Dankwarderode Castle

Dankwarderode Castle
Burg Dankwarderode
Braunschweig
Burg Dankwarderode
Dankwarderode Castle
Coordinates	52°15′53″N 10°31′27″E / 52.26472°N 10.52417°E / 52.26472; 10.52417Coordinates: 52°15′53″N 10°31′27″E / 52.26472°N 10.52417°E / 52.26472; 10.52417
Type	lowland castle
Code	DE-NI
Site information
Condition	Reconstruction from the 19th/20th centuries
Site history
Built	12th century
Garrison information
Occupants	higher nobility

Museum Burg Dankwarderode

Dankwarderode Castle, rebuilt 1887–1906
Established	1963
Location	Brunswick
Type	Medieval Division of the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum
Architect	Ludwig Winter (Reconstruction 1887–1906)
Owner	Niedersächsische Landesmuseen Braunschweig
Website	http://www.haum.niedersachsen.de

Dankwarderode Castle (German: Burg Dankwarderode) on the Burgplatz ("castle square") in Braunschweig (Brunswick) is a Saxon lowland castle. It was the residence of the Brunswick dukes for centuries and, today, is part of the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum.

Dankwarderode Castle was built between c. 1160 and 1175 as the Pfalz of Duke Henry the Lion on an island in the river Oker. Next to the castle, construction of Brunswick Cathedral began in 1173. The castle lost its military significance as a defensive structure early, when it became surrounded completely by the growing city.

During the 15th century, the dukes of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel moved their Residenz out of the city and to the nearby town of Wolfenbüttel. In 1616 the palas was remodelled in the renaissance style, while the rest of the castle was demolished or left to decay. During the 19th century, the castle keep served as a barrack, plans to demolish it completely were stopped by public protests in 1873. The present structure was rebuilt in 1887 by Ludwig Winter, based on archaeological investigations. Today the ground floor of Dankwarderode Castle houses the permanent collection of medieval objects of the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum.

Castle courtyard

Dankwarderode Castle c. 1200, artist's impression by Ludwig Winter (1884)

Dankwarderode in the 18th century

Dankwarderode c. 1720

Dankwarderode c. 1865

Great Hall

Brunswick Lion, original on display in the museum.

Arm reliquary of Saint Blaise on display in the museum.