Bad Mergentheim Castle

Bad Mergentheim, Germany

The castle of Mergentheim was the residence of the Grand Masters of German Teutonic Order from 1525-1809. In 1996 the museum was opened with around 3000 m² of exhibition space. The 800-year history of the German Teutonic Order from 1190 to the present day is illustrated with objects, works of art and models.

The castle has a rich architectural history. There are Romanesque structural elements (residential quarter covered footpaths), Renaissance (Berwart staircase), Rococo (gods room) and Classicism (chapter hall). The jewel of the residence is the castle church, for which artists such as Balthasar Neumann and François de Cuvilliès were called in to assist with the building.

The first buildings of the castle were probably erected as early as the 12th century. The castle was expanded in the late 16th century under Grand Master Walter von Cronberg. Over the course of time a representative Renaissance complex was built by connecting the individual buildings in the inner palace courtyard to a closed ring of buildings. In 1574, the main architect, Blasius Berwart, also constructed the spiral staircase between the west and north wing still famous today.

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Details

Founded: 1525
Category: Castles and fortifications in Germany
Historical period: Reformation & Wars of Religion (Germany)

Rating

4.4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Marc Van Goidsenhoven (2 years ago)
All information, panels, ect are only in German. Even people don't understand an other language. It's to expensive with this low level of service.
Jamilé Sh Deeb (2 years ago)
Nice place to visit and relax
Hello World (3 years ago)
Closed for visit like always
Hello World (3 years ago)
Closed for visit like always
Motorhome Quest (3 years ago)
We just visited the castle and not the museum. Not much too see and the garden looks like any normal park.
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