Hedwigsburg, Renaissance pleasure palace in Kissenbrück, Germany.
Hedwigsburg is a former pleasure palace of 1578 in Kissenbrück whose original buildings no longer survive; what remains is the Rittergut Hedwigsburg estate, about 10 hectares with courtyard and park, between the northwest slope of the Waustenberg and the right bank of the Alte Ilse. The grounds were later enlarged with two side wings and an English landscape garden, where the statues "Frau mit dem Löwen" and "Flora" still stand.
Built in 1578 for Hedwig of Brandenburg, wife of Duke Julius of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, the palace served the noble family as a summer retreat. The estate reflects the building styles and garden design fashionable during that era when such pleasure palaces became popular destinations for aristocratic leisure.
The name Hedwigsburg honours Hedwig of Brandenburg, who bought the Stecklenburg estate on 22 February 1578 for 2,500 Thaler and gave the new summer residence her name. The village district Hedwigsburg, which also covered the Fährmühle mill and surrounding lands, was named after the palace. Two statues from the later English landscape garden survive: the 'Frau mit dem Löwen' and the 'Flora'.
The estate lies southwest of Kissenbrück's centre, between the northwest slope of the Waustenberg and the right bank of the Alte Ilse; the Great Trench (Großer Graben) forms its northern edge. The farmyard and park cover about 10 hectares. The original palace buildings no longer stand, so visitors see the surviving Rittergut estate rather than a castle.
The palace itself no longer exists; only the Rittergut Hedwigsburg estate that absorbed it survives, with its manor house, courtyard and park covering about 10 hectares. Two statues from its English landscape garden, "Frau mit dem Löwen" and "Flora", are still standing. The estate lies between the northwest slope of the Waustenberg and the right bank of the Alte Ilse.
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