Mainz Monument Network: The Electoral Palace of Mainz
An architectural monument of national importance
The Electoral Palace, together with the Commandery of the Teutonic Order (now the state parliament) and the New Armoury (now the state chancellery), dominates Mainz's prestigious Rhine front. The palace is the city's most important secular building, a structure of national significance! With its unusually rich, differentiated structure, especially its windows and bay windows, art historians consider it to surpass even Heidelberg Castle. Elector Georg Friedrich von Greiffenklau laid the foundation stone for the new palace in 1627, in the middle of the Thirty Years' War. The plans of the unknown architect remained valid until its late completion in 1752. Although the castle was built during the Baroque period, it is uniquely influenced by the Mannerist forms of the late German Renaissance. There is little else of comparable stature. That is why the eminent art historian Georg Dehio concluded as early as 1906 that it was "... of a refined and distinguished culture that cannot be found again in the German Renaissance."
The red color is deceptive!
From a distance, the red color of the façade conveys the impressive condition of the electoral palace. But the color is deceptive. Significant weathering damage is endangering the building fabric. The courtyard side of the north wing is particularly badly affected. Numerous sandstone cornices are disintegrating, and there is also serious crumbling in many other places. Some of the grotesque masks are barely recognizable anymore.
We must act. Now!
The Electoral Palace – symbol of Mainz civic spirit. Bombs during World War II reduced the Electoral Palace to a burnt-out ruin. Only the facades with their characteristic decorative elements remained intact. Despite the hardship of the post-war period, the citizens of Mainz took action and rebuilt their palace in the early 1950s. What the people of Mainz achieved back then must serve as an example and an obligation for us all today. Together, we can restore our precious palace to its former beauty.
Donation account
German Foundation for Monument Protection
Commerzbank Bonn
Account: 3 055 555
Bank code: 380 400 07
IBAN: DE71 500 400 500 400 500 400
Purpose 54 00 62 Mainz Monument Network
Donation receipts will be issued.
Further information on the topic at mainz.de
Downloads
"Heal, heal, little goose! - The Electoral Palace is crumbling - now a large-scale rescue operation is beginning," Monuments 3/4 2007
With kind permission of the editors of MONUMENTE, magazine of the German Foundation for Monument Protection, Bonn
Text: Dr. Christiane Schillig
Photos: Roland Rossner, Sascha Kopp
www.monumente-online.de