Fortress and Renaissance castle Between 1526 and 1536, Count Frederick VI of Spiegelberg, overlord of the
County of Pyrmont, built a
fortress and
schloss in valley of Pyrmont. He had experience in the construction of the fortress when he had reinforced
Coppenbrügge Castle with walls and
roundels. The fortress of Pyrmont was almost square in shape with a 40-metre-wide
moat. The walls had
casemates and a stone corner
bastion, which echoes the Italian style of fortification. Access to the fortress was via a wooden bridge and later a
drawbridge. Buildings were built inside the walls and, in the south-western area, the first
schloss was built. Following the completion of the castle in 1536, it was garrisoned by Count Frederick VI, who resided in neighbouring
Lügde. Later the
schloss became the side wing of a larger
schloss, which his son, Philip, had built in 1557 in the
Weser Renaissance style. According to tradition, this was a three-storey building with three
wall dormers, similar to the
Hämelschenburg. In addition, a tower was built for archiving documents. Philip died before the completion of the Renaissance
schloss. The building was completed by the husband of his sister, Hermann Simon of Lippe. Afterwards the
counts of Lippe and the
counts of Gleichen resided at the
schloss. In 1625, Count Hans Louis of Gleichen transferred the County of Pyrmont to the
Count of Waldeck. During the
Thirty Years' War, the succession dispute between the
Bishopric of Paderborn and the Counts of Waldeck revived. For the Bishopric, troops under General
Pappenheim, besieged the Pyrmont fortress in 1629, and its 400-man garrison surrendered after ten months. In 1633, Swedish troops recaptured the fortress, which was reconquered in 1636 by the
Imperial Army. After being taken again by the Swedes in 1646, the fortress was handed over to the Counts of Waldeck in 1649. The
schloss suffered damage as a result of the sieges. Rebuilt in haste, it served as a summer residence for the counts of Waldeck, but it was also neglected in the period that followed and began to deteriorate. When Count
Anthony Ulrich of Waldeck-Pyrmont took over the regency of Waldeck and Pyrmont in 1706, master builder,
Hermann Korb, built a new
schloss in the
Baroque style. The new building was erected between 1706 and 1710 on the basement and other parts of the earlier residence. As early as 1721, architect, Julius Ludwig Rothweil, extended the building. A commander's house, two
cavalier houses and a
magazine were built. The fortifications were overhauled. In addition, the
Baroque gardens were redesigned. Further changes followed in 1765 under the direction of Franz Friedrich Rothweil. Between 1852 and 1855, several buildings were added and the
schloss given its present appearance. File:Schloss Pyrmont 1750.jpg|Schloss Pyrmont, 1790 File:Schloss Pyrmont 1790 F. Cöntgen.jpg|Plan of the
schloss, 1790 File:Schloss Pyrmont 1900.jpg|The
schloss c. 1900
20th Century During the
Second World War, a
hospital was established in the
schloss, because Pyrmont was a hospital town. After the war, the British Red Cross remained in the castle until 1948. In 1956, the state of
Lower Saxony acquired the fortress and castle from the princely family of Waldeck and Pyrmont. The first
redevelopment took place from 1960 to 1962; another followed from 1978. From 1984 to 1987, architect Karl-Heinz Lorey renovated and redesigned the
schloss and fortifications for use by the then district
folk high school and as a museum. The castle grounds are also used for various events. == Gallery ==