Löwenburg

Löwenburg (German: Löwenburg, literally: "Lion Castle") is one of the most beautiful castles in the world. The castle is located in the German town of Kassel, in the Wilhelmshöhe Mountain Park, on the Bavaria mountain, altitude 92 meters above sea level.

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From a distance it appears to the visitor as a romantic Gothic castle from the Middle Ages.  However, it was built between 1793 and 1801 at the time when the era of construction of the formidable and fortified castles in Germany was ended a few centuries ago. William IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, inspired by the medieval romance, commissioned the architect Heinrich Christoph Jussow build the castle, which can be compared with the English medieval palaces.

The castle was served as a residence for William IX and his mistress Caroline of Schlotheim. And after his death on February, 27, 1821, William IX was buried in the chapel of the castle.

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Name:  Löwenburg Location: Wilhelmshöhe Mountain Park City: Kassel State: Hesse Country: Germany Material: Stone Architectural style: Neo-Gothic Construction: between 1793 and 1801 Condition: opened to the public Website: www.museum-kassel.de

The castle of Löwenburg looks like a real castle, but in fact it is not anything like that.

It is an imitation of a medieval knight's castle, the romantic image of the ancient ruins that had been destroyed at the design stage, so that everything was "as though in fact". However, the art historical value of the castle in German culture is very high. Many argue that it is here that history began Gothic Revival in Germany, because the castle is the first monumental building after a long time in this style.

For the implementation ideas of William IX, the architect had to go to England for a more detailed study of the English romantic ruins of fortresses, and plan of construction of magnificent Lowenburg and the surrounding garden.

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The whole complex is a beautiful garden in the English style, with thematic branches. This is the first such facilities in Europe. In the garden you can see fake aqueducts of Rome, fake temples of Greece and actually fake castle ruins.

Around a quadrangular yard there are grouped buildings, which just had to be present in every medieval castle. Among of these constructions there are the main tower, the gates  and the open gallery. Outside the castle is surrounded by a moat, and you can get to it through the drawbridge.

The inner atmosphere of the castle is also unique. Here you can find the original medieval furniture, altar slabs, weapons and armor on the walls, tables for games, statues of bronze and stained glass windows. Most rooms and parts of Löwenburg is opened to tourists. Next to the building there is armory of weapons and armor 16-17 centuries, as well as the chapel with the tomb of the founder.

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In 1945, in the World War II, the city of Kassel, as an important military industrial city was bombed by Royal Air Force. As a result of these bombing, Löwenburg was largely destroyed (there was only a stair tower with some remains of the walls). There was also damaged most of the plants of the park. Therefore, the castle was subjected to a serious reconstruction in the postwar years.

Currently, Löwenburg is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Germany and Kassel.

The castle is also called by the Disneyland of its time, because in most Walt Disney cartoons about the Middle Ages, it was used by the prototype of the castle. Tourist route through the city of Kassel, and in particular, through Löwenburg is called "German way of fairy tales". This is one of the most popular routes in Germany.

In the preparation of this article, were used some materials of websites: www.museum-kassel.de, www.wikipedia.org, www.flickr.com, wideopenroad.ru  and www.castlesguide.ru.