Description
Elisabethenburg Palace is a Baroque palace located on the northwestern edge of Meiningen in Germany. Until 1918 it was the residence of the Dukes of Saxe-Meiningen. The castle now houses the Meininger Museum as well as the Max Reger archives, the Thuringian State Archives, the Max Reger music school, the Johannes Brahms concert hall, a restaurant, the tower Cafe, and the ceremonial rooms of the Meinigen City Council and Registry Office.HistoryThe palace was constructed by Bernard I, the first Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, between 1682 and 1692 on the site of a late-Gothic castle built in 1511, part (Bibrasbau, after Bishop Lorenz von Bibra) which was incorporated into the north wing of the present building. The new palace had three wings and a central tower which form an "E" shape when seen from above. Later this was interpreted as referring to the name of the Duke's second wife, Elisabeth Eleonore of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, thus giving the palace its current name.The building was remodelled in the 19th century, and a dry moat added. The heavily rustic window surrounds, which now dominate the facade were added in 1845. Originally the windows had simple rectangular shaped frames made of sandstone. In 1918 a new Italian marble fountain was added. The interior decorations represent a gamut of architectural styles beginning with the Baroque frescoes commissioned by Bernard I through the Rococo and 19th century Empire styles.
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