Leineschloss
Encyclopedia
Leine
The Leine is a river in Thuringia and Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Aller river and 281 km in length.The river's source is located close to the town of Leinefelde in Thuringia...
in Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, is the former residence of the Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
ian kings and the current seat of the Landtag
Landtag
A Landtag is a representative assembly or parliament in German-speaking countries with some legislative authority.- Name :...
of Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
.
The first building on the site was a Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
friary, constructed in about 1300, which was abandoned in 1533 after the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
. In 1636, George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg ruled as Prince of Calenberg from 1635.He was a son of William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Dorothea of Denmark . His mother was daughter to Christian III of Denmark and Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg...
, began construction of the castle on the site as his residence. In 1742 the north-west wing was renewed. Between 1816 and 1844, the architect Georg Ludwig Friedrich Laves
Georg Ludwig Friedrich Laves
Georg Ludwig Friedrich Laves was a German architect, civil engineer and urban planner. Born in Uslar, Lower Saxony, he lived and worked most time in the city of Hanover and also died there...
fully re-built the castle. The column portico with six Corinthian columns
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
was built during this period.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Leineschloss burnt out entirely after British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
aerial bombings
Bombing of Braunschweig in World War II
During World War II Braunschweig was attacked by Allied aircraft in 42 bombing raids.The attack on the night of 14/15 October 1944 by No. 5 Group Royal Air Force marked the high point of the destruction of Henry the Lion's city in the Second World War...
. King George I of Great Britain was originally buried in the Chapel of Leine Castle, but his remains were moved to the chapel at Herrenhausen
Herrenhausen
Herrenhausen is an area of the German city Hanover which is most notable for the baroque Herrenhausen Gardens.Ernest Augustus, Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg died in Herrenhausen Castle and his grandson King George II of Great Britain was born there. During the Second World War the castle was...
after World War II. The architect Dieter Oesterlen
Dieter Oesterlen
Dieter Oesterlen was German architect. He re-built the Leineschloss, the Marktkirche, and the opera house all in Hanover after the destruction of World War II....
re-built the castle between 1957 and 1962.