In the 16th century, the Dukes of Braunschweig had Paul Francke expand the castle complex into a magnificent four-wing palace complex in the Renaissance style. Until 1659, the castle served as a summer residence for the Wolfenbüttel princes and as a widow's residence for three duchesses for a good 100 years. Duke Julius, who lived at Hesse Castle for several years as crown prince, and his son Heinrich Julius, who was born here in 1564, ensured that the castle was furnished in a royally representative manner. Under Duke Heinrich Julius, at the same time Bishop of Halberstadt and Rector of the University of Helmstedt, Hesse Castle developed into a cultural center of the region. This duke, who also introduced the Reformation at Halberstadt Cathedral in 1591, was considered the most learned prince of his time. The Renaissance garden created by the botanist and princely gardener Johann Royer from 1607 to 1655 with the generous support of the Duchesses Elisabeth and Anna Sophie achieved fame. This is how one of the most important pleasure gardens was created in a Mannerist style, the appearance of which has been handed down to us in an engraving by Merian. Together with the adjacent botanical garden, the plant collection of over 1,700 species and varieties dwarfed even royal complexes such as those in Copenhagen and Oxford.
Source: display board