Augustusburg Palace

Brühl, Germany

Augustusburg Palace represents one of the first examples of Rococo creations in Germany. For the Cologne elector and archbishop Clemens August of the House of Wittelsbach it was the favourite residence. In 1725 the Westphalian architect Johann Conrad Schlaun was commissioned by Clemens August to begin the construction of the palace on the ruins of a medieval moated castle.

In 1728, the Bavarian court architect François de Cuvilliés took over and made the palace into one of the most glorious residences of its time. Until its completion in 1768, numerous outstanding artists of European renown contributed to its beauty. A prime example of the calibre of artists employed here is Balthasar Neumann, who created the design for the magnificent staircase, an enchanting creation full of dynamism and elegance. The magical interplay of architecture, sculpture, painting and garden design made the Brühl Palaces a masterpiece of German Rococo.

UNESCO honoured history and present of the Rococo Palaces by inscribing Augustusburg Palace – together with Falkenlust Palace and their extensive gardens – on the World Heritage List in 1984. From 1949 onwards, Augustusburg Palace was used for representative purposes by the German Federal President and the Federal Government for many decades.

In 1728, Dominique Girard designed the palace gardens according to French models. Owing to constant renovation and care, it is today one of the most authentic examples of 18th century garden design in Europe. Next to the Baroque gardens, Peter Joseph Lenné redesigned the forested areas based on English landscaping models. Today it is a wonderful place to have a walk.

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Address

Promenade, Brühl, Germany
See all sites in Brühl

Details

Founded: 1725-1768
Category: Palaces, manors and town halls in Germany
Historical period: Thirty Years War & Rise of Prussia (Germany)

More Information

en.wikipedia.org
www.schlossbruehl.de
whc.unesco.org

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Falkenlust Palace (1,7 km)


Cologne Cathedral (13,1 km)
Romano-Germanic Museum (13 km)
St. Andrew's Church (13,1 km)
Great St. Martin Church (12,9 km)
Schlossturm (45,4 km)
Wallraf-Richartz-Museum (12,7 km)
St. Lambertus Church (45,5 km)
Bonn Minster (17,1 km)
St. Maria Lyskirchen (12,3 km)

User Reviews

Sandra B (11 months ago)
Splendid! We visited the garden on a Saturday morning right before more people arrived. It was gorgeous!
Dmitry Kabanov (13 months ago)
Brühl is a lovely town to visit, particularly for its palace. It is just 15 minutes by train from the Cologne Central station.
Angel Owns (14 months ago)
Good to take time out and visit this Castle for a day. Another place of interest close by is Falkenlust, the hunting castle. Its a 45min (one of the gates to exit was closed due to changes made for Corona, hence longer) trek one way from this castle.
Jan Jacobs (15 months ago)
Great example of German rococo. Personally I find rococo to be the ugliest architectural style that has ever excisted. Must see. Ugliest castle in the world. The tour should stop after the main stairway,it's all downhill after that.
Meghana Jain (19 months ago)
Incredibly beautiful castle. I visited this palace with my family during our trip to Germany. The place is really big and can take around 1 hour or more to fully explore. You can get some amazing pictures here. Best place for any kind of photo shoot or shooting. Also it’s not very crowded so it’s like you have the whole place to yourself.
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