Älterer Dalberger Hof, Renaissance palace at Ballplatz, Mainz, Germany.
The Älterer Dalberger Hof at Ballplatz is a Renaissance building erected between 1609 and 1614, with corner bay windows typical of Mainz architecture of that period. Its late Gothic residential tower, which contains the former chapel, adjoins the neighboring Fechenbacher Hof. A baroque main portal was added in 1710, followed by a staircase and a rear terrace garden. Since 2023 the building has been used as office space.
The site began as the Hof "Zum Roten Haus", held by the Counts of Eppstein-Königstein from 1463 and also called the Königsteiner Hof; its late Gothic residential tower survives. The Barons of Dalberg owned the property from 1597, and between 1609 and 1614 they built the present Renaissance building. In 1710 the baroque main portal was inserted, followed shortly by the staircase and the rear terrace garden.
The name Dalberger Hof comes from the Barons of Dalberg, who owned the property from 1597 until they moved to the Jüngere Dalberger Hof in 1718. In 1846 the Englische Fräulein (English Ladies) took over the building together with the neighbouring Fechenbacher Hof and founded the Maria-Ward-Schule there, the only girls' school still existing in Mainz.
The palace is located on the central Ballplatz and is easy to reach on foot, with Renaissance and baroque architecture visible from the street. Visitors can explore the exterior structures and garden areas without any special requirements or advance booking.
The mansion combines several architectural periods within a single structure, with Gothic, Renaissance, and baroque features existing side by side. This layering of different style periods makes it a rare example of architectural development across multiple centuries.
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