Oldenburg Castle

History The castle is based on a medieval lowland castle, which was built around 1100 by the Counts of Oldenburg to control a long-distance trade route from Westphalia to East Frisia. It was first explicitly mentioned in 1275, and a keep appears in a document in 1313. At that time, the individual buildings had to be founded on oak piles. Around 1400, the complex, which was laid out in a circle, was given a moat with an outer wall under Count Dietrich the Lucky, and thus became a moated castle. Numerous residential and commercial buildings were gathered in a small area, which housed a court of around 350 people around 1600. In 1573, the castle was considered dilapidated and was therefore renovated piece by piece. The keep in the middle of the courtyard had already become slanted by 1599 due to the marshy ground and was therefore demolished in 1608.

Historic representative roomsSome of the historic representative rooms in the castle have been largely preserved to this day. These include the Antiquarium, the oval reception room, the tower room, the blue, red and green salon, the Strack Hall, the throne room, the white hall, the marble hall, the idyllic room and the castle hall. The large castle hall was built in the neo-Renaissance style and decorated with ceiling paintings by the Delmenhorst-born painter Arthur Fitger (1840–1909).The oval reception room was designed under Grand Duke Paul Friedrich August in 1836. The room was to be completed the following year for the wedding of his daughter Amalie to the Greek King Otto I. The lavish plan approved by the Grand Duke included a "boiserie" (paneling) made of light satin wood and 48 mirrored panes for the doors. However, to the great annoyance of the Grand Duke, the work was not completed on time.

The museum also shows changing exhibitions and has two other locations: the Augusteum houses the Old Masters Gallery, and the Prinzenpalais houses the New Masters Gallery with paintings from the 19th century onwards.