Levenburg Castle. History of an ancient castle in Germany
In the Wilhelmshohe park (Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe), which is located in the city of Kassel, there is a unique Löwenburg castle. Looking at it, you might think that this is an ancient medieval building. However, it is not. It was commissioned by William IX at the end of the 18th century and served as a place for his love affairs with Caroline von Schlotheim, as well as subsequently […]
IN park Wilhelmshohe (Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe) that is in the city Kassel, located unique Löwenburg Castle. Looking at it, you might think that this is an ancient medieval building. However, it is not. It was built to order William IX at the end of the 18th century and served as a place for his love affairs with Caroline von Schlotheim, and also subsequently became the burial place of the Landgrave.
From 1793 to 1801, the construction of Levenburg Castle lasted. An architect worked on his project Heinrich Christoph Yussow. About a hundred years passed when the last castle was built in Germany, because with the advent of the Renaissance, aristocrats began to build palaces, preferring them to castles, but the famous architect got down to business with enthusiasm.
To build a beautiful romantic garden around Levenburg Castle, Yussow had to go to Great Britain to get to know the English romantic ruins better. At first, the customer only planned to rebuild the destroyed tower and an extension near it, but later a full-fledged castle grew on the hill, which was grouped around a courtyard.
In 1945 Levenburg Castle, which is also called Lion Castle, was significantly destroyed. All that was left of it was the tower and part of the walls, and the garden was also very badly damaged. Almost immediately after the war, work began on the restoration of Levenburg. As a result, the appearance of the castle changed greatly. However, it continues to attract tourists today.
34131 Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe, Germany
museum-kassel.de
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Levenburg Castle
- old castle, also called lion castle. It is located in the German town of Kassel and is its most striking attraction. The castle is located on a 92-meter mountain in Bavaria, in the Wilhelmsholl park. It was designed by order of William IX by the architect Heinrich Christoph, who had similar experience in France, England and Italy.
There is not as much information about Levenburg as there is about other, more famous castles in Germany. He doesn't have long history, but at the same time deservedly took its place on the list of the most beautiful castles in the country.
Levenburg- a fairly young building, erected in the 17th century, although many attribute it to a medieval castle. Next to the palace there is an armory room where you can find weapons and armor from the 15th-16th centuries, and a chapel in which the tomb of the castle’s founder is located. The ideological inspirer of the fake castle is William IX himself, who commissioned the architect to build a structure that could be compared with English medieval palaces. The castle looks like a real fortress, although in reality it is nothing like that. To implement the ideas of William IX, the architect specially had to go to England to study in more detail the romantic ruins of English fortresses, and draw up a plan for the construction of the magnificent Levenberg and the adjacent garden.
Story
Levenburg With its beautiful towers, it looks like a real castle from chivalric romances or European fairy tales. It was built at the end of the 18th century by the architect Heinrich Christoph Jussow on the site of the meetings of William IX with his mistress Caroline von Schlotheim and then became his burial place. Having completed his earthly journey, the Landgrave rested in the crypt under the chapel at his own request. The castle is located in a unique mountain natural park Wilhelmsholl in Kassel, Germany, on a 92-meter-high hill in the Bavarian Alps. The castle is considered one of the first significant examples of neo-Gothic architecture in Germany and serves as a recognizable emblem for the company producing children's films.
Levenburg differs from the magnificent Bavarian Neuschwanstein Castle in terms of architecture, but this does not mean that Levenburg is any less beautiful and dramatic. Today Levenburg is more of a mock castle surrounded by ruins, but it still has a lot to offer unforgettable journey in time. 
Architect Heinrich Christoph Jussow worked on the construction of Levenburg from 1793 to 1801, centuries after castles had actually been built in Germany (with the advent of the Renaissance, wealthy and noble clients began to prefer palaces to castles). He was a very popular architect with extensive knowledge, who worked not only at home, but also abroad, in France, Italy and England. Yussow made a special trip to Great Britain to study the English romantic ruins in order to build a large beautiful garden around Levenburg. This imitation of a medieval castle initially responded to romantic rather than historical ideas about the Middle Ages and was deliberately built in the form of artificial ruins. Initially, it was planned to build only a dilapidated tower with an extension, but ultimately a complete castle appeared on the hill, grouped around the inner 
yard In 1945, British and Allied aircraft carried out several raids on Kassel, which, due to its defense industrial complex, was a very important city for the war economy of Nazi Germany. Alas, the Lion Castle was also bombed. It was destroyed to a large extent, only the tower with the remains of the walls remained, and the garden was also damaged. In the post-war years, the reconstruction of Levenburg began, quite noticeably changing the original appearance of the castle, and the work has not yet been completed.
Levenburg is considered one of the most attractive places for tourists in the Wilhelmsholl Park, which in Germany is something like Disney Park in Tokyo. The entire complex is a beautiful park in the English style, where you can see not only a “medieval” false fortress, but also the same artificial ruins of a Roman aqueduct, an English castle, Greek temples and even a fake Chinese village. This is one of the first facilities of this kind in Europe.
The interiors of Levenburg were cozy princely apartments, decorated in accordance with the trends of the Baroque era and decorated with numerous weapons and armor from the 16th and 17th centuries, but most of the historical collections have been stored in warehouses since the Second World War and will only be returned to the castle after the reconstruction is completed. 
The artistic and historical role of Levenburg
Levenburg- one of the most beautiful castles in the world, which evokes obvious associations with Gothic, airy and seemingly very ancient. But it's kind of fake. The German Landgrave Wilhelm IX of Hesse built it at the beginning of the 19th century, inspired by medieval romance. The Landgrave lived in full accordance with the ideals of the Romantic era, and in fact, the castle served him as a place of retreat for himself and his lover, Caroline von Schlotheim, who bore him a dozen children, despite the protests of William's wife, Wilhelmina Caroline of Denmark. Wilhelmina limited herself to five offspring, so her husband’s mistress outdid her in this indicator. In 1821, Wilhelm died at the age of 78 in his beloved Leuvenburg.
The artistic and historical role of Levenburg in German architecture is enormous. We can say that the history of neo-Gothic architecture in Germany begins with it, since this castle is the first significant building in this style. Built 
Xia Levenburg in 1793 - 1801, at a time when the era of the construction of fortified formidable castles in Germany had already ended for several centuries. It is an imitation of the medieval knight's castle, romantic appearance of ancient ruins. Today the castle looks as if there had been fierce fighting around it for at least a couple of hundred years, with Levenburg changing hands. But in reality, the castle experienced real military damage only in the 20th century, but more on that below.
Initially, the architect Heinrich Christoph Yussof planned to build “romantic ruins” - one dilapidated tower with a small extension. To do this, he undertook a trip to England to study in detail the dilapidated english castles. The tower turned out to be quite good and moderately destroyed, but it was decided to build something else around it. In the end, it turned out to be a complete fortress, grouped around a courtyard. There was also a beautiful English garden, in which you can see fake ruins, pseudo-Roman aqueducts and pseudo-Greek temples. The castle was built from tuff, which was available near the construction site in considerable quantities and was easily processed. The interior of the castle consists of four princely apartments in Baroque style. The towers contain a rich collection of historical weapons and ramming machines from the 16th - 17th centuries. The Castle Chapel is a museum of medieval church paraphernalia from the surrounding towns. Here, under the choir, there is a crypt with the grave of the Landgrave. During the war, numerous castle furnishings were evacuated from Levenburg. This historical collection is still not fully displayed in the castle - Kassel's management promises to do this after the restoration is completely completed.
During World War II, during Allied air raids on Kassel, the castle was badly damaged. The main tower of Levenburg was mostly destroyed - only a few stairs with the remains of walls remained from it. The castle was restored in the post-war years, but the main tower is still being restored. Unfortunately, the restoration was mainly guided by functionality rather than accuracy of the parts. However, Levenburg's charm remains the same. The fortress stands on a hill above the city and evokes dreams of knightly tournaments, mighty men-at-arms, beautiful ladies and troubadours.
The Middle Ages, with its knights, beautiful ladies and ballads of troubadours, have attracted the attention of Europeans at all times. The German lands were no exception. Castles were the embodiment of that romantic time. Among the many such buildings, Leuvenburg Castle stands out.
It is located in the small German town of Kassel in the Bavarian Alps. Located on a 92 m high mountain in Wilhelmshöhe Park, the castle is its most striking attraction.
Leuvenburg is a relatively young building, built in 1806. This was the time when high society Germany, admiring the romances of chivalry, enthusiastically built medieval castles, because of which land disputes often arose, which were resolved with the help of land dispute lawyers. The Elector of Hesse, Wilhelm IX, did not stand aside either. While married, he was in love with Caroline von Schlotheim. The castle was destined to become a place for romantic dates. The construction was entrusted to the architect Heinrich Yussof, who became famous for the implementation of projects richest people Old World.
Leuvenburg Castle looks like a dilapidated fortress surrounded by a deep moat. You can get into it by crossing a drawbridge through a massive gate. The main tower palace, gallery, corner towers, castle chapel and armory room.
The entire Leuvenburg complex has a beautiful British style garden with themed corners. Here you can see the ruins of Greek cathedrals, ancient Roman aqueducts, and palace ruins. In the shady alleys of the garden, figures of ancient gods and statues of lions lurk, thanks to which the complex received its second name - “Lion Castle”. The interior of the castle is represented by unique medieval furniture. The walls are lined with collectible weapons, and the reception rooms are lined with gaming tables and bronze statues. The windows of the Lion Castle are decorated with elaborate stained glass windows.
Despite the fact that Levenburg with its beautiful towers looks like a real castle from chivalric romances or European fairy tales, it was built at the end of the 18th century by the architect Heinrich Christoph Jussow on the meeting place of William IX (1743-1821) with by his mistress Caroline von Schlotheim (1766-1847) and then became his burial place. Having completed his earthly journey, the Landgrave rested in the crypt under the chapel at his own request. The castle is located in the unique mountain nature park Wilhelmshohe (Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe) in Kassel, Germany, on a 92-meter-high hill in the Bavarian Alps. The castle is considered one of the first significant examples of neo-Gothic architecture in Germany and serves as a recognizable emblem for the company producing children's films.
History often repeats itself twice, but the second time is like a farce!
Levenburg Castle was built by William IX at the end of the 18th century, to please the then hobby German nobility romanticism of knightly times. Actually, William needed the castle as a decent country residence for relaxing, receiving guests, and especially ladies. In particular, Wilhelm often retired here with his mistress Caroline von Schlotheim, in secret and away from his wife.
Therefore, the castle was originally designed by the then fashionable architect Heinrich Kritof, and was built with all the attributes of an ancient English knight's castle, including traces of fierce battles and long sieges. Actually, it is here, in the erected ruins, that William IX is buried.
The picture of ruins was completed in 1943 by British military pilots who flew in 569 planes to bomb the city of Kassel and at the same time dropped several bombs on the castle.
Despite all this, Levenburg Castle today is considered one of the most beautiful castles in Germany and is one of the attractions of the famous “Fairy Tale Road”.
The castle is located on a 92-meter mountain in a huge and very beautiful park Wilhelmsholl.
Most of the halls and rooms of Levenburg are open for tourist excursions
Visiting times:
January - February 10.00-16.00;
March - October 10.00-17.00;
Price:
Adults - €4
Visitors over 65 years old - €3
Students - €2
Children under 18 years old - free
It so happened that we arrived in Levenburg very early, almost at dawn. Climbing up the path of the park, in the play of shadows with sunbeams, we tried to guess the outlines of the castle, but there was no surprise. Having passed strictly according to the sign, through the arch of a small stone gate, we came out into a bright clearing, where the castle itself was located.
Despite the sunny day, Levenburg did not look majestic and menacing at all, but rather the opposite. He looked very lonely in this huge park. Often this feeling occurs when you look at an old village house abandoned by its residents or an abandoned dog.
Levenburg seemed to be complaining that old age had come and there would be no more of the former social splendor, balls and receptions, and the tower hurt, but we had to live somehow...
It became a little sad. No, Levenburg does not look like a lion at all.
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This ancient castle is also called the castle of lions, or the lion's castle. Leuvenburg is located in German city Kassel is the most interesting attraction of this city
The castle is located on a 92-meter mountain in Bavaria, in the Wilhelmsholl park. It was designed by order of William IX by the architect Heinrich Christoph, who had similar experience in France, England and Italy
Among all the castles in Germany, it is unique in that it is designed as a romantic medieval ruin. Such a wonderful project of Levenburg arose as a result of the fantasies of William IX. Nevertheless, experts regard the castle as very important historical monument, the first neo-Gothic building in Germany.
Quote from the message Ancient castle Leuvenburg (Germany)
On the mountain of Bavaria (the town of Kassel) is located the ancient castle of Levenburg, which is also called the lion castle. The famous architect Heinrich Christoph, who carried out similar orders in England, Ireland and France, worked on its design.
Yet, despite his wealth of experience, the architect had to visit England in order to better study the romantic ruins of English fortresses. Only after a detailed study did Heinrich Christoph begin to draw up a plan for the construction of Levenburg.
Levenburg Castle, unlike other castles in Germany, does not have rich history, but, nevertheless, it is among the most beautiful castles in the country. The Lion Castle can be considered a fairly young structure, because four hundred years is not a respectable age for such a structure.
There is only one such object in Europe. The whole complex is a continuous garden, made in the English style.
The idea of building such a castle belongs to William IX, who, admiring romanticism and the ruins of castles, dreamed of a structure that would be no different from English medieval palaces, so the castle turned out to be very similar to a real fortress, although it has nothing in common with it.
As expected, the castle is surrounded on all sides by a huge moat, and the path to the castle runs through a drawbridge. The garden is filled with fake palace ruins, among which there are fake aqueducts of Rome and even temples of Greece.
No less attractive is inner part the castle, which housed original medieval furniture, bronze statues, stained glass windows and even weapons and armor of the XV-XVI centuries. Not far from the palace there is a chapel where the remains of the castle’s founder are buried.
http://www.terra-z.ru/
Germany: Levenburg Castle
This ancient castle is also called the castle of lions, or the lion's castle. Leuvenburg is located in the German city of Kassel and is the most interesting attraction of this city.
Built around 1800, Löwenburg Castle has many medieval features, such as a moat and a drawbridge. Inside it is filled with authentic medieval furniture and rare and unique objects: there are altar slabs, medieval glass windows of churches and abbeys, weapons and armor, bronze statues, gambling tables, and many other things.
Levenburg is located in the middle of the luxurious Wilhelmschen Park, and from the outside it looks like medieval fortress, but inside it is adapted for a cozy family life.
The castle was deliberately built in such a way as if it had taken part in many battles and sieges. In fact, the effect of antiquity is artificial.
Most of the halls and parts of Leuvenburg are open to tourists. Next to the building there is an armory with weapons and armor from the 16th and 17th centuries, as well as a chapel-tomb of the founder.
There is quite a bit of information about this building; it does not have the same history as the more famous German castles, but it deservedly takes its place on the list of the most beautiful castles in Germany.