The Court Church

The Palace Church and Its Vault

The architect of Weissenfels Palace, Johann Moritz Richter (1620–1667), designed the palace church to face north instead of the usual east.
Richter was a native of Weimar and used the palace chapel there, which he knew quite well, as his model, but he had the church in Weissenfels built with a massive barrel vault. The Italian stucco artists Giovanni Battista Caroveri (1624–after 1690) and Bartolomeo Quadri (d. 1687) decorated the church’s walls. The ceiling is adorned with numerous putti, some holding the instruments of Christ’s Passion, others presenting images of putti wearing shields with musical instruments.

Gallery Paintings

The thematic concept for the wall paintings in the palace church was developed by the widely travelled painter Johann Oswald Harms (1643–1708). He also provided sketches and ultimately put his ideas into practice, painting the church’s walls in the late summer and fall of 1682.
His murals reflect the style of the Italian Baroque, which he had become familiar with during long stays in Rome and Venice. The images show scenes from the New Testament (first gallery) and Old Testament (second gallery). The wall paintings in the Weissenfels palace church are among the artist’s most important works. He was also active in Dresden, Eisenberg, Hanover, and Hamburg.

Fig. 1: Johann Oswald Harms, *Adam and Eve Are Banished from Paradise* (study)

Erdmann Neumeister: „Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen“, Strophe 5

The theologian and poet Erdmann Neumeister (1671–1756) is known today primarily for his church hymn texts. He was an opponent of pietism, and his cantata texts were set to music by Johann Sebastian Bach and Georg Philipp Telemann, among others.
Erdmann Neumeister studied theology and poetics in Leipzig, where he became a lecturer in poetry in 1695. In 1697 he took up a pastorate in Bibra and married Johanna Elisabeth Meister, a daughter of the ducal kitchen master Christoph Meister, in Weißenfels. In 1704 he was appointed court deacon at the Weißenfels residence, where he also came into contact with the local composer Johann Philipp Krieger. As early as 1706, however, he moved to Sorau (Żary). From 1715 until his death in 1756, he was the main pastor at the Jakobikirche in Hamburg.

*Fig. 4: Erdmann Neumeister (1671–1756), copper engraving by Johann Solomon / Martin Bernigeroth*

Pulpit Altar and Establishment of a Catholic Church

In 1678 the renowned sculptor Johann Heinrich Böhme (1636–1680) began work on a magnificent pulpit altar with a central crucifixion scene for the court church in Weissenfels. It was completed in 1683 by the court sculptor Johann Balthasar Stockhammer (1634–1695).
After the Weissenfels ducal line died out in 1746, the palace was taken over by the Catholic elector of Saxony. The Protestant house of worship became a Catholic church: furnishings were given away, the pulpit was separated from the altar, and an ornate tabernacle was built to store the hosts. The altar was replaced by a relief depicting the Annunciation.

The Organ

The organ in the palace church, which was built by Christian Förner (1609–1678) in 1673, had 30 stops and played an important role in the biographies of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) and George Frideric Handel (1685–1759). All that has survived today its richly decorated facade. The organ was extensively rebuilt by Johann Friedrich Schulze (1793–1858) in 1839 and renewed by Friedrich Ladegast (1818–1905) in 1864. The A. Voigt organ company installed a new organ in its baroque case in 1985. The modern instrument has 32 stops on two manuals and a pedal.

Organ Gallery (Musicians’ Gallery)

During worship services, the singers and instrumentalists of the princely court orchestra performed on the uppermost gallery next to the organ.
Court Kapellmeister Johann Philipp Krieger (d. 1725) wrote numerous compositions for the palace church. A list of his works has survived, but only a small number of manuscripts. In 1732 Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767)) composed festive music to mark the 50th anniversary of the church’s consecration.

Seating for the Duke and Duchess

From their apartments in the west wing of the palace, the duke and duchess made their way through the long church gallery in the north wing to reach their Kirch-Gemach (church chamber). This was a room with red fabric wallpaper and a direct view of the altar. It contained liturgical furnishings (two altars, silver instruments, books), as well as chairs and a stove. The windows overlooking the nave were curtained.

The courtly church congregation

The distribution of seats in the court church congregation in Weißenfels has hardly been researched so far. Many groups of the court society had their own church chairs, in which they often sat. All other participants in the service stood. At Duke Christian’s funeral in 1736, the court and landed gentry sat in the boxes on the first floor. On the ground floor there were “women’s chairs” (east) and “men’s chairs” (west, east). The bourgeois officials, the common servants and their spouses usually sat there. It is not known when these fixtures disappeared.

The young George Frideric Handel in the Palace Church

During his London years, the composer George Frideric Handel (1685–1759), a native of Halle, often recalled the kindness and generosity of the duke of Saxe-Weissenfels. His ties to the Weissenfels court as a six-year-old marked an important turning point in his life and laid the foundation for his musical career.
It is known that his father, Georg Händel (1622–1697), when confronted with his son’s obvious musical talent, reacted with a lack of understanding and even hostility. George Frideric secretly played music in the attic of his parents’ home in order to get round his father’s prohibitions. When the composer was just six years old, his aging father took him to his older half-brother Carl in Weissenfels. Carl was working as a court valet and apparently had more sympathy with his little brother’s passion than did his father: one day the duke heard someone playing the church organ outside the usual hours, and he asked Carl who it was. Carl responded that it was his younger brother, and the duke had the child brought to him. After questioning the boy at length, he summoned his father and strongly enjoined him to give his gifted son musical training. Handel’s father had no choice but to follow the duke’s advice.
Handel’s father had had close ties to the ducal family for a long time. In 1660 he was hired as a valet and personal physician to Duke August in Halle. In 1666 his son Carl assumed the same position at the court of the hereditary prince Johann Adolf, who became the new ruler in 1680.

Bericht über die Verleihung des Hosenbandordens

Zugang zu den Wein- und Bierkellern

Das Fotopanorama zeigt den Abgang zu den großen Gewölbekellern am Marschallamt im Zustand 2021. Das riesige Vorratslager gliederte sich in “Landweinkeller”, “Bouteillenkeller”, “Langer Keller” im Westflügel und “Frankenweinkeller”, “Ausspeisekeller” (tägliche Ausgabe von Getränken an Berechtigte) sowie “Bierkeller” im Südflügel. Im Nordkeller gab es einen Brunnen.

1736 wird das wohl größte Fass erwähnt: „1 Groß Vaß von 200. Eymbern (rund 13.470 Liter) mit 15 Eißern Reiffen“. Vielleicht ist der im Museum befindliche halbe Fassdeckel mit Herzogswappen ein Teil davon. Die hier zu sehende Ziegelwand stammt aus einer späteren Bauphase des Schlosses, vermutlich aus der Nutzungszeit als preußische Kaserne (19. Jahrhundert).

Abb. 1: Schmuckfassboden mit sachsen-weißenfelsischem Herzogswappen, nach 1680

Abb. 2: Blick in den östlich des Treppenabgangs gelegenen Kellerbereich, Zustand 2018

Fürstliche Hofkellerei

Die Kellerei versorgte die fürstliche Tafel sowie alle durch Hofdienst oder Anstellung berechtigte Personen mit Brot und Getränken („Ausspeise“). Dem Kellermeister unterstand die Lagerwirtschaft für Bier und Wein. Er verwahrte auch die Gläser, Kelche, Schalen und weitere gläserne Tafelgerätschaften.

Die Hofkellerei in Weißenfels bestand aus drei Verwaltungsräumen und den großen Vorratskellern. Zu ihnen führten die Haupttreppe bei der Kellerei und eine zweite am Marschallamt in der Nordwestecke des Schlosses. Die großen Kellergewölbe sind in ihrer Struktur erhalten geblieben.

Princely court kitchen

Silver and Porcelain Chamber

Supervision and care were the domain of special pages. The renowned Prime Minister of the Electorate of Saxony, Heinrich von Brühl (1700-1763), son of the Weissenfels Court Marshal Hanns Moritz Brühl (1665-1727), began his career here as a “silver page”.

Fig. 4: Heinrich von Brühl (1700–1763) served as a page at Weissenfels Palace and later as prime minister of Saxony; portrait by Anton Raphael Mengs (1728–1779)

Hund Hercules im Tafelgemach

Hund Hercules im Vorgemach

Hund Hercules im Audienzgemach

Hund Hercules in der Retriade

Hund Hercules in der Herzogsloge

Hund Hercules im Schlafzimmer

Hund Hercules im Kirchgemach

Musikbeispiel

Arie „Mars und Amor sind zwei Helden” von J. P. Krieger
Aus: Der Großmütige Scopio (Weißenfels 1690)
(Wolf Matthias Friedrich/Lautten Compagney)

Stairway to the crypt

Musikbeispiel

Psalm 22 „Rühmet den Herrn” von J. P. Krieger
Aus: Musikalischer Seelen-Friede (Nürnberg 1697)
(Klaus Mertens/Hamburger Ratsmusik)

Hund Hercules in der Gruft

Hund Hercules auf dem Schlosshof

Bereich der ehemaligen Schlossküche

Eine Speiseliste aus der Zeit Herzog Christians

Reception of a high guest

Bericht über den Besuch des Erzherzogs Karl von Österreich bei Herzog Johann Georg von Sachsen-Weissenfels auf Schloss Neu-Augustusburg im Jahre 1703.