Building complex Today the
Hessian Landtag occupies the original ducal palace and several adjacent buildings aligned to the Schloßplatz. These include the Kavaliershaus and former Kaiser-Wilhelms Sanatorium, today referred to as the Wilhelmsbau. Inside the inner courtyard of the castle is the
Plenary Chamber of the Landtag, opened in 2008. All located in the
Historical Pentagon.
Ducal palace Structure and exterior 's corner solution with stair, columns and main entrance The main
neo-classical palace building consists of an outwardly simple but elegant three-story structure with two wings arranged in a blunt angle. Its most prominent architectural feature is the connecting corner between the two wings, which takes the form of a cylinder. Here the architect
Georg Moller, a disciple of Friedrich Weinbrenner, and master builder Richard Goerz placed the main entrance. Both wings hold up a balcony on the first floor (for Americans, the second floor). This skirts around the cylinder on six columns, above which the
coat of arms of the
House of Nassau is prominently displayed. The facades are covered in white stucco, with ornate cornices and window frames standing out from the background in grey. Smaller windows are arranged in a row above the upper eaves, behind which were once the rooms for domestic staff. A third diagonal wing, housing the main staircase (), bisects the angle between the two main wings. This connects to the Middle Building () which forms a central courtyard. A conservatory or "winter garden", in the shape of an arc, connects the ends of all three wings. This intersection forms two triangular-shaped inner courtyards. In order to reinforce the impression of space, the building's 145 rooms were arranged such that they could only be reached over long distances.
Interiors The main entrance of the corner tower connects to the so-called Small Rotunda, with a mosaic parquet floor of eight different woods, mother-of-pearl and brass. This further leads through the diagonal wing to the main staircase, behind which is a large Dome Hall and the Mittelbau. The Right and Left wings accommodated the luxurious main rooms of the ducal apartments, decorated in exotic woods on doors, floors and furniture. Many statues adorn the corridors and gold-plated bronze candlesticks were placed throughout the rooms. Painted wallpapers in various motifs of the day, including recently exposed wall paintings of Pompeii, are especially precious. During World War II the interiors of the right wing, consisting of the wardrobe and bath of the Duchess, were completely destroyed.
Dome Hall and Winter Garden The diagonal wing connects from the main entrance and Small Rotunda to the main staircase. It is barrel-vaulted with six statues of
Greco-Roman gods in niches. The banister is made of fire-gilded bronze with the coat of arms of the
House of Nassau. The Dome Hall adjoining the staircase was originally the dining room and is crowned with skylights. A large chandelier in the center of the dome was brought from
Schloss Biebrich in 1930, weighing 980 kg and consisting of 24,000 crystals. In two side niches of the Dome Hall are two statues made of
Carrara marble and a floor of elaborate parquet. Right and left of the Dome Hall stretches the glass-enclosed "Winter Garden". Here, in rooms decorated with painted ceilings, the Duke bred exotic plants.
Mittelbau The "Middle Building" houses the largest room of the palace, the
Music Hall. It has wall paintings of oil on stucco, five side Windows and a shell-shaped niche on the South side. Here the Landtag convened until the completion of the first Plenary Chamber in 1962. Today, the room serves as a concert hall and during Parliamentary sessions as a foyer. The
Minister-President uses the neighboring cabinet rooms during sessions. The
Wilhelmsbau was added to the complex in 1871, originally as a military hospital named after Emperor
Wilhelm I. It has a red facade with colossal bust of its namesake and two tower-shaped corners. Both buildings were severely damaged in World War II, and only the facades were restored. From 1951 the Wilhelmsbau housed 400 employees of the Federal Statistical Office and after further modernization in 1988 it was taken over by the Landtag.
Plenary chamber plenary chamber, 2008
First Chamber 1962 A riding hall had adjoined the inner courtyard of the original palace. This was demolished in 1959 and replaced from 1960 to 1962 with a new building that served the function of a parliamentary chamber. The room was hexagonal, had no windows and was fitted with wood paneling on the interior walls. The dominant element was the Lion of Hesse made of limestone at the front. Lacking natural light, the room quickly became inadequate for the growing number of MPs and in particular the approximately 50,000 annual visitors. Outwardly, it was also an oddity in the historic old town. It was torn down in 2004 to make way for new construction.
New Chamber 2008 The demolished old chamber was replaced by a new design by architects
Waechter + Waechter. While
modernist, it is a more open building that meets the requirements of today's Parliament. It has a transparent viewing area open to the public, a visitor center and an exhibition space covering the history of the Landtag. The new building is smaller than its predecessor and is based on the dimensions of the old riding hall, thereby fitting in better with surrounding buildings and the palace's limestone facade. Construction began in 2004 and during this period Parliament met at the
New Town Hall directly opposite. The new plenary chamber was officially opened on 4 April 2008. A day later, the constituent meeting of the new Parliament took place after the Landtag election. == Today's use of the palace ==