When was Blenheim Palace built?
Blenheim Palace
Blenheim Palace (pronounced ) is a monumental country house in Blenheim, Oxfordshire, England. It is the principal residence of the Dukes of Marlborough, and the only non-royal, non-episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. The palace, one of England's largest houses, was built between 1705 and 1722, and designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
Blenheim Art Foundation
"Yves Klein at Blenheim Palace" (18 July - 7 October 2018), presented in collaboration with the Yves Klein Estate, coincided with what would have been the artist’s ninetieth birthday year. It explored concepts of beauty, sensibility and the sublime, offering visitors a unique opportunity to view the artist’s seminal artworks in the landmark setting of the World Heritage eighteenth-century Palace.
Palace of Fontainebleau
On the ground floor of the "Gros Pavilion", The Empress Eugénie built a small but rich museum, containing gifts from the King of Siam in 1861, and works of art taken during the pillage of the Summer Palace in Beijing. It also featured paintings by contemporary artists, including Franz Xaver Winterhalter, and the sculptor Charles Henri Joseph Cordier. Close by, in the Lous XV wing, the Emperor established his office, and the Empress made her Salon of Lacquer. These were the last rooms created by the royal residents of Fontainebleau. In 1870, during the Franco-German War, the Empire fell, and the Château was closed.
Blenheim Palace
, the Marlboroughs still have to tender a copy of the French royal flag to the Monarch on the anniversary of the Battle of Blenheim as rent for the land that Blenheim Palace stands on.
Woodstock, Oxfordshire
Blenheim Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is next to Woodstock, in the parish of Blenheim. Winston Churchill was born in Blenheim Palace in 1874 and is buried in the nearby village of Bladon.
Blenheim Palace
Blenheim Palace was the birthplace of the 1st Duke's famous descendant, Winston Churchill, whose life and times are commemorated by a permanent exhibition in the suite of rooms in which he was born "(marked "K" on the plan)". Blenheim Palace was designed with all its principal and secondary rooms on the "piano nobile", thus there is no great staircase of state: anyone worthy of such state would have no cause to leave the "piano nobile". Insofar as Blenheim does have a grand staircase, it is the series of steps in the Great Court which lead to the North Portico. There are staircases of various sizes and grandeur in the central block, but none are designed on the same scale of magnificence as the palace. James Thornhill painted the ceiling of the hall in 1716. It depicts Marlborough kneeling to Britannia and proffering a map of the Battle of Blenheim. The hall is high, and remarkable chiefly for its size and for its stone carvings by Gibbons, yet in spite of its immense size it is merely a vast anteroom to the saloon.
Charlottenburg Palace
The palace was built at the end of the 17th century and was greatly expanded during the 18th century. It includes much lavish internal decoration in baroque and rococo styles. A large formal garden surrounded by woodland was added behind the palace, including a belvedere, a mausoleum, a theatre and a pavilion. During the Second World War, the palace was badly damaged but has since been reconstructed. The palace with its gardens are a major tourist attraction.
Wilhelm Palais
The Wilhelmspalais was built from 1834 to 1840 by Giovanni Salucci, the court architect of King Wilhelm I of Württemberg in the Classical style. The king wanted to use it as a residence for his two eldest daughters, the Princesses Marie and Sophie. King Whilhelm also hired Ludwig von Zanth to design the interior of the palace.
Blenheim Palace
The organ in the chapel was built circa 1853 by Robert Postill of York: it is notable as a rare unaltered example of this fine builder's work, speaking boldly and clearly into a generous acoustic.
Rosamund Clifford
The underground labyrinth was added to the tale in 1516. However, Robert Gambles cites a 1231 reference to Rosamund's Chamber, with gardens, a cloister, and a well. According to local tales, Rosamund's Bower is said to have been pulled down when Blenheim Palace was built. A pool on the grounds of Blenheim Palace is known as Fair Rosamund's Well.
Old Palace, Berlin
The Prussian crown prince Frederick William hired his favourite architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel to design a memorial complex for Frederick the Great. However, after being disappointed with the expensive plans of Schinkel, he accepted the modest concept of the architect Carl Ferdinand Langhans in Neoclassical-style. As the construction of the palace was completed in 1837, the then crown prince William I began using the building as his residence until his death in 1888.
The palace was built with a pergola, a mezzanine and a vestibule.
Bern
The Federal Palace (Bundeshaus), built from 1857 to 1902, which houses the national parliament, government and part of the federal administration, can also be visited.
Blenheim Palace
The palace has been Grade I listed on the National Heritage List for England since August 1957.
Palace
Blenheim Palace (in England) and Hamilton Palace (in Scotland, demolished in 1927) are the only non-royal (and non-episcopal) residences to have the word "palace" in their name, other than Dalkeith Palace in Scotland, which used to be the seat of the Dukes of Buccleuch (who descend from Charles II of England).
Berlin Palace
The palace was originally built in the 15th century and changed throughout the next few centuries. It bore features of the Baroque style, and its shape, finalised by the middle 18th century, is for the most part attributed to German architect Andreas Schlüter, whose first design is likely to date from 1702, though the palace incorporated earlier parts seen in 1688 by Nicodemus Tessin. It served as a residence to various Electors of Brandenburg. It was the principal residence and winter residence of the Hohenzollern Kings of Prussia from 1701 to 1918. After the unification of Germany in 1871, it also became the central residence for the German Emperors. After the proclamation of the Weimar Republic in 1918, the palace became a museum. In World War II, the building was heavily damaged by Allied bombings. Although it could have been repaired, the palace was demolished in 1950 by the German Democratic Republic authorities, despite criticism. In the 1970s, the Palace of the Republic was constructed on its site, but demolished in 2008 to make place for the reconstruction of the old palace.
Herrenhausen Palace
Originally a manor house of 1640, it was enlarged in phases from 1676, and served as a summer retreat, located only a few kilometers outside the city from the central Leineschloss. In 1683 Sophia of Hanover commissioned the French gardener Martin Charbonnier to enlarge the garden in the manner of Versailles to form the 50 hectare "Grosser Garten". Sophia's husband, Ernest Augustus, Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg, planned its replacement with a large baroque palace, and began construction with the "Galerie", but their son, elector George Louis, who in 1714 succeeded to the British throne as King George I, gave up the palace building project and concentrated on adding water features to the garden.
Fulham Palace
The current building dates from the reign of Henry VII (1485–1509). It was constructed by Bishop Richard FitzJames (1506–1522). There have been many modifications of the building: the west courtyard is Tudor; the east courtyard is Georgian, the great hall is late-medieval; the eastern end of the building was renovated in Gothic style in the late 18th century; the east courtyard was classicised in the early 19th century, and the chapel was added in 1867.
Blenheim Palace
There are two approaches to the palace's grand entrance, one from the long straight drive through wrought iron gates directly into the Great Court; the other, equally if not more impressive, betrays Vanbrugh's true vision: the palace as a bastion or citadel, the true monument and home to a great warrior. Piercing the windowless, city-like curtain wall of the east court is the great East Gate, a monumental triumphal arch, more Egyptian in design than Roman. An optical illusion was created by tapering its walls to create an impression of even greater height. Confounding those who accuse Vanbrugh of impracticality, this gate is also the palace's water tower. Through the arch of the gate one views across the courtyard a second equally massive gate, that beneath the clock tower, through which one glimpses the Great Court.
This view of the Duke as an omnipotent being is also reflected in the interior design of the palace, and indeed its axis to certain features in the park. It was planned that when the Duke dined in state in his place of honour in the great saloon, he would be the climax of a great procession of architectural mass aggrandising him rather like a proscenium. The line of celebration and honour of his victorious life began with the great column of victory surmounted by his statue and detailing his triumphs, and the next point on the great axis, planted with trees in the position of troops, was the epic Roman style bridge. The approach continues through the great portico into the hall, its ceiling painted by James Thornhill with the Duke's apotheosis, then on under a great triumphal arch, through the huge marble door-case with the Duke's marble effigy above it (bearing the ducal plaudit "Nor could Augustus better calm mankind"), and into the painted saloon, the most highly decorated room in the palace, where the Duke was to have sat enthroned.
Berlin Palace
The Berlin Palace ( or "Stadtschloss"), also known as the Berlin City Palace, is a building in the centre of Berlin, located on the Museum Island at Schlossplatz, opposite the Lustgarten park. It was a royal and imperial palace and served mostly as the main residence of the Electors of Brandenburg, the Kings of Prussia and the German Emperors. Demolished by the government of East Germany the 1950s, the palace is currently being rebuilt, with completion expected in 2019. The reconstructed palace will be the seat of the Humboldt Forum, a museum for world culture which is a successor museum of the Ancient Prussian Art Chamber, which was also located in the Berlin Palace. The Humboldt Forum has been described as the German equivalent of the British Museum.
Imperial Palace, Ingelheim
The Imperial Palace Ingelheim () is an important Imperial Palace erected in the second half of the 8th century in Germany. It served Emperors and Kings as a residence and place for governance until the 11th century. The palatinate complex is located in the cadastral area of Nieder-Ingelheim, 15 km west of Mainz, in der cadastral section „Im Saal“ at a slope with look-out to the Rhine plains. From the buildings of the Imperial Palace impressive relics above ground are preserved today. The greater part of the complex remains as foundation under ground level and allows it to be the basis for archaeological excavations to reconstruct the entire system of buildings.
Blenheim Palace
The Duke was to have sat with his back to the great 30-tonne marble bust of his vanquished foe Louis XIV, positioned high above the south portico. Here the defeated King was humiliatingly forced to look down on the great parterre and spoils of his conqueror (rather in the same way as severed heads were displayed generations earlier). The Duke did not live long enough to see this majestic tribute realised, and sit enthroned in this architectural vision. The Duke and Duchess moved into their apartments on the eastern side of the palace, but the entirety was not completed until after the Duke's death.
Blenheim Palace
The precise responsibility for the funding of the new palace has always been a debatable subject, unresolved to this day. The palace as a reward was mooted within months of the Battle of Blenheim, at a time when Marlborough was still to gain many further victories on behalf of the country. That a grateful nation led by Queen Anne wished and intended to give their national hero a suitable home is beyond doubt, but the exact size and nature of that house is questionable. A warrant dated 1705, signed by the parliamentary treasurer the Earl of Godolphin, appointed Vanbrugh as architect and outlined his remit. Unfortunately for the Churchills, nowhere did this warrant mention Queen or Crown.
Blenheim (1834 ship)
Blenheim was built in 1834 at Jarrow, England. She made three voyages transporting convicts to Australia. She also carried emigrants to New Zealand.
Blenheim (Ballsville, Virginia)
Blenheim is a historic home located near Ballsville, Powhatan County, Virginia. It is a -story, U-shaped vernacular frame dwelling. The earliest section is dated to the 18th century, with the two 19th-century wings, dating to 1803–06 and the mid-1830s. Three minor 20th-century additions have also been constructed. Also on the property is a contributing smokehouse.
Blenheim (horse)
A month later, Blenheim was moved up in distance to contest the Derby over one and a half miles at Epsom Downs Racecourse. Beary elected to ride the Aga Khan's more fancied runner Rustom Pasha, while the ride on Blenheim went to Harry Wragg, a jockey whose expertise at holding up horses for a late run had earned him the nickname "The Head Waiter". The race attracted its customary huge crowd, with the spectators including the King and Queen as well as the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York. Blenheim started an 18/1 outsider in a field of seventeen. Rustom Pasha led the field on the final turn but weakened and dropped away in the straight. Blenheim was produced by Wragg with a perfectly timed run to take the lead inside the final furlong and won by a length from Iliad with Diolite in third. After the race Wragg described the winner as "a lovely little horse" and explained that although he had only made very gradual progress in the second half of the race he had always been confident of victory.
Marlborough-Blenheim Hotel
In 1900, Josiah White III bought a parcel of land between Ohio Avenue and Park Place on the Boardwalk, and built the Queen Anne style Marlborough House. The hotel was financially successful and, in 1905, he chose to expand. White hired Philadelphia architect Will Price of Price and McLanahan to design a new, separate tower to be called the Blenheim. 
"Blenheim" refers to Blenheim Palace in England, the ancestral home of Sir Winston Churchill, a grandson of the Duke of Marlborough.
Marlborough-Blenheim Hotel
In 1977 Reese Palley and local attorney and businessman Martin Blatt bought the Marlborough-Blenheim and planned to preserve the Blenheim half of the hotel, along with adjacent Dennis Hotel for his Park Place Casino. Palley was successful in getting the Blenheim part of the hotel placed on the National Register of Historic Buildings, while planning to raze the Marlborough to make way for a new modern hotel. Ten days later, he stepped aside when Bally Manufacturing purchased a controlling interest in the project. After Bally took control, they announced plans to raze the Marlborough-Blenheim and the adjacent Dennis Hotel, despite protests, to make way for the new "Bally's Park Place Casino and Hotel". However, in an effort to offset costs and get the casino opened as fast as they could they chose to keep the Dennis Hotel, which would serve as the temporary hotel for Bally's until a new tower was built.
Gresham Palace
The site was once occupied by Nákó House, a neo-classical palace built in 1827. In 1880, the London-based Gresham Life Assurance Company bought the property, at a time when it was illegal for insurance companies in Great Britain to invest money in stocks, but rental income was an acceptable and legal investment. The company later decided to build its foreign headquarters on the site, and decided that they needed a grander setting for them. They commissioned local architects Zsigmond Quittner and Jozsef Vago to design the new structure, and in 1904, they began construction of the Gresham Palace, which was completed in 1906 and opened in 1907. It was named after the 16th-century English financier Sir Thomas Gresham, the founder of the Royal Exchange in London.
Blenheim Palace
The plan of the palace's principal block (or corps de logis) is a rectangle ("see plan") pierced by two courtyards; these serve as little more than light wells. Contained behind the southern facade are the principal state apartments; on the east side are the suites of private apartments of the Duke and Duchess, and on the west along the entire length of the "piano nobile" is given a long gallery originally conceived as a picture gallery, but is now the library. The corps de logis is flanked by two further service blocks around square courtyards ("not shown in the plan"). The east court contains the kitchens, laundry, and other domestic offices, the west court adjacent to the chapel the stables and indoor riding school. The three blocks together form the "Great Court" designed to overpower the visitor arriving at the palace. Pilasters and pillars abound, while from the roofs, themselves resembling those of a small town, great statues in the Renaissance manner of St Peter's in Rome gaze down on the visitor below, who is rendered inconsequential. Other assorted statuary in the guise of martial trophies decorate the roofs, most notably Britannia standing atop the entrance pediment in front of two reclining chained French captives sculpted in the style of Michelangelo, and the English lion devouring the French cock, on the lower roofs. Many of these are by such masters as Grinling Gibbons.
Wakestock 2008
Blenheim Palace
Schleissheim Palace
The history of Schleissheim Palace started with a renaissance country house (1598) and hermitage founded by
William V close to Dachau Palace. The central gate and clock tower between both courtyards still date back to the first building period. The inner courtyard is called "Maximilianshof", the outer one "Wilhelmshof". Under William's son Maximilian I the buildings were extended between 1617 and 1623 by Heinrich Schön and Hans Krumpper to the so-called Old Palace. This plant is typologically similar to the castle of Laufzorn in Oberhaching begun by Maximilian's brother Albert the year before. There, too, a free staircase leads up to the first floor, which is used as a mansion. The building, which was designed in the style of Andrea Palladio in the late renaissance, was completed in 1623.
Blenheim (Spring Mills, Virginia)
Blenheim is a historic home located near Spring Mills, in Campbell County, Virginia. It was built about 1828, and is a 1 1/2-story, five-bay, single-pile, frame I-house dwelling on a brick basement. It is sheathed with beaded weatherboards and covered with a standing-seam sheet metal roof broken by three pedimented dormers. The interior features elaborate, provincially conceived but skillfully executed, woodwork. Also on the property is a contributing late-19th century frame stable.
Friedenstein Palace
Friedenstein Palace () is an early Baroque palace built in the mid-17th century by Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha at Gotha, Thuringia, Germany. In Germany, "Friedenstein" was one of the largest palaces of its time and one of the first Baroque palaces ever built. "Friedenstein" served as the main seat of the Dukes of Saxe-Gotha and later as one of the residences of the Dukes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, closely linked with the Royal Family of Great Britain through the marriage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The final two ruling Dukes were both princes of the United Kingdom.
John Vanbrugh
The Duke of Marlborough's forces defeated King Louis XIV's army at Blenheim, a village on the Danube in 1704. Marlborough's reward, from a grateful nation, was to be a splendid country seat, and the Duke himself chose fellow Kit-Cat John Vanbrugh to be the architect. Work began on the palace in 1705, though as Vanbrugh wasn't a trained architect he worked alongside Nicholas Hawksmoor on the project.
Mannheim Palace
Mannheim Palace () is a large Baroque palace in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was originally the main residence of the Prince-electors of the Electorate of the Palatinate of the House of Wittelsbach. Part of the palace is used by the University of Mannheim. The State of Baden-Württemberg offers tours of parts of the reconstructed and restored Baroque palace, which features tapestries, furniture, paintings, porcelain and silverware.
Buckingham Palace
The last major structural additions were made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the East Front, which contains the well-known balcony on which the royal family traditionally congregates to greet crowds. The palace chapel was destroyed by a German bomb during World War II; the Queen's Gallery was built on the site and opened to the public in 1962 to exhibit works of art from the Royal Collection.
Gresham Palace
The Gresham Palace (Gresham-palota) is a building in Budapest, Hungary; it is an example of Art Nouveau architecture. Completed in 1906 as an office and apartment building, it is today the Four Seasons Hotel Budapest Gresham Palace, a luxury hotel managed by Four Seasons Hotels. It is located along the River Danube, adjacent to Széchenyi Square and the eastern terminus of the Széchenyi Chain Bridge.
Electoral Palace, Koblenz
During the Nazi era, an amphitheatrical "Thingplatz" theatre was created in the palace forecourt. It was one of the first of a projected 400 to be built; in March 1934 building materials were brought up from the Rhine by citizens, over 100 workers began work in two shifts on 8 June, a mystical cornerstone-laying ceremony took place on 16 June, and the theatre was dedicated by Mayor Otto Wittgen on 24 March 1935. The theatre was oval, long by wide and approximately deep; it was constructed using 16,000 basalt pillars, seated 20,000 people and could accommodate a further 80,000 standees in the surrounding areas of the forecourt. The layout incorporated a glacial boulder and, under the palace portico, a memorial grotto with an eternal flame. The motto of the theatre was "Leuchte, scheine goldene Sonne über dies befreite Land" (Gleam, shine golden sun, over this liberated land), and a lur was installed on the palace roof, to be sounded twice daily. It was audible up to away. The Koblenz Thingplatz was one of the most important in the effort to use the locations for mystical observances, particularly at the summer solstice. However, interest in the "Thingspiel" movement waned rapidly, and already at the end of 1937 a contest was organised to redesign the forecourt as a simple parade ground, doing away with the amphitheatre; in later years it was mainly used for the annual May Day ceremonies. After World War II, it was filled in with debris from the bombing of the city.
During World War II, the palace complex was reduced to a shell by bombs in 1944. It was rebuilt in 1950–51, the exterior being accurately reconstructed using the original plans and the interior finished in 1950s style, except for a few spaces in the centre section whose interiors were reconstructed in the classical style of the palace's original construction (before Stüler's alterations): the grand staircase, the entrance hall, the guard room (now known as the "Spiegelsaal" (hall of mirrors) or the "Kurfürstensaal" (elector's hall) and the garden room. A competition was held to choose art works for these rooms: the staircase was decorated on the ground floor with a statue by Emil Krieger entitled "Kore", on the landings with "Europa on the Bull" by Otto Rumpf and "Horse and Rider" by Werner Meurer and on the first floor with niche paintings by Edvard Frank; Rolf Müller-Landau created allegorical paintings for the niches in the south hall on the ground floor; two paintings in the northern vestibule of the garden room are by Edgar Ehse; and a mosaic on one wall of the grand staircase, signed E. K., is probably by Eugen Keller. The selection committee attempted to reproduce as closely as possible the original impression a visitor would have received, including in the choice of colours, but the works reflect the period of their creation. The grounds were restored in the original style, in particular the forecourt. The only surviving historic interior is that of the vestibule to the now destroyed palace chapel, at the head end of the northern semi-circular wing. The two wings were restored in a simplified modern form, preserving only the footprint of the originals.
Bellevue Palace (Germany)
A property of the Free State of Prussia from 1928, the Palace was used as a museum of ethnography during the 1930s before being renovated as a guest house for the Nazi government in 1938. It was there that Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov stayed with his retinue during his visit to Berlin in November 1940. During World War II, the Palace was severely damaged by strategic bombing and in the 1945 Battle of Berlin, before being substantially refurbished in the 1950s. Inaugurated by President Theodor Heuss in 1959, it served as the secondary residence of the West German president, a "pied à terre" in West Berlin to supplement his primary residence at the Hammerschmidt Villa in Bonn. It was refurbished again in 1986–87, and, in 1994, after German reunification, President Richard von Weizsäcker made it his primary residence. A modern annex to the southern wing was built in 1998 to house the offices of the affiliated "Bundespräsidialamt" ("Office of the Federal President"), a federal agency.
Vilhena Palace
Vilhena Palace (; ), also known as the Magisterial Palace () and Palazzo Pretorio, is a French Baroque palace in Mdina, Malta. It is named after António Manoel de Vilhena, the Grand Master who commissioned it. It was built between 1726 and 1728 to designs of the French architect Charles François de Mondion, on the site of the meeting place of the Università. The palace was used a hospital in the 19th and 20th centuries, and it became known as Connaught Hospital after 1909. Since 1973, it has been open to the public as Malta's National Museum of Natural History.
Blenheim Palace in film and media
Architectural historian Dan Cruickshank selected the Palace as one of his four choices for the 2002 BBC television documentary series "Britain's Best Buildings".
Mannheim Palace Church
The Mannheim Palace Church (German: "Mannheimer Schlosskirche"), founded as a court chapel, was built in the 18th century and is part of the Mannheim Palace. The church served as court chapel for the prince-electors of the Electorate of the Palatinate between 1731 and 1777 and belongs to the oldest parish churches of the Old Catholic diocese in Germany.
Amalienborg
It was originally built for Count Joachim Brockdorff in the 1750s. Brockdorff died in 1763, and Lord High Steward Adam Gottlob Moltke acquired the palace. Moltke sold it two years later to king Frederick V.
Nuremberg Castle
The "Palas", the main building of the Imperial Castle, has two floors which were used for official functions and as the Emperors residence. It was rebuilt and modified a number of times during the castle's history. It now houses the permanent exhibition »Emperor – Empire – City. The Imperial Castle in Nuremberg«.
The "Imperial Chapel" ("Kaiserkapelle"), from an architectural point of view, is the most important building on the castle rock. It was built around 1200, at the same time as the original Palas. It is a romanesque double chapel consisting of two chapels one above the other and connected only through an opening in the ceiling, thus representing the hierarchical levels in the medieval society.
Johann Arnold Nering
Nering was appointed Oberbaudirektor (senior architectural director) for Brandenburg on 9 April 1691. He worked on Schloss Oranienburg (1690–94), the bridge Lange Brücke in Berlin (1692–95), the Hetzgarten in 1693, and the Parochialkirche and part of the Zeughaus in 1695. Georg Heinrich Kranichfeld used Nering's design for Schönhausen Palace during the construction of Holstein in East Prussia. Nering also originated the design of the Zeughaus (arsenal) on Unter den Linden in Berlin in the year of his death; it was completed in 1730 and became the modern-day Deutsches Historisches Museum.
In 1695, Nering began designing Electress Sophia Charlotte's summer residence, later known as Charlottenburg Palace, but he died during its construction. Although the palace was subsequently greatly expanded, the original central section became known as the Neringbau. The architect was also honored by having a street near Charlottenburg Palace named after him in 1892.
Blenheim (horse)
Blenheim (1927–1958), also known as Blenheim II, was a British Thoroughbred race horse who won The Derby in 1930. As sire, he had a major influence on pedigrees around the world. Blenheim was highly tried, by European standards, as a two-year-old in 1929, winning four of his seven races. In the following season he was beaten in his first two races before recording an upset 18/1 win in the Derby. His racing career was ended by injury soon afterwards, and he was retired to stud, where he became an extremely successful and influential breeding stallion, both in Europe and North America.
Buckingham Palace
Before Prince Albert's death, the palace was frequently the scene of musical entertainments, and the greatest contemporary musicians entertained at Buckingham Palace. The composer Felix Mendelssohn is known to have played there on three occasions. Johann Strauss II and his orchestra played there when in England. Strauss's "Alice Polka" was first performed at the palace in 1849 in honour of the queen's daughter, Princess Alice. Under Victoria, Buckingham Palace was frequently the scene of lavish costume balls, in addition to the usual royal ceremonies, investitures and presentations.
Berlin Palace
In 1964, the GDR built a new Staatsrat or Council of State building on part of the site, incorporating Liebknecht's balcony in its facade. From 1973 to 1976, during the government of Erich Honecker, a large modernist building was built, the Palast der Republik (Palace of the Republic), which occupied most of the site of the former Stadtschloss. Shortly before German reunification in October 1990, the Palast der Republik was found to be contaminated with asbestos and was closed to the public. After reunification, the Berlin city government ordered the removal of the asbestos, a process which was completed by 2003. In November 2003, the German federal government decided to demolish the building and leave the area as parkland pending a decision as to its ultimate future. Demolition started in February 2006 and was completed in 2009. East Germans resented the demolition, especially those for whom the Palace of the Republic had been a place of fond memories, or who felt a sense a dislocation in a post-communist world.
Blenheim Palace
Vanbrugh's severe massed Baroque used at Blenheim never truly caught the public imagination, and was quickly superseded by the revival of the Palladian style. Vanbrugh's reputation was irreparably damaged, and he received no further truly great public commissions. For his final design, Seaton Delaval Hall, which was hailed as his masterpiece, he used a refined version of the Baroque employed at Blenheim. He died shortly before its completion.
Charlottenburg Palace
In 1788, Friedrich Wilhelm II arranged for the building of the Belvedere, designed by Carl Gotthard Langhans, in the grounds beyond the Carp Pond. The building was used as a teahouse and as a viewing-tower. Langhans also designed the Palace Theatre, which was built between 1788 and 1791 to the west of the Orangery wing. The Mausoleum was built as a tomb for Queen Luise between 1810 and 1812 in neoclassical style to a design by Heinrich Gentz. After the death of Friedrich Wilhelm III, it was extended; this design being by Karl Friedrich Schinkel. It was extended again in 1890–91 by Albert Geyer to accommodate the graves of Wilhelm I and his wife Augusta. In 1825, Friedrich Wilhelm III added the "Neuer Pavilion", an Italianate villa designed by Schinkel, to the north of the palace. This was damaged in the war in 1943 and was reconstructed between 1957 and 1970.The palace and grounds are a major visitor attraction.
Blenheim Palace
During the War of the Spanish Succession Churchill gained a reputation as a capable military commander, and in 1702 he was elevated to the dukedom of Marlborough. During the war he won a series of victories, including the Battle of Blenheim (1704), the Battle of Ramillies (1706), the Battle of Oudenarde (1708), and the Battle of Malplaquet (1709). For his victory at Blenheim, the Crown bestowed upon Marlborough the tenancy of the royal manor of Hensington (situated on the site of Woodstock) to site the new palace, and Parliament voted a substantial sum of money towards its creation. The rent or "petit serjeanty" due to the Crown for the land was set at the peppercorn rent or quit-rent of one copy of the French royal flag to be tendered to the Monarch annually on the anniversary of the Battle of Blenheim. This flag is displayed by the Monarch on a 17th-century French writing table in Windsor Castle.
Buckingham Palace
Originally known as Buckingham House, the building at the core of today's palace was a large townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703 on a site that had been in private ownership for at least 150 years. It was acquired by King George III in 1761 as a private residence for Queen Charlotte and became known as "The Queen's House". During the 19th century it was enlarged, principally by architects John Nash and Edward Blore, who constructed three wings around a central courtyard. Buckingham Palace became the London residence of the British monarch on the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837.
Rosenstein Palace
Rosenstein Castle () is a palace in Stuttgart, Germany. It was designed in the classical style by the architect and court builder Giovanni Salucci (1769–1845) as the summer palace for King Wilhelm I of Württemberg and was built between 1822 and 1830.
Karl-Liebknecht-Straße
World War II and the subsequent reconstruction of East Berlin as the capital of the German Democratic Republic meant the end for several of Berlin's important and well-known buildings. The most prominent of course being the Stadtschloss (“city palace”). It was first built as a castle as early as 1443 under Frederick II, Elector of Brandenburg. It was largely rebuilt as a palace a hundred years later and became the family seat of the House of Hohenzollern, rulers of the Kingdom of Prussia and later of the German Empire. The building was demolished in 1950 on the order of the East German government. It was replaced by the Palast der Republik, which was demolished from 2006 until 2008, after the removal of asbestos.
Blenheim Palace
On their return the Duke and Duchess came back into favour at court. The 64-year-old Duke now decided to complete the project at his own expense. In 1716 work resumed, but the project relied completely upon the limited means of the Duke himself. Harmony on the building site was short-lived, as in 1717 the Duke suffered a severe stroke, and the thrifty Duchess took control. The Duchess blamed Vanbrugh entirely for the growing costs and extravagance of the palace, the design of which she had never liked. Following a meeting with the Duchess, Vanbrugh left the building site in a rage, insisting that the new masons, carpenters and craftsmen, brought in by the Duchess, were inferior to those he had employed. The master craftsmen he had patronised, however, such as Grinling Gibbons, refused to work for the lower rates paid by the Marlboroughs. The craftsmen brought in by the Duchess, under the guidance of furniture designer James Moore, and Vanbrugh's assistant architect Hawksmoor, completed the work in perfect imitation of the greater masters.
Following the Duke's death in 1722, completion of the palace and its park became the Duchess's driving ambition. Vanbrugh's assistant Hawksmoor was recalled and in 1723 designed the "Arch of Triumph", based on the Arch of Titus, at the entrance to the park from Woodstock. Hawksmoor also completed the interior design of the library, the ceilings of many of the state rooms and other details in numerous other minor rooms, and various outbuildings. Cutting rates of pay to workmen, and using lower-quality materials in unobtrusive places, the widowed Duchess completed the great house as a tribute to her late husband. The final date of completion is not known, but as late as 1735 the Duchess was haggling with Rysbrack over the cost of Queen Anne's statue placed in the library. In 1732 the Duchess wrote "The Chappel is finish'd and more than half the Tomb there ready to set up".
Blenheim Park Railway
Blenheim Park Railway is a gauge miniature railway operating in the grounds of Blenheim Palace, in Oxfordshire, England.
Bernheimer-Haus
The Lenbachplatz is located on the abandoned western Munich city fortifications. It is located north of Stachus and goes northeast into the Maximiliansplatz. The western side is the location of three spacious and stylistically coherent structures from the period between 1887 and 1905. The Bernheimer Palace was the first of them to be built. As the surrounding area became more appealing, the original two neighboring buildings were torn down and replaced with new buildings in the style of the Bernheimer Palace.
Palace of Aachen
The Palace of Aachen was a group of buildings with residential, political and religious purposes chosen by Charlemagne to be the centre of power of the Carolingian Empire. The palace was located at the north of the current city of Aachen, today in the German Land of North Rhine-Westphalia. Most of the Carolingian palace was built in the 790s but the works went on until Charlemagne's death in 814. The plans, drawn by Odo of Metz, were part with the programme of renovation of the kingdom decided by the ruler. Today much of the palace is destroyed, but the Palatine Chapel has been preserved and is considered as a masterpiece of Carolingian architecture and a characteristic example of architecture from the Carolingian Renaissance.
New Garden, Potsdam
Over one hundred years later, near the end of the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II, the last palace of the Hohenzollern dynasty was erected in the northern part of the New Garden, Cecilienhof Palace. His eldest son, Crown Prince Wilhelm, and his wife Cecilie lived there until early in 1945.
Ludwigsburg Palace
"Ludwigsburg," meaning "Louis's castle," was named after its builder, Eberhard Louis, Duke of Württemberg, in 1705. It had been previously known as the Erlachhof, a traditional hunting estate and lodge of the Dukes of Württemberg that was destroyed in 1692, during the Nine Years' War. Eberhard Louis commissioned a replacement lodge that was built from 1697 to 1701. Construction was interrupted by the beginning of the War of the Spanish Succession, fought against France and Bavaria. Württemberg resisted entry into the war until late 1702. Two years later, Eberhard Louis participated in the Battle of Blenheim in August 1704 that was followed by the exile of the Bavarian Elector. The duke used the battle to press claims to Bavarian lands, but he illegally occupied those lands and was further weakened by a French invasion of Württemberg in 1707. As a result of this attack, the ducal residence in the capital, Stuttgart, was burned and the royal family fled to Switzerland. With the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, the occupied Bavarian territory and status of the exiled Elector were restored.
HMS Blenheim (1761)
"Blenheim" was first ordered to be built in November 1755 as part of an Admiralty program to expand the Royal Navy fleet ahead of the onset of the Seven Years' War with France. Construction was assigned to the Navy dockyard at Woolwich with an intended completion date of September 1759. However there were major delays arising from a lack of skilled workmen in the yard, and by Navy Board attempts to reduce waste and misuse in dockyard practices. In April 1757 "Blenheim"s shipwrights walked out in protest against a Navy Board reform that impacted on their traditional entitlement to remove spare timbers for personal use. Construction had fallen further behind schedule by the time they returned to work, with "Blenheim" not finally completed until July 1761.
Historic Blenheim
The 1930s found the farm being run by a tenant farmer. In 1939, Harry willed Blenheim to his niece Marguerite (Daisy), and moved to his other farm in Centreville, VA, where he died in 1942. Farm operations at Blenheim continued through the 1950s. An insurance survey of 1950 listed the farm as having two tenant houses, the main house, a privy, chicken house, pump house, machinery shed and workshop, dairy barn and house, calf house, granary, corn crib, house barn, a second machinery and hay shop, a cow shed, and a hog shed. By 1953, the Willcoxon heirs had begun to sell off large parcels of the farm for development, and soon the original landholdings around Blenheim were reduced to twelve acres. Before her death in 1959 Marguerite (Daisy) had given the estate to her daughter, Barbara Duras, who moved into the house with her husband, William in 1962. Barbara died in 1987, followed by William in 1997. The City of Fairfax purchased the site in January 1999. The family cemetery, located next to the house, includes four generations of the Willcoxon family.
Mistress Masham's Repose
As the end-paper illustrations in the book show, the ruinous estate of Malplaquet has similarities with Stowe in Buckinghamshire, where White had taught at Stowe School during the 1930s, while the house is more like Blenheim Palace, the residence of the Dukes of Marlborough. The name is an allusion to Blenheim which depends upon knowing that the Battle of Blenheim was the first of the great Marlborough's major victories, while Malplaquet was his fourth and last. The titular Repose is a tiny forgotten island in the middle of an ornamental lake in the vast grounds of Malplaquet. A structure on it is occupied by descendants of the Lilliputians, brought to England two centuries earlier by a sea-captain, following their discovery by Lemuel Gulliver. The island provides the perfect setting for their timid and secretive civilisation, accessible only by boat and protected by a wall of brambles which is carefully cultivated by the island's occupants. Many of the monuments in the grounds of Malplaquet recall notable figures of the early 18th century; "Mistress Masham's Repose" itself commemorates Abigail Masham, a close confidante of Queen Anne. Although she has no other bearing on the story, she was a cousin of Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, thus providing another link between the fictional Palace of Malplaquet and the real Blenheim Palace. Blenheim and Stowe are in turn linked to each other, in that Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham, who developed the house and gardens at Stowe in the early eighteenth century, was a notable soldier who had served under the Duke of Marlborough.
Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
The Nymphenburg Palace was enlarged, the Dachau Palace redesigned, and the new Schleissheim Palace was finally completed (1726) during Max Emanuel's reign. These palaces were connected with a network of canals as Max Emanuel had become acquainted with in the Netherlands. Between 1715 and 1717, he had the Baroque style Fürstenried Palace built by Effner as a hunting lodge which was the extension and modification of an already existing noble mansion.
Duke of Marlborough (title)
After his leadership in the victory against the French in the Battle of Blenheim on 13 August 1704, the 1st Duke was honoured by Queen Anne granting him the royal manor of Woodstock, and building him a house at her expense to be called Blenheim. Construction started in 1705 and the house was completed in 1722, the year of the 1st Duke's death. Blenheim Palace has since remained in the Churchill and Spencer-Churchill family.
Blenheim Palace
During the war the 10th Duke welcomed the boys from Malvern College as evacuees, and in September 1940 allowed MI5 to use the palace as a base.
Blenheim, Oxfordshire
Blenheim is a civil parish in West Oxfordshire, England, about north of Oxford. It includes Blenheim Palace.
Rheinsberg Palace
Frederick himself always described his years at Rheinsberg Palace as the "happiest of his life". His time in Rheinsberg ended in 1740 with his accession to the throne.
Four years later he gave it to his younger brother Henry, who moved there in 1752 with his wife, Princess Wilhelmina of Hesse-Kassel. The king also had a grand palace built for him in Berlin between 1748 and 1753 which now houses the main building of Humboldt University. The art-loving prince went on to extend and embellish the castle and its adjoining park. In 1786, Georg Friedrich von Boumann and Carl Gotthard Langhans completed the palace to its original plans. Langhans had stayed in Rheinsberg for a few weeks in 1766, and had made plans for Prince Henry, which were implemented in subsequent years by his building director, Carl Wilhelm Hennert. In 1785/86, Bouman built the two pavilions at the castle, which Langhans probably tore down. During Henry's lifetime, Henry had his tomb built in the garden in the form of a truncated pyramid, where he was buried after his death in 1802. He even wrote the French inscription himself.
Belvedere, Vienna
On 30 November 1697, one year after commencing with the construction of the Stadtpalais, Prince Eugene purchased a sizable plot of land south of the Rennweg, the main road to Hungary. Plans for the Belvedere garden complex were drawn up immediately. The prince chose Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt as the chief architect for this project rather than Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, the creator of his Stadtpalais. Hildebrandt (1668–1745), whom the general had met whilst engaged in a military campaign in Piedmont, had already built Ráckeve Palace for him in 1702 on Csepel, an island in the Danube south of Budapest. He later went on to build numerous other edifices in his service. The architect had studied civil engineering in Rome under Carlo Fontana and had gone into imperial service in 1695–96 in order to learn how to build fortifications. From 1696 onwards, records show that he was employed as a court architect in Vienna. As well as the Belvedere, Hildebrandt’s most outstanding achievements include the Schloss Hof Palace, which was also commissioned by Prince Eugene, the Schwarzenberg Palace (formerly known as the Mansfeld–Fondi Palace), the Kinsky Palace, as well as the entire Göttweig Monastery estate in the Wachau Valley.
Blenheim Palace
These sums of money, vast by the standards of the day, failed to cover the debts, and the maintenance of the great palace remained beyond the Marlboroughs' resources. These had always been small in relation to their ducal rank and the size of their house. The British agricultural depression which started in the 1870s added to the family's problems. When the 9th Duke inherited in 1892, the land was generating dwindling income.
Blenheim Palace
The Long Library organ was built in 1891 by the famous London firm of Henry Willis & Sons at a cost of £3,669. It replaced a previous organ built in 1888 by Isaac Abbott of Leeds, which was removed to St Swithun's church, Hither Green. Originally erected in the central bay, with its back to the water terraces, the Norwich firm of Norman & Beard moved it to the northwestern end of the library in 1902 and made a few tonal additions and, the following year, cleaned it. No further changes were made until 1930, when the Willis firm lowered the pitch to modern concert pitch: a Welte automatic player was added in 1931, with 70 rolls cut by Marcel Dupré, Joseph Bonnet, Alfred Hollins, Edwin Lemare and Harry Goss-Custard also being supplied. This remained in use for some time: the Duke of the time is said to have frequently sat at the organ bench and pretended to play the organ to his guests and they would applaud at the end. This practice is said to have been halted abruptly when the player started before the Duke had reached the organ. This famous instrument is regularly maintained and is played by visiting organists throughout the year, but its condition is declining: a fundraising campaign has been launched for its complete restoration.
Woodstock Palace
Important events that took place at the palace include:Woodstock Palace was mostly destroyed during the English Civil War, and the remaining stones were later used to build Blenheim Palace nearby.
Blenheim Palace
Following their final altercation, Vanbrugh was banned from the site. In 1719, whilst the Duchess was away, Vanbrugh viewed the palace in secret. However, when his wife visited the completed Blenheim as a member of the viewing public in 1725, the Duchess refused his wife admission even to enter the park.
Blenheim Art Foundation
Blenheim Palace is an English country house situated in the civil parish of Blenheim near Woodstock, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. The Palace was a gift from Queen Anne to the 1st Duke of Marlborough for his victory at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. Designated by the United Nations as a World Heritage Site in 1987, Blenheim Palace is also the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. Handed down through successive generations, the palace continues to be resided in by the Spencer-Churchill family and is the official seat of the current and 12th Duke of Marlborough, Jamie Spencer-Churchill.
Finckenstein Palace
The palace became famous in 1807, when Napoleon made it his residence from April through June of that year. When he saw the palace for the first time, he said:"Enfin un chateau" ("Finally, a castle"). The Treaty of Finckenstein between France and Persia was signed here. Here, Napoleon met his mistress Maria Walewska, with whom he lived in the palace. The Hollywood movie "Conquest" was filmed in the palace in 1937 with Greta Garbo and Charles Boyer.
Blenheim, South Carolina
Blenheim is a town in Marlboro County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 137 at the 2000 census. It is named for Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, England which itself is named for the Battle of Blenheim, a major English victory of the War of the Spanish Succession at what is now Blindheim, Germany. Blenheim Palace was the residence of the Duke of Marlborough, after whom Marlboro County is named.
Beaumont Palace
Beaumont Palace, built outside the north gate of Oxford, was intended by Henry I about 1130 to serve as a royal palace conveniently close to the royal hunting-lodge at Woodstock (now part of the park of Blenheim Palace). Its former presence is recorded in Beaumont Street, Oxford. Set into a pillar on the north side of the street, near Walton Street, is a stone with the inscription: "Near to this site stood the King's Houses later known as Beaumont Palace. King Richard I was born here in 1157 and King John in 1167". The "King's House" was the range of the palace that contained the king's lodgings.
Imperial Palace, Gelnhausen
After the extinction of the House of Hanau in 1736, Gelnhausen fell to the Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel. The palace was then used as a quarry until 1811. The castle chapel had to be partly demolished due to its dilapidated condition. Around 1810, the palace became one of the first buildings from the epoch of Romanesque architecture in Germany that attracted the interest of art-loving scholars.
Blenheim Art Foundation
"SOFTER: Jenny Holzer at Blenheim Palace" (28 September - 31 December 2017) was a solo exhibition by American artist Jenny Holzer. The exhibition featured over fifty works concerning themes of modern conflict, history and memory. The first time Holzer visited Blenheim Palace, she became fascinated by the Palace’s own military history — not only the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill but also built as a reward to John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough for the Duke’s military victory against the French and Bavarians in the 1704 Battle of Blenheim. Holzer took this as a starting point to look at the timeless and universal theme of war, across history and countries. The exhibition showcased the breadth of Holzer's practice, from paintings, stoneworks, and electronic signs, to installations of black mondo grass and displays of human bones. Many of the works were site-specific, made in response to the Palace. Amongst these featured the light projection display ON WAR hosted for twelve nights after dark at the Palace. Using ten projectors beaming Holzer's text onto the Palace facade, this was Holzer's most ambitious light projection display to date.
Blenheim Art Foundation
BAF offers visitors the opportunity to experience the work of world-renowned artists within the historic setting of the Palace and its celebrated grounds. The award-winning programme has earned a reputation for challenging the "white cube" aesthetic that has become synonymous with the presentation of contemporary art. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987, Blenheim is one of the country’s most celebrated stately homes, attracting close to a million visitors a year from all over the world. With its diverse public, the programme also aims to open up new audiences to the discovery of modern and contemporary art. Alongside the contemporary art programme at Palace of Versailles, BAF has been praised for re-inventing the experience of heritage sites.
Mannheim Palace
The central part of the palace is the "Mittelbau" with its representative halls. Today, the Mittelbau holds university library halls and the "Rittersaal" hall. A Palace museum was opened here in 2007. The Mittelbau is flanked by the "Ehrenhof West" and "Ehrenhof Ost" wings, which include the Ehrenhof yard in front of the Mittelbau. In those two wings, there are mainly lecture halls and offices of the university's humanities section. Below the Ehrenhof, there is a massive bunker dating from World War II. Initially constructed as defensive military fortification designed to protect up to 1,500 residents or valued materials from Russian and Allied bombing attacks, it served as a hotel with a capacity for up to 65 guests after the war. Today it is used as occasional exposition space for modern and urban art, e.g. during the Long Night of Museums in Mannheim.
Buckingham Palace
The house which forms the architectural core of the palace was built for the first Duke of Buckingham and Normanby in 1703 to the design of William Winde. The style chosen was of a large, three-floored central block with two smaller flanking service wings. Buckingham House was eventually sold by Buckingham's natural son, Sir Charles Sheffield, in 1761 to George III for £21,000. Sheffield's leasehold on the mulberry garden site, the freehold of which was still owned by the royal family, was due to expire in 1774.
Blenheim Palace
Following the 1st Duke's death the Duchess concentrated most of her considerable energies on the completion of the palace itself, and the park remained relatively unchanged until the arrival of Capability Brown in 1764. The 4th Duke employed Brown who immediately began an English landscape garden scheme to naturalise and enhance the landscape, with tree planting, and man-made undulations. However, the feature with which he is forever associated is the lake, a huge stretch of water created by damming the River Glyme and ornamented by a series of cascades where the river flows in and out. The lake was narrowed at the point of Vanbrugh's grand bridge, but the three small canal-like streams trickling underneath it were completely absorbed by one river-like stretch. Brown's great achievement at this point was to actually flood and submerge beneath the water level the lower stories and rooms of the bridge itself, thus reducing its incongruous height and achieving what is regarded by many as the epitome of an English landscape. Brown also grassed over the great parterre and the Great Court. The latter was re-paved by Duchene in the early 20th century. The 5th Duke was responsible for several other garden follies and novelties.
HMS Blenheim (1890)
HMS "Blenheim" was a first class protected cruiser that served in the Royal Navy from 1890–1926. She was built by Thames Ironworks & Shipbuilding Company at Leamouth, London. The ship was named after the Battle of Blenheim.
Weikersheim Castle
Weikersheim Palace (Schloss Weikersheim) is a palace in Weikersheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was built in the 12th century, however the exact year is not known. The palace was the traditional seat of the princely family of Hohenlohe, and has been owned by the state of Baden-Württemberg since 1967 when the palace was bought from the estate of Prince , who had encouraged arts-related activities at the palace. Visitors can tour parts of the Renaissance palace and the Baroque garden with many statues.
Palace of the Republic, Berlin
The Palace of the Republic () began construction in 1973 with a cost stated at 485 million East German marks, according to an internal list of Wolfgang Junker, the Minister of Construction, although other estimates suggest about 800 million to 1 billion marks. The Palast was built on the site of the Berlin Palace ("Stadtschloss"), the former royal palace of Prussia, located on Museum Island in East Berlin, less than along Unter der Linden from the West Berlin border at the Brandenburg Gate. The Berlin Palace had been controversially demolished in 1950 after suffering extensive damage during the Battle of Berlin in World War II, as the government had no budget in the post-war years for the restoration and it was viewed as a symbol of Prussian imperialism. The site was used as a parade ground and parking lot during the 1950s and 1960s until its designation as the location for a new building to seat the "Volkskammer", the unicameral legislature of the GDR, which was provisionally seated at the Langenbeck-Virchow-Haus at 58/59 Luisenstraße.
Bentheim Castle
From 1421 the name "Grafen von Bentheim" first appears. In 1486 Graf Eberwin II gets a Fee from Frederick III and the County of Bentheim becomes an independent political entity. In 1489 this is reflected in the Burg, and the construction of the "Pulverturm" starts Between 1588 and 1593, Arnold II chooses the side of the Reformation, following the church reformers Calvin and Zwingli. During the Thirty Years' War, the county pays the price for its choice and is repeatedly sacked by Spanish troops. Much of the castle is destroyed in the process. This is repeated during the Seven Years' War, in which the Burg repeatedly comes under siege from French and British troops and is taken several times. In 1795 it served as a field hospital in the war against the revolutionary French Army and was set ablaze and taken by general Dominique Vandamme.
The castle is still owned by the Prince of Bentheim-Steinfurt who is living at Steinfurt Castle. It is home to some of his siblings and is also open to the public as a family museum.
Glympton
In the 18th century a Middle Jurassic limestone, possibly part of the Taynton Limestone Formation, was quarried at Glympton and used to build parts of Glympton Park house and Blenheim Palace. It had poor resistance to frost, so at Blenheim John Vanbrugh used it only for internal walls or for backing external walls that were faced with better stone. If it was used originally for facing at Glympton Park, it must have been replaced when the house was rebuilt in 1849, as its facing is now entirely in Bath stone.
Palace
Blenheim Palace was built, on a different site, in the grounds of the disused royal Palace of Woodstock, and the name was also part of the extraordinary honour when the house was given by a grateful nation to a great general, the Duke of Marlborough. Along with several royal and episcopal palaces in the countryside, Blenheim does demonstrate that "palace" has no specific urban connotation in English. On the use of the term "palace" in the UK, it is notable that Buckingham Palace was known as Buckingham House before it was acquired by the monarchy.
Finckenstein Palace
Finckenstein Palace (German: "Schloss Finckenstein") was a baroque palace, designed by the architect John von Collas between 1716 and 1720 in the former West Prussia, about 25 mi. (40 km) south of Elbląg in present-day Poland. It was built by Prussian Field Marshal, Marquess, and Count Albrecht Konrad Reinhold Finck von Finckenstein and remained in the possession of the Finck von Finckenstein family until 1782. After that the Counts Dohna-Schlobitten lived in it until 1945. Red Army soldiers set the palace on fire January 22, 1945, during their conquest of East Prussia. The ruins are still visible.
John Vanbrugh
Blenheim Palace was conceived to be not only a grand country house, but a national monument. Consequently, the light baroque style used at Castle Howard would have been unsuitable for what is in effect a war memorial. It is in truth more of a castle, or citadel, than a palace. As it was designed as a national monument first and a comfortable family home second, Vanbrugh had many arguments with the Duchess who wanted the Palace to be a comfortable country house for her family, "I made Mr. Vanbrugh my enemy by the constant disputes I had with him to prevent his extravagance" As a result of these arguments Vanbrugh resigned before the palace was completed in November 1716."You have your end Madam, for I will never trouble you more Unless the Duke of Marlborough recovers so far, to shelter me from such intolerable Treatment."
Blenheim, Ontario
After the War of 1812, North American settlers began arriving in this area to live peaceful lives after a violent war, as did settlers who came from England after a European war with France. After timber clearing, this land was ready for growth. Blenheim itself was established in 1825-1850. It was amidst of dense forest, and its development lagged behind other nearby settlements. Albert Robertson purchased this land, and after the real estate traded hands over a few years, Harvey Halstead, Thomas Lynch, and George Hughson were recorded as the first three lot-tenants who built homes.
Blenheim Palace
By the 1870s the Marlboroughs were in severe financial trouble, and in 1875 the 7th Duke sold the "Marriage of Cupid and Psyche", together with the famed Marlborough gems, at auction for £10,000. However this was not enough to save the family. In 1880 the 7th Duke was forced to petition Parliament to break the protective entail on the Palace and its contents. This was achieved under the Blenheim Settled Estates Act of 1880, and the door was now open for wholesale dispersal of Blenheim and its contents. The first victim was the great Sunderland Library which was sold in 1882, including such volumes as "The Epistles of Horace", printed at Caen in 1480, and the works of Josephus, printed at Verona in 1648. The 18,000 volumes raised almost £60,000. The sales continued to denude the palace: Raphael's "Ansidei Madonna" was sold for £70,000; Van Dyck's Equestrian Portrait of Charles I realised £17,500; and finally the "piece de resistance" of the collection, Peter Paul Rubens' "Rubens, His Wife Helena Fourment, and Their Son Peter Paul, and Their Son Frans (1633–1678)", which had been given by the city of Brussels to the 1st Duke in 1704, was also sold, and is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Bellevue Palace (Germany)
Designed by architect Michael Philipp Boumann, "Schloss Bellevue" was erected in 1786 as a summer residence for Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia, "Herrenmeister" ("Master of the Knights") of the "Johanniterorden" ("Order of Saint John") and younger brother of King Frederick II of Prussia, on the site of a manor house which Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff had built in 1743. "Bellevue" was the first Neoclassical building in Germany, characterized by its Corinthian pilasters, with wings on either side ("Ladies' wing" and "[River] Spree wing"). The upper floor holds a ballroom designed by Carl Gotthard Langhans. The Palace is surrounded by a park of about 20 hectares.
Blenheim Palace
The 1st Duke as a soldier was not a rich man, and what fortune he possessed was mostly used for finishing the palace. In comparison with other British ducal families the Marlboroughs were not very wealthy. Yet they existed quite comfortably until the time of the 5th Duke of Marlborough (1766–1840), a spendthrift who considerably depleted the family's remaining fortune. He was eventually forced to sell other family estates, but Blenheim was safe from him as it was entailed. This did not prevent him selling the Marlboroughs' Boccaccio for a mere £875, and his own library in over 4000 lots. On his death in 1840, his profligacy left the estate and family with financial problems.
Blenheim Palace
The palace remains the home of the Dukes of Marlborough, the present incumbent of the title being Charles James (Jamie) Spencer-Churchill, 12th Duke of Marlborough. Charles James succeeded the Dukedom upon his father's death on 16 October 2014.
Blenheim Palace
Blenheim sits in the centre of a large undulating park, a classic example of the English landscape garden movement and style. When Vanbrugh first cast his eyes over it in 1704 he immediately conceived a typically grandiose plan: through the park trickled the small River Glyme, and Vanbrugh envisaged this marshy brook traversed by the "finest bridge in Europe". Thus, ignoring the second opinion offered by Sir Christopher Wren, the marsh was channelled into three small canal-like streams and across it rose a bridge of huge proportions, so huge it was reported to contain some 30-odd rooms. While the bridge was indeed an amazing wonder, in this setting it appeared incongruous, causing Alexander Pope to comment: "the minnows, as under this vast arch they pass, murmur, 'how like whales we look, thanks to your Grace.'"
Pillnitz Castle
The main buildings are the Upper Palace ("Bergpalais"), built between 1722 and 1723, and the Riverside Palace ("Wasserpalais"), built between 1720 and 1721. The Riverside Palace has elegant steps down to the river. The two are connected on the east side by the New Palace ("Neues Palais"), built in Neoclassical style between 1819 and 1826 after the Countess' palace burnt down in 1818. The New Palace contains the royal kitchen and a Catholic chapel. The roofs and moldings in each of the buildings exemplify the Oriental-influenced style fashionable during that period.
Blenheim Palace
After his divorce the Duke married again, to a former friend of Consuelo, Gladys Deacon, another American. This eccentric lady was of an artistic disposition, and a painting of her eyes still remains on the ceiling of the great north portico ("see secondary lead image"). A lower terrace was decorated with sphinxes modelled on Gladys and executed by W. Ward Willis in 1930. Before her marriage while staying with the Marlboroughs she had caused a diplomatic incident by encouraging the young Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany to form an attachment. The prince had given her an heirloom ring, which the combined diplomatic services of two empires were charged to recover. After her marriage Gladys was in the habit of dining with the Duke with a revolver by the side of her plate. Tiring of her the Duke was temporarily forced to close Blenheim, and turn off the utilities to drive her out. They subsequently separated but did not divorce. The Duke died in 1934 and his widow in 1977.
Historic Blenheim
The original owner of the land on which the Blenheim estate is currently located was Captain Rezin Samuel Willcoxon, a veteran of the War of 1812 who, in the early nineteenth century, began to accumulate much land in what is present-day Fairfax, Virginia. At one point, Willcoxon owned over one-thousand acres of land in the area. Rezin married his first wife, Elizabeth DeNeale, in 1805. The couple would have ten children. Elizabeth died in 1845, but in 1851 Willcoxon remarried. His new bride was Fanny Halley Bell.
Historic Blenheim
Historic Blenheim is a ca. 1859 brick farm house designed in the Greek Revival style and located in City of Fairfax, Virginia. During the American Civil War, Union soldiers were often encamped on the grounds surrounding the house and utilized it as part of a reserve hospital system. As a result, more than 115 of these soldiers inscribed words and pictures on the first and second floor walls, as well as the attic of the house. Blenheim was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.