A Brief History of the Construction of Hambach Castle

Decline…

In 1842 a group from the Palatinate region bought the castle, together with the surrounding land, as a wedding present for the Crown Prince of Bavaria, the future King Maximilian II. The castle was renamed "Maxburg" in his honor.


In 1845 the Crown Prince commissioned the reconstruction of the ruins. However, due to a lack of funds, the redevelopment plans by architect August von Voit were never completed.

…And New Beginnings

Using money from the Wittelsbach compensation fund, the former district of Neustadt (now the district of Bad Dürkheim) bought the ruins in the early 1950s and started the initial construction work.

To mark the 150th anniversary of the Hambach Festival, the entire site was completely renovated in 1982 based on designs by Helmut Augeneder and Horst Römer.


In the banquet hall, a ceiling was installed over the second row of windows to create an upper floor. The first ever museum exhibition on the evolution of democracy and the events surrounding the 1832 Hambach Festival was established here.


The north side of the palace was extended. To the south, the framework for a cantilevered restaurant was erected along the outer ring wall. The outer ring wall was restored from 1998–2000.

In 2006, for the upcoming 175th anniversary of the festival, further renovations began on Hambach Castle. In keeping with its significance as the cradle of democracy, the building was to be modernized and expanded into a European educational institution. The grounds were therefore made accessible and equipped for people with special needs.

The renovation plans were put together by Swiss architect Max Dudler. They placed special emphasis on making sure the historic components remained distinct. Modern elements complement the old building structures without stealing the show, resulting in a successful mix of old and new.

The new permanent exhibition was opened at Hambach Castle in 2007. It was designed by the Institute of Historical Geography at the University of Mainz and installed by the design studio schwarz-düser • düser.

As a continuation of the old ring wall, a new restaurant building was built in 2011 which complemented the memorial complex in an abstract and timeless way: Restaurant 1832. The multi-tiered stone construction, adapted to the landscape and the architecture, creates a calming effect when viewing the castle from a distance. This view has been impaired by the 3-column entrance framework since 1982.

For comparison: the old building framework from 1982

For his plans to redevelop and expand Hambach Castle, Max Dudler won the DAM Prize for Architecture in Germany, an award from the German Architecture Museum for outstanding modern architecture.

A spacious terrace with spectacular views was built on the roof of the new building. If visitors direct their gaze to the southern flank of the former Kästenburg Castle, they can easily see the places where the Hohenstaufen castle keep and the upper mantle wall meet.