The first mention of the
Saxon noble Adalbert of Haimar,
Count of Wernigerode, in an 1121 deed is also the first documentation of the settlement, which had been founded about a century earlier in connection with the deforestation of the area. The counts built the castle on a slope south of the town as their residence; it was first mentioned as a
castrum in 1213. When the line became extinct in 1429, the Wernigerode lands were inherited by the neighbouring
County of Stolberg. The castle became the seat of the subordinate
Amt administration and was put in pledge several times. When in 1645 the
Stolberg-Stolberg line split, Wernigerode again became the capital of the County of
Stolberg-Wernigerode. The counts however struggled with the citizens in the course of the
Thirty Years' War and had to take their residence at nearby
Ilsenburg House. The castle was also heavily damaged during this war. It was not until 1710 that Count Christian Ernest could relocate the seat of government back to Wernigerode, when he had the castle rebuilt as a
schloss in a
Baroque style. He ruled for 61 years, though he had to accept the overlordship of King
Frederick William I of Prussia in 1714.Christian Ernest's descendant
Count Otto, first president of the Prussian
Province of Hanover from 1867, president of the
Prussian House of Lords from 1872 and German
Vice-Chancellor from 1878, had the schloss again extensively rebuilt in a Neo-Romantic half timber and half stone,
style known as historicism, finishing the project in 1893. Later when Otto became German ambassador the castle became a representation of North-German historicism. The entire complex includes a chapel built in 1880 by German architect Carl Frühling according to drafts by the renowned
Vienna architect
Friedrich von Schmidt. The original chapel was inaugurated in honor of patron saint Panthaleon and St. Anna and it was situated on the north-western part of the castle circle. Its baroque shape remained unchanged until its demolition in 1870. The new chapel is located in the same location as the old chapel and was inaugurated in 1883. The historic hall is decorated with built-in galleries, while the choir is decorated with stained glass designed by artist Carl Christian Andrea. ==References==