Schloss vor Husum

It is the only preserved palace on the west coast of Schleswig-Holstein, and is open to the public as a museum and cultural center.

On the site of the current palace, there stood the so-called "Graukloster" (Grey Monastery) since the late 15th century.

He also planned a new palace in Husum, choosing the site of the former monastery as the location, similar to the approach taken in Reinbek.

During that time, the site was still situated outside the city district, which explains the current name of the castle comes from, which gained common usage only in the 19th century.

The areas of Eiderstedt, parts of North Frisia, and northern Dithmarschen formed the largest contiguous possession of the Gottorf territory, which was spread across Schleswig and Holstein.

[4] Under her and the subsequent Duchess Maria Elisabeth, the town and the castle experienced a short cultural boom.

[6][7] After her death, the castle was rarely used, such as during the period between 1710 and 1713 when it served as the residence of the bailiff of Husum and Schwabstedt and later the Holstein-Gottorf privy council Henning Friedrich von Bassewitz.

Significant changes occurred when Danish King Frederick V expressed interest in occasionally staying in the western part of the duchies.

The old and partly dilapidated Husum Renaissance castle was renovated in a reduced form by the state architect Otto Johann Müller, incorporating baroque elements to align with the spirit of the time.

Due to subsequent alterations to the building and the associated costing, it was no longer possible to restore Husum Castle to its Renaissance-era condition.

[10] In 2003, the Förderverein Schloss vor Husum was founded, dedicated to the preservation of the listed building and further expanding its usability.

It was not far from the ancestral seat of the ducal house, Gottorf Castle, which at that time resembled more of a fortress than a comfortable noble residence.

After a brief courtly phase, both served as widow's residences and then as administrative seats and underwent significant architectural alterations in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The symmetrical layout was partially lost through the renovations carried out under Duchess Augusta, who had the lower wings constructed.

[15] When Husum Castle was completed in the 16th century, the shorter side wings were originally one floor higher than the long central building.

At the same time as the external changes, the old room sequences were modernized in the Baroque style, thus abandoning the ducal division.

[18] Upon the completion of construction, the castle was a modern Renaissance-style residence, adorned with painted beamed ceilings in the living spaces.

Under King Christian VIII, the rooms on the ground floor were renovated by the state building inspector Wilhelm Friedrich Meyer and received new representative doors, while an alcove from that period is still preserved in the current castle chapel.

During the subsequent use as an administrative building, further changes were made to the room layout, and the larger halls were partly divided into small offices.

[16] The largest room in the castle is the Knight's Hall, adorned with a replica of the so-called "struggle-of-death fireplace," which occupies the entire depth of the left upper floor.

The most significant furnishings of the castle include the mannerist splendor fireplaces by Henni Heidtrider, remains of the ducal art collection, as well as original furniture from various epochs.

Among the paintings, a depiction of Alexander as a fair judge on the front wall of the upper landing stands out in terms of its quality and considerable size.

The former gatehouse to the castle grounds, located directly on Schlossstraße, dates to the first phase of renovations under Duchess Augusta.

The gatehouse's sandstone portal includes double pilasters on the sides and the coat of arms of Duchess Augusta as its crowning element.

A replica of the original statue now occupies the third niche, making the gatehouse the only nearly intact building of the old castle complex.

The original statue of Hera is displayed in the staircase of the castle, while the gatehouse currently serves as an administrative building housing the local representation of the economic development agency of the North Frisia district.

This brick building from the late Renaissance era is adorned with stepped gables and originally served as a guest house.

From 1660, Duchess Maria Elisabeth created an early Baroque Garden, which, along with an orangery and a small summer house, was also lost in later times.

[19] A preserved sandstone portal from the 17th century leads to the "Großer Garten" (Great Garden) located to the north and east of the castle.

On the castle island, in front of the eastern and western facades, a small formally designed ornamental garden was reintroduced in 2008.