One of the top sights in Ansbach is the Residenz, which is located outside the old town centre. I learnt a lot about the life of the margraves and the town of Ansbach on an exciting guided tour of the museum.
A monastery courtyard once stood outside the town walls of Ansbach. The later Elector Frederick I of Brandenburg had it converted into a moated castle around 1400. Not much of it remains today. There are still a few remains in the north-west wing of the Ansbach residence.
In 1565, the architect Blasius Berwart was commissioned to remodel the moated castle into a prestigious residence. More than a century and several margraves later, the building was finally completed. The result was an impressive Renaissance building that characterises the cityscape of that time and today.
The last Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach handed over his estate to the Kingdom of Prussia on his abdication (1791). This was a real stroke of luck for the interior design of the Ansbach residence. It was no longer a seat of power. No ruler had the rooms remodelled to suit current tastes or trends and so much of the authentic interior still remains.
The residence has around 500 rooms. A large area is now used by the authorities. But 27 rooms on the Beletage are a museum that can be visited on a guided tour.
Ansbach Residence – a guided tour
The tour begins in the large Gothic Hall. This is where the ticket office is located and before the tour starts, you can take a look at some of the porcelain exhibits in the display cabinets. However, I am much more impressed by the room. A look up to the ceiling reveals a beautiful ribbed vault and the height and length of the room make it look almost like a huge banqueting hall or a nave.
However, the actual ballroom is located on the 1st floor of the residence. The hall is characterised by a huge ceiling painting. This impressive room is also used for events today.
As we are guided through the rooms, we are not only told little stories about the former residents. We are also made aware of small and large details in the rooms. For example, I learn that a paper wallpaper from the time of the margraves still hangs on the walls of a green room. It’s amazing how well preserved it is.
What impressive rooms!
Some of the rooms are really impressive. For example, I was fascinated by the picture gallery. This large room was actually once divided into 3 smaller rooms by partition walls. However, the last margrave had two walls removed and the large room remodelled in the rococo style. Huge paintings hang here today. I was later able to view more paintings of the Ansbach royal family in another room.
As we enter the so-called “Tiled Hall”/dining room, we find ourselves in a room lined with 2800 ceramic tiles from the Ansbach faience manufactory. They depict floral motifs and animals. It is said that no two tiles are the same – unfortunately there was not enough time to verify this claim. However, as the artists made each tile individually and painted them by hand, I can well imagine that there are variations.
When I step into the hall of mirrors, I don’t know where to look first. There are beautiful pieces of porcelain from the Meissen porcelain manufactory, which remind me of a wonderful visit to Meissen. And there are mirrors, so many mirrors… if you look in at a certain angle, you get the feeling that the room, which is actually quite small, is huge.
During the tour, I also pass through the audience rooms. Is the story that is told true? One of the margraves is said to have greeted special guests sitting on the edge of his bed. However, it was not the bed in which he normally slept, but only a “show bed”. This was to give visitors the feeling that they could speak to him in confidence and confide in him.
At the end of our tour, we are taken to a room that I don’t really know how to find. Three baroque horse specimens have been on display here since 2020. These are certainly almost unique in terms of cultural history, but the sight of them gives me the creeps.
Although this was certainly an outstanding piece of craftsmanship at the time, I find the animals’ heads in particular very distorted. They remind me very little of horses.
Orangery and courtyard garden
Not far from the Ansbach Residence is the courtyard garden with the orangery. We enter the snow-covered grounds through a gate.
Leonhart Fuchs already mentioned this garden in his herb book at the beginning of the 16th century. After the park, which had been badly damaged in the Second World War, was rebuilt, a herb garden with many medicinal herbs was re-established. In the 16th century, a pleasure and opera house also stood in the park. Unfortunately, the building burnt down in 1667. Margrave Johann Friedrich had the building rebuilt and his successor was able to invite famous composers to perform there when the house was finished.
Margravine Christiane Charlotte decided in 1723 that the park should be remodelled along the lines of French parks. She had the now dilapidated pleasure house demolished and planned an orangery to house the frost-sensitive plants over the winter.
Construction finally began in 1726, but it took some time before the building was completed. When Frederick the Great visited Ansbach in 1743, the building had not yet been completed.
Unfortunately, the building was almost completely destroyed during the Second World War and was only rebuilt later.
A short walk
The orangery is 102 metres long and the façade is divided by numerous windows and pilasters. These are somewhat reminiscent of the style of facades often found in France (for example the east facade of the Louvre). I find the Orangerie very impressive, it almost looks like a castle in its own right.
Numerous paths lead through the park. A short walk takes me to two monuments. A small pillar commemorates Kaspar Hauser, who died in the Hofgarten on 14 December 1833. The somewhat larger monument commemorates the poet Johann Peter Uz (1720-1796).
The Rococo Festival and the Bach Week take place in the Orangery and the Court Garden. At this time, the grounds are transformed into a park in the time of Karl Wilhelm Friedrich (Brandenburg-Anhalt).
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