History of our Castle

The History of “Castle Neustadt-Glewe”

Neustadt-Glewe was originally a Slavic settlement named Chlewa or Chlewe. In the 13^th century the counts of Schwerin, most probably from a strategic point of view, built a Fortress as permanent residence in the vicinity of this settlement. When in the 17^th century the Fortress no longer met with the living requirements of the time, the royal house of Mecklenburg under the Duke Adolf Friedrich built a Castle close to the old Fortress.

The completion of the Castle was to be delayed by the outbreak of war. However, the unfinished site must have made such an impact on Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland and Sagen, that during a campaign through Neustadt-Glewe, he ordered the completion of the Castle on the 21^st July 1629. The baroque contours of the Castle however were not finished until the years 1717-1720 by the builder Christoph Sturm.

The most impressive feature of the Castle are the magnificent Stucco ceilings as well as the 32 Fireplaces, ornamented with rosettes, ledges and figurines. They were crafted over a period of nine years by Italian master craftsmen Guiseppe Mogia and Andrea Maini. The total area of stucco ceilings is 1,600 square metres and thus unique in the whole of Europe.

Since 1735 the Castle has had its share of alien uses. It has been used as a county court house with prison cells in the attic and as administrations and living quarters for civil servants. In 1945 it first served as a refugee camp, later as School, School kitchen, Library and Administrative offices. Since 1997 the Castle as a Grand Hotel has been host to guests from all countries around the world.