace in Germany
Photo: M_H.DE · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Description

The Dessau Palace (German: Residenzschloss Dessau or Stadtschloss Dessau) in Dessau in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt was a princely palace which mostly served as the main residence of the princes of Anhalt-Dessau and later the Dukes of Anhalt. The palace was one of the first renaissance buildings in the middle of Germany (see also: Saxon Renaissance). Today, there is only one wing remaining, the Johannbau, which offers room to the City History Museum of Dessau.

The Dessau Residence Palace was originally built in 1341 using stones from Waldeser Castle (also known as Waldersee Castle), which had been destroyed by flooding of the Mulde river. The palace was destroyed by fire in 1405 and again in 1467. In 1529, construction began on a new four-winged palace on the site of the former palace. Under the architect Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff the palace was changed into an 18th-century three-winged palace.

The palace was heavily damaged during the Second World War, and its ruins were largely demolished in the times of the DDR. Only one wing, the Johannbau, is remaining. After restorations between 1990 and 1997, and between 2001 and 2005, the Johannbau has been opened for the public and houses now the museum for the history of Dessau.

Stylistically, the Johannbau is classified as early Renaissance, as the architectural decoration on the arched gables, windows, portals, and altar and the spiral stone rising above it has characteristic features such as spheres and lily tracery friezes. The formal language corresponds to the transitional period from the late Gothic to the Renaissance, as can also be found in other early buildings of the Saxon Renaissance.

Text adapted from “Dessau Palace” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

In the rankings

Dessau Palace ranks #5,574 of 9,902 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #515 of the 927 mapped in Germany. Founded 1341, it is older than 58% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 797 atlas entries founded in the 14th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,363 times in the last 60 days, more than 64% of the atlas. 8 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. See how Germany compares in the castle statistics.

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