Welfenschloss



The Welfenschloss (Guelph palace) is a former royal palace in Hanover, Germany, which serves as the main building of the Leibniz University Hannover. The university is housed in the palace since 1879. The palace is surrounded by a large English landscape garden, named the Welfengarten (Guelph garden).

New royal residence
In 1856, king George V of Hanover (1819–1878) decided to build a new royal residence. Initially, only as a summer residence, but later intended as the main seat replacing the Leineschloss in the city center. The king engaged the architect Christian Heinrich Tramm (1819–1861) to make the designs in neo-Gothic style. When Tramm passed away, he was replaced by the construction manager of the project, Eduard Heidelberg.

The site of the palace of previously occupied by another palace, Schloss Monbrilliant. This palace dated from the first half of the 18th century. It served as a summer residence of kings Ernest Augustus (1771–1851) and George V. Before the building started of the new palace, it was demolished. It was rebuilt in Georgsmarienhütte, before it finally was teared down in 1923.

Construction of the Welfenschloss palace started in 1857. Workers used yellowish-white sandstone from the Danndorf and Velpke areas near Helmstedt, one of the hardest sandstones in Germany, and sandstone from Nesselberg near Nesselberg.

The palace was initially named Schloss Königsitz, but in 1861 this was changed into Welfenschloss after the reigning dynasty, the House of Welf, of which the House of Hanover was the surviving branch. This also determined the iconography of the palace. On the side of the garden, the Welfengarten, the exterior is decorated with sculptures of eight significant Welf rulers. The sculptor Wilhelm Engelhard created around 1862 the most important one, that of Henry the Lion (1129/1131-1195). On the entrance side, Adolf Rosenthal created the bronze Lions.

George V's reign ended as a result of the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, after which Prussia annexed Hanover. Construction works ended, leaving the Welfenschloss palace empty for over a decade.

In the same time as the Welfenschloss was built, king George V also constructed another neo-gothic castle between 1858 and 1867, Marienburg castle. This he presented as a birthday present to his wife, queen Marie (1818–1907).

University of Hanover
It was not until 1879 that a new purpose was found for the palace: the Higher Vocational School moved in, now named the University of Hanover. Extensive renovations works were performed by Hermann Hunaeus to transform the palace into a school building. In 1899, emperor Wilhelm II elevated the school the status of a university.

During the Allied aerial raids on Hanover, the chapel on the east side of the palace was heavily damaged. In 1955, it was demolished. On its location, an extension was erected between 1956 and 1958 to house an auditorium and a lecture hall.

In 2006, the University of Hanover was renamed Leibniz University Hannover.

Saxon Steed
In front of the palace, there is a bronze statue of a Saxon Steed (Sachsenross), created in 1866. It is a duplicate from a sculpture made by Albert Wolf for the entrance of the Altes Museum in Berlin, the Löwenkämpfer. The Saxon Steed is a heraldic motif associated with the German provinces of Lower Saxony and Westphalia, and the Dutch region of Twente.

See also: other Hanoverian royal residences

 * Herrenhausen Gardens
 * Leineschloss
 * Marienburg Castle
 * Welfenschloss Stables