Wilhelmsburg Palace in Schmalkalden

Museum Wilhelmsburg Palace

Über dem mittelalterlichen Stadtkern von Schmalkalden thront Schloss Wilhelmsburg.
Das zwischen 1585 und 1590 als Nebenresidenz der hessischen Landgrafen erbaute Schloss gilt aufgrund seiner nahezu vollständig erhaltenen Außenanlage, seiner originalen Raumstruktur im Inneren, durch seine prächtigen Wandmalereien und Stuckaturen als ein einzigartiges Juwel unter den Renaissance-Schlössern Deutschlands.

History

The Banquet Halls, the Gentlemen’s Kitchen, and above all the imposing three-storey Palace Chapel are a feast for the eyes. It was in the chapel at Wilhelmsburg Palace that the Protestant creed for the first time assumed architectural form: altar, pulpit and organ are arranged along a single vertical axis. When attending services, the Hessian landgrave sat opposite this axis in the ruler’s gallery.
The Renaissance organ, which was heard for the first time on 23 May 1590, is the oldest wooden organ in Thuringia still in use. Organ concerts are presented regularly as part of an international concert series.

The permanent exhibition at the Wilhelmsburg Palace Museum transports visitors back to the era of the Reformation, of Martin Luther and the Schmalkaldic League, while also portraying life at the court in the days of the Hessian landgraves. The term “court” here encompasses the actual holding of court, the royal residence itself and the totality of people surrounding the ruler and his family.
History was written in Schmalkalden in the 16th century. The Schmalkaldic League, founded in 1530, was the first major defensive alliance of Protestant states. In 1537 Martin Luther spent several weeks in the town to attend one of the League’s most important meetings. It is here that he read out for the first time the Articles of Schmalkalden, the declaration of independence of the Protestant states. The articles were entered in the Book of Concord of the Protestant Church in 1580.

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