Kornspeicher, Timber-framed granary in Wolfenbüttel, Germany.
The Kornspeicher is the largest timber-framed building in Wolfenbüttel, a three-aisled hall erected from 1659 to 1662 a few metres behind the stone Zeughaus of 1619. It replaced an earlier arsenal on the site and served as a provision store for the ducal court and the fortress garrison. Its west side once had a Renaissance gable and a stone portal, lost when the building was shortened by nine metres in the 19th century.
The building was constructed between 1659 and 1662 to meet the growing storage needs of Duke Augustus the Younger's court in Wolfenbüttel. In the 1800s, it received a stone foundation and was shortened on its western side.
The building's name varies in local usage: Kornspeicher, Proviantboden, Kornmagazin or Magazinhaus. It stored provisions for the princely court and the garrison of the fortress of Wolfenbüttel. After the court moved away around 1753, it served different purposes, and in the 20th century it housed the Wolfenbüttel fire brigade. Today it is a depot of the Herzog August Bibliothek.
The building is visible from outside and offers a clear view of traditional timber-frame construction when you approach the arsenal area. Keep in mind that it still functions as a working archive and may not always be open for interior visits.
The Kornspeicher stands in the sight shadow of the stone Zeughaus, so visitors on the Schlossplatz looking from the south never see it; only its west side once carried a Renaissance gable and a stone portal, both lost in the 19th-century shortening.
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