Braunschweig - Residenzschloss

Not much is known about the foundation of Braunschweig. Tradition tells, Brunswick (= Braunschweig) was created through the merger of two settlements on either side of the River Oker around 860.

The city was first mentioned in documents from the St. Magni Church in 1031. Up to the 12th century, Brunswick was ruled by the Saxon noble family, then, through marriage, it fell to the House of Welf. In 1142, Henry the Lion of the House of Welf became Duke of Saxony and made Braunschweig the capital of his state. He turned Dankwarderode Castle into his own Pfalz and developed the city further to represent his authority. Under Henry's rule, the Cathedral of St. Blasius was built and he also had the statue of a lion, his heraldic animal, erected in front of the castle.

Henry the Lion became so powerful that he dared to refuse military aid to Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, which led to his banishment in 1182. Henry went into exile in England. He had previously established ties to the English crown in 1168, through his marriage to King Henry II of England's daughter Matilda, sister of Richard the Lionheart. However, his son Otto, who could regain influence and was eventually crowned Holy Roman Emperor, continued to foster the city's development.

Brunswick was an important center of trade, an economic and a political centers and a member of the Hanseatic League from the 13th century on. By the year 1600. Brunswick was the seventh largest city in Germany. It was de facto ruled independently by a powerful class of patricians and the guilds throughout much of the Late Middle Ages and the early modern period. Because of the growing power of Brunswick's burghers, the Princes of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel finally moved their Residenz out of the city and to the nearby town of Wolfenbüttel in 1432. The Princes of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel did not regain control over the city until the late 17th century, when Rudolph Augustus, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, took the city by siege.

The "Residenzschloss" (Brunswick Palace) was the residence of the Brunswick dukes from 1753 to 1918.

In 1830 there was a revolution in Braunschweig. Citizens and the duchy rebelled against Duke Karl II, whom they later called the "Diamond Duke" because of his legendary wealth. In the course of this revolution, an angry crowd stormed the fenced grounds and then the residence in order to plunder it and finally set it on fire.

After this building burned down, a second palace was built completed in 1841. This was completely demolished in 1960 at the direction of Brunswick's city council due to the heavy damage it had suffered in air raids during WWII. The Palace Park (Schlosspark) was laid out on the resulting waste ground. This was completely removed in 2005 – following another resolution of the city council in 2004 – in order to erect a large shopping center, the so-called "Schloss-Arkaden" (Palace Arcades). Its western facade was to consist of a faithful reconstruction of the facade of the former palace. The building was opened to the public in 2007.