Schloss Meseberg
Schloss Meseberg is a Baroque castle 65 kilometres north of Berlin in Meseberg in Brandenburg, Germany which is the retreat of the Chancellor of Germany and the official state guest house of the German Federal Government. It is situated in an estate near the town of Gransee southeast of a lake known as the Huwenowsee.
History
Built by the Wartensleben family in 1739 to replace a previous building on the site that had burnt down, the Schloss passed to the von der Gröben family in the second half of the century. In 1774, the property along with adjacent land parcels was purchased by Prince Henry of Prussia, who resided in nearby Rheinsberg Palace, and one year later was gifted to his paramour, Christian Ludwig von Kaphengst (1740-1800). In this way Heinrich complied with the command of his brother, King Frederick II, to remove Kaphengst from the court at Rheinsberg. Kaphengst furnished and decorated the castle lavishly, commissioning ceiling frescoes from Bernhard Rode, including one depicting an apotheosis of Heinrich. The estate grew with the construction of additional buildings, including the stables. Under Kaphengst and his successors, the baroque garden was extended, and an English garden edging most of the lake shore was landscaped by Peter Joseph Lenné.
The property was later purchased by the Lessing family, owners of the Berlin newspaper Vossische Zeitung. During the Nazi era, it was forcibly acquired by Hermann Göring, only to be appropriated by the Soviet occupation in 1945. The East German government used it to house a grocery store and school rooms, which preserved it from demolition. A plan to renovate the dilapidated castle and turn it into a conference center for the Academy of Sciences was never realized.[1]
After the reunification of Germany the estate was bought by the Messerschmitt Foundation in 1995. The foundation, devoted to preserving historical landmarks, spent 11 years and more than $30 million renovating the stucco building, with its Ionic half-columns and high mansard roof.[2][3]
In 2004, the Messerschmitt Foundation agreed to lease the castle to the Federal German Government for 20 years, for a symbolic annual rent of one euro. The government subsequently spent $17 million installing security and communications equipment and fitted it up with period furniture and paintings.[4] Since 2007, it is the retreat of the Chancellor of Germany (like Chequers is for the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom). The government regularly holds its annual cabinet conclave at Meseberg. Since Angela Merkel took office in 2005, she hosted many state guests here.
Facilities
The basement of the castle was once home to the kitchen of the local agricultural cooperative. Today it houses the chancellor’s wine bar, with seats for 30 guests.[5]
Visits of foreign dignitaries (selection)
- 23 February 2007 – Visit of Jacques Chirac and Philippe Douste-Blazy of France
- 20 April 2007 – Dinner with President Václav Klaus of the Czech Republic (alongside former President Roman Herzog of Germany)
- 23 April 2007 – Visit of José Manuel Durão Barroso of Portugal
- 17 May 2007 – Dinner with Lech Kaczyński of Poland
- 17 June 2007 – Lunch with Mirek Topolánek of the Czech Republic
- 10 September 2007 – Visit of Nicolas Sarkozy and Bernard Kouchner of France
- 20 November 2007 – Visit of Romano Prodi of Italy
- 10 June 2008 – Visit of George W. Bush and Laura Bush of the United States[6]
- 11 February 2008 – Dinner with Ehud Olmert of Israel[7]
- 4–5 June 2010 – Visit of Dmitry Medvedev of Russia
- 5 October 2010 – Dinner with Wen Jiabao of China
- 25 January 2011 – Dinner with José Manuel Durão Barroso of Portugal
- 30 November 2011 – Dinner with Jens Stoltenberg of Norway
- 19 January 2012 – Dinner with Pedro Passos Coelho of Portugal, Fredrik Reinfeldt of Sweden and Werner Faymann of Austria[8]
- 13 February 2012 – Dinner with Lars Løkke Rasmussen of Denmark, Andrus Ansip of Estonia and Mark Rutte of the Netherlands[9]
- 23 February 2012 – Dinner with Enda Kenny of Ireland, Petr Nečas of the Czech Republic and Valdis Dombrovskis of Latvia[10]
- 12–13 April 2013 – Visit of David Cameron and Samantha Cameron of the United Kingdom[11]
- 26 May 2013 – Dinner with Li Keqiang of China
- 31 August 2015 – Visit of Mariano Rajoy of Spain[12]
- 4 May 2016 – Visit of Shinzō Abe of Japan
References
- ↑ Nicholas Kulish (March 15, 2012), A Village Where Europe Can Take a Stroll and Plot Its Future New York Times.
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- ↑ Nicholas Kulish (March 15, 2012), A Village Where Europe Can Take a Stroll and Plot Its Future New York Times.
- ↑ Nicholas Kulish (March 15, 2012), A Village Where Europe Can Take a Stroll and Plot Its Future New York Times.
- ↑ Nicholas Kulish (March 15, 2012), A Village Where Europe Can Take a Stroll and Plot Its Future New York Times.
- ↑ Nicholas Kulish (March 15, 2012), A Village Where Europe Can Take a Stroll and Plot Its Future New York Times.
- ↑ Merkel trifft Olmert privat vor Regierungsgesprächen Reuters, February 12, 2008.
- ↑ 19. Januar 2012 Federal Chancellor of Germany.
- ↑ Nicholas Kulish (March 15, 2012), A Village Where Europe Can Take a Stroll and Plot Its Future New York Times.
- ↑ Colm Kelpie (February 24, 2012), Irish PM Enda Kenny outlines the need to stimulate Irish economy to Angela Merkel Belfast Telegraph.
- ↑ David Cameron and Angela Merkel agree to co-operate on 'flexible' EU The Guardian, 13 April 2013.
- ↑ Stefan Blumberg (August 31, 2015), Die Angela Merkel-Show in Meseberg Märkische Allgemeine.
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