Wernigerode Castle was first built at the beginning of the 12th century (1110-1120) as a Romanesque architecture medieval fortress for German emperors to have a secure spot to stop during their hunting trips to the Harz.

[2] The first mention of the Saxon noble Adalbert of Haimar, Count of Wernigerode, in an 1121 deed is also the first documentation of the settlement, which had been founded about a century earlier in connection with the deforestation of the area.

It was not until 1710 that Count Christian Ernest could relocate the seat of government back to Wernigerode, when he had the castle rebuilt as a schloss in a Baroque style.

He ruled for 61 years, though he had to accept the overlordship of King Frederick William I of Prussia in 1714.Christian Ernest's descendant Count Otto, first president of the Prussian Province of Hanover from 1867, president of the Prussian House of Lords from 1872 and German Vice-Chancellor from 1878, had the schloss again extensively rebuilt in a Neo-Romantic half timber and half stone,[3] style known as historicism, finishing the project in 1893.

The original chapel was inaugurated in honor of patron saint Panthaleon and St. Anna and it was situated on the north-western part of the castle circle.