Oranienburg Palace

Oranienburg Palace (German: Schloss Oranienburg) is a Schloss located in the town of Oranienburg in Germany.

It is the oldest Baroque Schloss in the Margraviate of Brandenburg and was built from 1651 to 1655 by Louise Henriette of Orange-Nassau, the first wife of Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, on the site of an older hunting lodge. The architect was Johann Gregor Memhardt. The building was based on the contemporary architecture of Dutch classicism in its external form, with its vertical orientation and the turrets on the side wings. The extensive garden was primarily used for the cultivation of trees, ornamental shrubs, flowers and vegetables. Among other things, the Electress introduced potatoes and cauliflower to the Mark Brandenburg.

From 1689, the Electress' son, Frederick I, who loved splendour, had the palace and gardens enlarged, influenced by Italian and French baroque architecture. Johann Arnold Nering was in charge of construction until 1699. He changed the facade of the corps de logis and added two north rear wings with final pavilions, connected by a walk-in arcade, and thus a second courtyard. After him, Johann Friedrich Eosander von Göthe mainly complemented the interior design.

After the death of Frederick I in 1713, the palace was hardly used. His son Frederick William I only lodged occasionally in Oranienburg, and just the most necessary funds were granted for the maintenance of the palace. His son Frederick II transferred the estate to his younger brother Prince Augustus William of Prussia on the occasion of his marriage in 1742. Augustus William died here in 1758 at the age of only 35. His widow Luise of Brunswick used it until her death in 1780. In 1794 the later Prussian Queen Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz received it as a gift.

From 1858 to 1925 it was converted into a teacher's seminary, 1933–37 SS barracks, then police academy.

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

Oranienburg Palace ranks #2,020 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #150 of the 492 mapped in Germany. Founded 1651, it is older than 26% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 580 atlas entries founded in the 17th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 2,982 times in the last 60 days, more than 75% of the atlas. 3 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Berlin, 28 km away. See how Germany compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗