Castle Dahlen
Encyclopedia
Dahlen Castle is a castle built between 1744 and 1751 in the small town of Dahlen
, located in Saxony
, Germany
.
as a residence, on the site of a medieval manor house
on the site, which was demolished to make way for the new building.
Built in the late Baroque
style, the castle featured over 30 rooms and some of the finest examples of trompe-l'œil, particularly in the Grand Stair Hall. This and the ceilings of the Emperor's Hall and the White Hall were painted by Adam Friedrich Oeser
, whom the Count commissioned in 1756.
The castle's most notable resident was King Frederick the Great, who at the end of the Seven Years' War
lived here during the peace treaty negotiations taking place at the nearby Schloss Hubertusburg
. On 12 February 1761 he signed, in the White Hall, some agreements ancillary to the Treaty of Hubertusburg
that ended the war.
The castle was sold to the Sahrer von Sahr family around 1851. It remained their private residence until 1945, when the East German government removed the family, and the castle became State property. It was converted in turn to a police school, a bakery and a meat-processing school, before its short-lived restoration in the 1960s.
On 20 March 1973, a fire caused by a defective chimney burnt the castle to an empty shell.
Dahlen, Saxony
Dahlen is a town in the district Nordsachsen, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany.- Geography :The town is the gateway to the Dahlener Forest. The neighbouring towns are Wermsdorf , Oschatz and Torgau. Dahlen is located 22 km south of Torgau and 44 km east of Leipzig.The Bundesstraße 6...
, located in Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
History
The castle was built by Count Heinrich von BünauHeinrich von Bünau
Count Heinrich von Bünau was a statesman and historian from the Kingdom of Saxony, now part of Germany.-Life:Born in Weissenfels, he was the son of the Chancellor of the Elector of Saxony, Heinrich von Bünau , who was created an Imperial Count on 24 March 1742...
as a residence, on the site of a medieval manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
on the site, which was demolished to make way for the new building.
Built in the late Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
style, the castle featured over 30 rooms and some of the finest examples of trompe-l'œil, particularly in the Grand Stair Hall. This and the ceilings of the Emperor's Hall and the White Hall were painted by Adam Friedrich Oeser
Adam Friedrich Oeser
Adam Friedrich Oeser was a German etcher, painter and sculptor.- Biography :Oeser worked and studied in Pressburg and Vienna at the Vienna Academy...
, whom the Count commissioned in 1756.
The castle's most notable resident was King Frederick the Great, who at the end of the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
lived here during the peace treaty negotiations taking place at the nearby Schloss Hubertusburg
Hubertusburg
thumb|right|300px|Hubertusburg, WermsdorfHubertusburg is a palace in Saxony, in the village of Wermsdorf and midway 6 m. between the towns Oschatz and Grimma. It was built in 1721-1724 by Frederick Augustus I, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, and is given to his son Augustus III in 1724, as a...
. On 12 February 1761 he signed, in the White Hall, some agreements ancillary to the Treaty of Hubertusburg
Treaty of Hubertusburg
thumb|right|300px|Hubertusburg, WermsdorfThe Treaty of Hubertusburg was signed on 15 February 1763 at Hubertusburg by Prussia, Austria, and Saxony. Together with the Treaty of Paris, it marked the end of the French and Indian War and of the Seven Years' War. The treaty ended the continental...
that ended the war.
The castle was sold to the Sahrer von Sahr family around 1851. It remained their private residence until 1945, when the East German government removed the family, and the castle became State property. It was converted in turn to a police school, a bakery and a meat-processing school, before its short-lived restoration in the 1960s.
On 20 March 1973, a fire caused by a defective chimney burnt the castle to an empty shell.
Today
The Dahlen Castle Association (Schloss- und Parkverein Dahlen e. V.) was formed in 2008 to head a campaign for the restoration of the castle. Through donations and events, the castle will be restored and once again be the treasure of Dahlen and the nation.Important Rooms
- White Hall : this room featured walls of plaster and marble with reliefs of the Greek deities ApolloApolloApollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
and MinervaMinervaMinerva was the Roman goddess whom Romans from the 2nd century BC onwards equated with the Greek goddess Athena. She was the virgin goddess of poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, crafts, magic...
. The ceiling was painted with cherubs and a beautiful sky scene. - Emperor's Hall : this was a large ballroomBallroomA ballroom is a large room inside a building, the designated purpose of which is holding formal dances called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions contain one or more ballrooms...
used for entertaining royalty and high dignitaries. This room had a painted ceiling similar to that of the White Hall, and also featured a high ceiling and two balconies from the third floor looking into the room.