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Albrechtsburg and Meissen Cathedral on the Elbe river

Earlier model of the castle

"Große Hofstube"

The Albrechtsburg is a Late Gothic castle that dominates the town centre of Meissen in the German state of Saxony. It stands on a hill above the river Elbe, adjacent to the Meissen Cathedral.

History

In 929, King Henry I of Germany founded Meissen. Meissen is a city located in Saxony, East central Germany. In 965, the Margraves of Meissen was built on a hill above the Elbe River of Meissen, Germany. The Margraviate of Meissen was a fortress built of wood upon the request of King Henry I. This building later became known as the "cradle of Saxony" because it is where the Wettin dynasty of Saxony began. This same location is where the Meissen Albrechtsberg Castle was built between 1471 and 1542.

The Castle was built to be the residential palace for Ernest, Elector of Saxony and Albert, Duke of Saxony, while also a representative administration center. The Meissen Albrechtsburg Castle was the first German Palace of its kind. The castle was never used as the palace or a representative administration center. While it was still under construction there were a few receptions and hunting parties hosted there.

Besides the few receptions and hunting parties the castle was unused until 1710. In 1708, the mathematician and physicist Ehrenfried Walther Graf von Tschirnhaus and the alchemist Johann Friedrich Böttger succeeded in manufacturing the first white European porcelain. In 1710, Böttger, with the support of Elector Augustus II the Strong, decided to use the Meissen Albrechtsburg Castle as Europe’s first porcelain manufactory. The porcelain manufactory produced porcelain for 153 years. In 1863, everything was removed from the Gothic rooms. Then restoration began to restore the original appearance and to fix the damages caused by manufactory use.

The porcelain manufactory was famous for “Dresden china” (delicate figurines). The Meissen Porcelain manufactory used local deposits of kaolin and potter’s earth. Compared to other manufactories who used metal, ceramic, and leather goods.

Architecture

The Albrechtsburg castle has vaulted ceilings in its interior. Vaulted ceilings are known to be among the most difficult architectural techniques to produce. Along with the new technique of making castle walls thicker as they rise, the Albrechtsburg castle had curvilinear ribs built into its vaulted ceilings.

The northern section of the second floor of the castle is where the vaulted ceilings were built in 1471 through 1521, with a short pause in construction. The room that the structural technique was produced is has been named the “Hall of Arms”. The Hall of Arms has four sections in its quadrangular design and each has a stone arch.

It was Jakob Heilmann who planned the curved ribs and vaults. He was a mason that worked in the Saxony area and constructed vaulted ceilings with ribs in other structures too. His design was unique in that the ribs curved in a two-fold manner. The ribs are curved vertically, with the shape of the vaulted ceiling, and horizontally, meaning the curve of the ribs also goes side to side. Even in the 15th century, when curvilinear ribs on vaulted ceilings was common, this was a rare technique that required a high level of mastery. The technique gained more speed in the mid-15th century, the late Gothic architecture period.

Although the curves followed the contour of the ceiling, the dimensions of the curve were actually mapped out first and then the ceiling surface was fitted to that. With that in mind, each curvilinear rib has an exact place in relation to each other. If the math of their positions was not exact, it would not work or be stable.

The ribs were created using sandstone mined in the Elbe valley. Individual voussoirs were made of this material and are fitted so that one side, the top, follows the curve of the ceiling and the other side, the bottom, follows the curve of the rib.

The vaulted ribs in the Hall of Arms are in an arrangement of long and short fragments. The resulting pattern of the curved ribs almost resembles a star when one looks straight up at them. Additionally, the way that the ribs are designed makes them symmetric when the pattern is rotated every 90 degrees.

This element of the architecture of the Albrechtsburg castle was meticulously planned and built with precision. Of course, the product is a beautiful piece of architecture that catches the castle-wonderer’s gaze and attention immediately.

Exhibitions

In 2008, the state hired two interior designers that would produce an exhibition for Meissen porcelain. This exhibition then became a constant one that instead showcased the town’s past. The designers were Carsten Gerhards and Andreas Glücker. Gerhards and Glücker were known for working with other interiors, including German composer Georg Friedrich Handel’s house.

The exhibit that is in the Albrechtsburg castle today is divided in three segments. One segment describes the politics and who was ruling at the time, and everyday life in Meissen. Another section is about the architecture of the castle. Then, Meissen porcelain is the last part of the exhibit.

The interior architects created vitrines made of aluminum, which are glass display cases, that held artifacts in many different rooms. They tried to emphasize the rooms and the history instead of drawing attention to the displays, so the mirrors in the vitrines reflect the architecture of the castle.

The castle’s exhibit on the first level has an item called the “laser cannon” that projects images that the viewer can observe in the cannon’s eyepiece. It shows the viewer information about the castle’s design. The vitrine displays are on the second floor. They hold artifacts and information about the porcelain production inside Albrechtsburg. There is an especially big vitrine in the Elector Augustus Room. The exhibits on the third floor of the castle aren’t placed in any particular order. They include artifacts that describe the structure of the building, like the periscope. The exhibits and vitrines on this floor show Saxon politics and daily life in the castle. Everything that Gerhards and Glücker used mirrored the beauty and showed off the rooms of the castle.

Artwork

The castle contains many pieces of artwork that reflect the history of Meissen. First of all, paintings and murals of the aristocrats of Saxony are hung on the walls of the first floor. On the third floor, there is a small detention cell that shows graffiti dating back to the 1600’s on its walls. The translation reads, “Death is certain; only uncertain is the day. Also the hour, no-one knows. So think on this and pay honor to the Lord; for each hour could be your last.” Finally, there are examples of Meissen porcelain.

The porcelain produced at Meissen, called "White Gold", was of great significance in the early 18th century, providing the first European competition for the Chinese monopoly in this market. Meissen porcelain was produced at the Albrechtsburg until the manufacture in 1863 moved to its present location at the Talstrasse in the very heart of the city. The exhibition hall presents a superb reflection on three centuries of porcelain manufactured by hand, including the porcelain made for Catherine the Great of Russia, the famous 3.5 m high (11.5 ft) centerpiece for the dining table of King Augustus III, as well as contemporary porcelain art.

Once the porcelain manufactory had moved out in the mid-19th century, the Albrechtsburg was converted back into a castle and decorated with sumptuous murals. The permanent exhibition commemorates the eventful history of the building and enables visitors to travel back to the time when porcelain with the Crossed Blue Swords was made in a castle, in a truly regal way.

The Artwork in the castle was created by Wilhelm Rossmann, Privy Court Councillor at the end of the 19th century. His goal was to use the castle to display the history of the dynasties and of the state. The main idea was to portray the murals throughout the castle as a “painted picture book”. The castle is referred to as a central memorial site of Saxon identity because of the subject of artwork.

Sources

• “History.” Albrechtsburg Meißen, 22 Oct. 2018, www.albrechtsburg-meissen.de/en/meissen-albrechtsburg-castle/history/.
• Dumiak, Michael. "Time Warp." Architectural Record, vol. 199, no. 10, 2011, pp. 56-59.
• "Meissen." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Paul Lagasse, and Columbia University, Columbia University Press, 8th edition, 2018. Credo Reference, http://0-search.credoreference.com.marie.converse.edu/content/entry/columency/meissen/0?institutionId=2800. Accessed 31 Oct. 2018.
• Meißen, Stadt. “Navigation Des Hauptbereiches.” Stadt Meißen | Albrechtsburg Castle Meißen, www.touristinfo-meissen.de/5721.html.
• Wendland, David, et al. “The Vault with Curvilinear Ribs in the ‘Hall of Arms’ in the Albrechtsburg Meissen: Studies on the Concept, Design and Construction of a Complex Late Gothic Rib Vault.” Proceedings of the First Conference of the Construction History Society: Queens'College, Cambridge, 11-12 April 2014, by James W. P. Campbell, Construction History Society, 2014, pp. 459–466.
• Biermann, Kathleen, director. Commercial "Albrechtsburg Castle" English Version. YouTube, YouTube, 26 Mar. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoBfb0Lhe-o.
• http://www.sights-and-culture.com/Germany/meissen.html
• https://www.albrechtsburg-meissen.de/en/meissen-albrechtsburg-castle/
• https://www.saxony.in/en/shopping_saxony_style/index.php?id=2
• Bachrach, David (1 August 2013). "Henry I of Germany's 929 military campaign in archaeological perspective". Early Medieval Europe. 21 (3). Oxford: Wiley Blackwell: 307–337. doi:10.1111/emed.12020.
• “Permanent Exhibition.” Albrechtsburg Meißen, 9 Nov. 2018, www.albrechtsburg-meissen.de/en/events-and-exhibitions/exhibitions/permanent-exhibition/.