Schloss Werneck, Baroque palace and psychiatric hospital in Werneck, Germany.
Schloss Werneck is a three-wing Baroque palace in Werneck, Bavaria, originally built as a summer residence for a prince bishop. A central main building is flanked by two side wings, and the whole complex sits within a formal garden.
The palace was built between 1733 and 1745 by architect Balthasar Neumann for Prince Bishop Friedrich Karl von Schönborn. In 1853 it was converted into a psychiatric institution, which changed the way the building was used from that point on.
The palace chapel is the only interior space that still gives a sense of the original design, and it remains open to visitors. Its stucco work and ordered Baroque layout reflect how the building was once meant to be experienced.
The building functions today as an active hospital with psychiatric and orthopedic wards, so most of the interior is not open to the general public. The gardens and outer grounds are generally accessible on foot and offer a good view of the facade.
Balthasar Neumann, who designed the palace, was also responsible for some of the best-known Baroque buildings in Germany, including the Würzburg Residence. Werneck is one of his less visible works but follows the same approach to proportion and symmetry.
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