Blutenburg Castle

Blutenburg Castle

Blutenburg Castle is located in the west of Munich, Germany. The castle was built on the banks of river Würm for Duke Albert III in 1438-39 as a hunting-lodge, replacing an older castle burned down in war. Its original defenses included a ring wall, towers and a moat. Albert's son duke Sigismund of Bavaria ordered to extend the castle from 1488 onwards and died here in 1501. He also ordered to construct the late-Gothic palace church, which still keeps the altars of JAN Polack. The main building was destroyed during the Thirty Years War, but it was again rebuilt in 1680-81. The castle is still surrounded by a ring wall with four towers.

Since 1983 the International Youth Library has been housed in Blutenburg Castle. The library houses a collection of literature for children and young people in 110 languages, totaling some 400,000 volumes.

The castle chapel (1488), dedicated to St Sigmund, is a jewel of Late Gothic architecture, both the building and its furnishings being preserved in their original form.

The palace church, furnished with late-Gothic masterpieces, is a simple building with a single nave and a choir enclosed on three sides. The three altars by Jan Polack are among the best examples of panel painting from the late-Gothic period. The main altar, with both wings closed, shows the saints Bartholomew and Sigismund, together with the duke as patron. When open, the left wing of the altar shows the baptism of Christ and the right wing the coronation of Mary with the Holy Trinity on the throne. The throne motif recurs in the majestic representation of the mercy seat in the central picture of the altar. The side altars - Christ as King among the saints and the Annunciation - date from 1491.

The interior also has The wooden statues of the twelve Apostles and the figures of the Man of Sorrows and Our Lady of Sorrows, the tabernacle dated 1489 and a cycle of glass paintings with coats of arms and scenes illustrating the redemption story (1497).

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