Schloss Bevern, Niedersachsen, DE - Renaissance Architecture on Waymarking.com

The castle Bevern is located in Bevern in the south of the district of Holzminden in Lower Saxony. The palace building was built from 1603 to 1612 by Statius von Münchhausen on the site of an old manor.

Bevern Castle consists of a two-storey four-winged building built around an almost square courtyard, whose upper floors were originally accessed by two staircase towers. The core building is surrounded by a moat with two bridges, to the east of which today the castle garden, west of remnants of the gatehouse and the castle barn join. Originally, the castle also included 14 farm buildings

Statius of Munchausen, a son of the mercenary leader Hilmar von Munchausen who came to great wealth, scion of the black line of the noble family Munchausen and one of the most important entrepreneurs of his time, had secured in 1584 in time the Lehnsanwartschaft on this possession, since it seemed possible that so far Here resident noble family of Bevern in the male line extinguish and then the feud of the feudal lord was confiscated and reissued. With Brun-Arndt von Bevern died in 1588 the last legitimate male heir of Bevern, as his marriage with Gertrude von Falkenberg remained childless. An ineluctable bastard line continued to live in place. Statius of Münchhausen took over then from 1590 the fief Bevern, consisting of the saddle yard, five hooves country, six cottages and half tithing. Likewise, it had already 1566 his father Hilmar held with Wendlinghausen, after he had already acquired numerous other goods - especially in 1564 the secularized monastery Leitzkau near Magdeburg. The latter built Statius under the attraction of stonemasons from the Weser area from about 1593 to a renaissance castle. After completing this monumental construction, from 1603 to 1612 he made his way to the no less elaborate new building of Schloss Bevern.

As a master builder of the Hamelin Johann Hundertossen, who built the castle Schwedesdorf in Lauenau from 1596 for a cousin from the white line, Otto von Munchausen. Numerous details in both Leitzkau and Bevern suggest that the same craftsmen from the workshop of the stonemason Johann von Mehle were involved, who also rebuilt the Alfeld town hall in Renaissance style in 1586. [2] More, rather to be addressed as offices locks built Statius in Bodenwerder and Bolzum; In addition, a total of nine churches in his manor villages, including his burial place, St. John's Church to Bevern. He advised his cousin Jürgen Klencke on the construction of the Hämelschenburg.

In 1618, the builder came into economic difficulties due to the inflation of tipper and Wipper time. He was eventually the victim of an intrigue of the so-called "Regiment of the unfaithful Drosten" of the Duke Friedrich Ulrich of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. He had to declare his bankruptcy due to the reclaiming of his creditors and under the pressure of the financial claims of 240,000 thalers raised by one of the ducal councilors, Obrist Arndt von Wopersnow, the husband of Statius von Münchhausen's niece, through the purchase of promissory notes. He kept the castle and the fief Bevern but as part of a receivership by Duke Friedrich Ulrich of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel held. By petitioning, also to the emperor, Statius reached that a balance was created. This showed that its total assets of 1,320,565 thalers exceeded its debt of 1,011,484 thalers. With the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War, the rest of the proceedings came to a standstill.

On March 27, 1633, Statius died from Munchausen and was buried in the church of Bevern. His widow Dorothea von Bothmer had to relinquish the castle to Duke August the Younger of Brunswick and Lüneburg, who used it as a hunting lodge and official residence. In the Thirty Years War 1640 Holzminden was burned down by imperial troops. Dorothea von Bothmer prevented the occupation of the castle with the help of Brunswick soldiers. In 1652 at the age of 72 she left the castle, where soldiers were quartered, and received a court in Höxter. Until 1666, the castle remained unused, and only after violent building disputes and a comparison of the received on May 23, 1667 the youngest son of the Duke, Ferdinand Albrecht I (the "Whimsy of Bevern"), the castle with an annual appanage of 8800 thalers and Fundamental rights as a residence. With the assumption as residence on 5 June 1667 he founded the ducal Nebenlinie Braunschweig-Bevern (until 1884 existing). In the same year Ferdinand Albrecht I married Christine von Hessen-Eschwege; The marriage produced eleven children. The ducal residence reflected the interests of the Duke, who set up a Kunstkammer and one of the first theaters in northern Germany. A yard printing house was used to publish own works. Like his ruling half-brothers in Braunschweig, he claimed the jurisdiction of the jail. In April 1671, the only execution took place on the castle courtyard. Burgrave Johann Stahlmann was sentenced to death for the shooting of Bernhard Wienecken, the duke's corporal, and beheaded after a hand was cut off. On April 23, 1687 Ferdinand Albrecht I. died, and the castle served as a widow's seat for Christine of Hesse-Eschwege. The sons of the Duke were raised in Wolfenbüttel.

Source German Wikipedia (translated)

Date of origin:: 1612 Architect(s): Johann Hundertossen Style: Late Renaissance (ca. 1580–1620) Web site of the object (if exists): [Web Link] Type of building (structure): Chateau or castle Address: Not listed

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