Marienburg Castle
Marienburg Castle is another fabulous stop of the trip among the German noble palaces. This incredibly beautiful castle with its many towers dominats the hills above the valley of the River Leine. The beautiful mansion of Marienburg is today considered one of the most important historical buildings in the neo-Gothic style in all of Germany.
The spectacular Marienburg is located just 20 miles south of Hanover, near Nordstemmen. Today the mansion is owned by the heirs of the family, 22 year old prince Ernst and 21 year old Christian of Hanover, who are opening up the building for public visits.
Marienburg remains in history as the seat of the oldest German noble dynasty. Nobleman George V of Hanover, who lived between the years of 1819-1878, assigned the two architects, Conrad Wilhelm Hase sheeting and Edwin Oppler, the task to design the fabulous castle.
So in 1860 in this picturesque German countryside appeared the beautiful Marienburg which was a special gift for the birthday of the ruler's wife, Princess Marie (1818-1907). After the construction of the palace both used it as a summer residence.
In 2005 the heirs of Marienburg held a grand auction of antique items and jewelry of the Hanover royal family. From a formal statement of the owners, the proceeds of the auction would serve to restore Marienburg Castle. The auction lasted for 11 days, during which 700 objects were sold for a total of 2.19 million.
The final stage of the auction was attended by about 2000 people. During the auction mostly sold were domestic objects such as, paintings, chairs, utensils, clothes and utensils of several generations of dukes. Throughout the auction some 36 telephone lines were active and the auction sold a total of 20 thousand subjects from 16th to 19th century.
Among the most expensive were the two porcelain vases which were made in the imperial factory in Sankt Petersburg in the middle of the XIX century, which sold for 1.69 million. The object that most dramatically exceeded its price was the portrait of Duchess Charlotte Christina Sofia - from going from € 600 reaching to 20, 500 Euro. The object holding the record sale was the Russian historical coat for € 350, 900.
Experts say that the Marienburg Castle has lost some of its historical value having sold some of the effects.
