|
Schloss Meseberg is a Baroque castle 65 kilometres north of Berlin in Meseberg in Brandenburg, Germany which is the official state guest house of the German Federal Government. It is situated in an estate near the town of Gransee southeast of a lake known as the Huwenowsee. ==History== Built by the Wartensleben family in 1739 to replace a previous building on the site that had burnt down, the Schloss passed to the von der Gröben family in the second half of the century. In 1774, the property along with adjacent land parcels was purchased by Prince Henry of Prussia, who resided in nearby Rheinsberg, and one year later was gifted to his paramour, Christian Ludwig von Kaphengst (1740-1800). In this way Heinrich complied with the command of his brother, King Frederick II, to remove Kaphengst from the court at Rheinsberg. Kaphengst furnished and decorated the castle lavishly, commissioning ceiling frescoes from Bernhard Rode, including one depicting an apotheosis of Heinrich. The estate grew with the construction of additional buildings, including the stables. Under Kaphengst and his successors, the baroque garden was extended, and an English garden edging most of the lake shore was landscaped by Peter Joseph Lenné. The property was later purchased by the Lessing family, owners of the Berlin newspaper Vossische Zeitung. During the Nazi era, it was forcibly acquired by Hermann Göring, only to be appropriated by the Soviet occupation in 1945. The East German government used it to house a grocery store and school rooms, which preserved it from demolition. A plan to renovate the dilapidated castle and turn it into a conference center for the Academy of Sciences was never realized.〔Nicholas Kulish (March 15, 2012), (A Village Where Europe Can Take a Stroll and Plot Its Future ) ''New York Times''.〕 After the reunification of Germany the estate was bought by the Messerschmitt Foundation in 1995. The foundation, devoted to preserving historical landmarks, spent 11 years and more than $30 million renovating the stucco building, with its Ionic half-columns and high mansard roof.〔Nicholas Kulish (March 15, 2012), (A Village Where Europe Can Take a Stroll and Plot Its Future ) ''New York Times''.〕 In 2004, the Messerschmitt Foundation agreed to lease the castle to the Federal German Government for 20 years, for a symbolic annual rent of one euro. The government subsequently spent $17 million installing security and communications equipment.〔Nicholas Kulish (March 15, 2012), (A Village Where Europe Can Take a Stroll and Plot Its Future ) ''New York Times''.〕 Since 2007, the government regularly holds its annual cabinet conclave at Meseberg. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Schloss Meseberg」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|