Old Castle Kißlegg: A German Castle with Baroque Interiors
Site at a Glance
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Germany
- Primary era
- Early Modern
- Eras represented
- Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Holy Roman Empire
- Site type
- Domestic
- Remains
- Castle
On this page7 sections
History
Old Castle Kißlegg is a castle in Germany, probably built around 1560 by Hans Ulrich von Schellenberg to replace a medieval castle.
Waldburg-Wolfegg ownership and refurnishing
Through marriage, the castle passed in 1708 to the counts of Waldburg-Wolfegg, who still own it. From 1717 to 1721, Count Ferdinand Ludwig von Waldburg-Wolfegg and his wife, Maria Anna, commissioned architect Johann Georg Fischer to refurnish the interior. They probably also had the farm buildings in front of the castle constructed.
Remains
The complex centers on a three-storey square castle and an almost rectangular courtyard formed with outbuildings. Its grounds also include a park in the English-garden style, designed to evoke natural scenery rather than formal geometric planting.
The castle
Exterior and towers
The castle has an asymmetrical stepped gable and a rectangular extension with a shed roof set into its northwest side. Round towers with conical roofs stand at the southwest, southeast, and northwest corners. The northeast tower contains the stairway, while two other towers were adapted to enlarge the living space.
Interior decoration
Antoni Frast’s Baroque stucco adorns most of the rooms. The northeast tower contains frescoes depicting biblical subjects, uncovered during restoration work in 1950.
Courtyard and park
Several outbuildings help form the courtyard with the castle. They include two granaries, several stables, and former staff residences. The surrounding grounds include the English garden.
