Tettnang Palace - usually referred to as Neues Schloss - is one of three castles in Tettnang. Originally a fort stood on the site of the current castle. From 1260 under 1780 it was the residence of the Counts of Montfort. The old fort was destroyed in the Thirty Years' War in 1633. Count Anton III of Montfort subsequently started rebuilding the castle in 1712, hiring the architect Christoph Gessinger, a Benedictine friar from Isny, to draught designs for a new castle. His aim was to tear down the remains of the mediaeval fort to make way for a completely new palace. In 1728 construction work came to a grinding halt when the funds of the Count ran dry. Count Anton died in 1733 and the castle remained unfinished.
A major section of the facade along with parts of the interior decoration were damaged by fire in 1753. Under the partronage of Count Franz Xaver, restoration work was subsequently completed in 1770. The fine sculptures and paintwork inside the castle were carried out by Joseph Anton Feuchtmayer, Käte Schaller-Härlin and Andreas Brugger. Jakob Emele was responsible for the rococo work.
When the county of Tettnang was sold to Austria in 1770 (to pay off debts), most of the interior fittings were sold and the castle passed into public ownership. When Tettnang was handed over to Bavaria as part of the Peace of Pressburg, the castle returned into German ownership.
Final restoration of the castle was carried out between 1960 and 1982. In 1997 the castle was opened to the public.
References:Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.
Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.
There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.