The neo-Gothic castle church was built by Friedrich Wilhelm Buttel between 1855 and 1859 and is one of his main works in Neustrelitz (Mecklenburg-West Pomerania).
The old castle chapel in Neustrelitz Castle was small and the Protestant parishes of Neustrelitz grew steadily with the increasing population at the beginning of the 19th century. Grand Duke Georg, who was interested in architecture, had already realized numerous buildings with Friedrich Wilhelm Buttel, who at that time was already responsible for the entire state building administration. Buttel's first design was based on the Gothic monastery church of Batalha in Portugal. However, this church was built of sandstone and building using that material would have been extremely expensive.[2] The plans turned out to be too big and too expensive. Grand Duke Georg insisted on a more modest solution, buttel had to revise his design. As a graduate of the Berlin Building Academy and an employee of Karl Friedrich Schinkel[3], he knew Schinkel's plans for the Alexander Nevsky Chapel near Petersburg. Architectural details such as the pinnacles next to the portal indicate that Buttel was inspired by Schinkel.
Buttel had serious reservations about the building plot planned by the Grand Duke. Because of the sloping terrain and unstable subsoil, Buttel feared that cracks could form in the structure and there was even a risk of the walls separating. On August 12, 1859, the Castle Church of Neustrelitz was consecrated. In the year after the Castle Church was completed, the Grand Duke Friedrich Wilhelm Buttel appointed senior building officer for his services. It was not to be ten years before the damage to the building became apparent and darkened the master builder's twilight years.
Today the building is owned by the city of Neustrelitz and no longer serves as a church but is used for concerts and exhibitions.
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