About this place
The Kieler Schloss was born alongside the city itself, raised around 1242 by the Holstein count Adolf IV of Schauenburg to guard the young trading town on its narrow neck of land between the fjord and the Kleiner Kiel. Over the centuries the fortress grew into one of northern Germany's grandest Renaissance palaces, remodelled in the mid sixteenth century under Duke Adolf I and kept by the Gottorf dukes as a secondary residence filled with fine furniture gathered from across Holstein. An Allied bombing raid on 4 January 1944 set the palace ablaze and burned its treasures down to the foundations, leaving only the outer walls, a stump of the northwest tower, and the older Baroque Rantzaubau wing of 1697. Between 1961 and 1963 a new brick east wing rose on the medieval foundations, and the reconstructed complex was fitted with a 1,400 seat concert hall that today hosts the Schleswig Holstein Music Festival, making the Schloss a living emblem of a city that rebuilt itself from ruin.
Key facts
- 1242 founded — Count Adolf IV of Schauenburg raised the first castle here to guard his newly founded town
- 1944 year — An Allied bombing raid on 4 January burned the Renaissance palace down to its foundations
- 1400 seats — The concert hall built into the rebuilt castle now fills for classical performances and festivals
📍 Wall, 24103, Kiel