Renaissance and Wewelsburg: Difference between pages

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[[Image:Wewelsburg.JPG|290px|thumb|right|Wewelsburg]]

{{Current_AOTW}}

'''Wewelsburg''' (pronounced {{IPA|/ˈveːvəlsˌbʊɐk/}}) is a Renaissance castle located in the northeast of [[North Rhine-Westphalia]], [[Germany]], in the village of Wewelsburg (the same name as the castle) which is a quarter of the city [[Büren, Westphalia]], in district of [[Paderborn]] in the [[Alme Valley]] (see [[Alme]]). The castle has the outline of a triangle ([http://www.wewelsburg.de/media/wewels02_neu.jpg aerial photo]). It is known for becoming the ritual headquarters of the [[SS]] in [[1934]] under [[Heinrich Himmler]].

{{alternateuses}}

==Early history==

The '''Renaissance''' was a [[cultural movement]] and time period in the [[History of Europe]], comprising the transitional period between the end of the [[Middle Ages]] and the start of the [[Modern Age]]. The Renaissance is usually considered to have begun in the [[14th century]] in [[Italy]] and the [[16th century]] in [[northern Europe]]. It is also known as "'''Rinascimento'''" (in Italian).

The Wewelsburg was built from 1603 to 1609 by the Prince of Paderborn. Its ___location is near what was then believed to be the site of the [[Battle of the Teutoburg Forest]]. Legend suggests that it held thousands of accused [[witch]]es during the 17th century, who were [[torture]]d and [[Execution (legal)|executed]] within its walls.

In 1802, the castle fell to the ownership of the [[Prussia]]n state - and 13 years later fell victim to a fire that gutted the North Tower.

==Historiography==

''Renaissance'' is a [[French language|French]] word coined by French historian [[Jules Michelet]] and expanded upon by [[Switzerland|Swiss]] historian [[Jacob Burckhardt]] in the [[19th century]] that literally means ''rebirth''. This name has been historically used in contrast to the ''[[Dark Ages]]'', a term coined by [[Petrarch]] to refer to what is now referred to as the Middle Ages, or Medieval period.

==SS History==

Renaissance has since come to refer to other periods of cultural rebirth; as in the [[Carolingian Renaissance]], [[Harlem Renaissance]], or the [[San Francisco Renaissance]].

===Introduction===

In 1925, the castle had been renovated into a museum, banquet hall and [[hostel]] - six years later the North Tower again proved to be the weak point of the architecture, and had to be supported by [[guy wire]]s. In 1934, at the suggestion of [[Karl Maria Wiligut]], Heinrich Himmler signed a 100-mark 100-year lease with the [[Paderborn]] district, initially intending to renovate and re-design the castle as a school for Nazi leadership (the so-called SS "Führerkorps"). Its official name was ''"SS-Schule Haus Wewelsburg"'' (SS-School House Wewelsburg).

Following Petrarch's lead, the term had long been considered appropriate because during the Renaissance, the [[literature]] and culture of the ancient [[civilization]]s of [[Hellenic civilization|Greece]] and [[Roman Empire|Rome]] were adopted by scholars and artists in Italy, and widely disseminated through [[printing]]. Thus, the ancient writings of Greece and Rome were once again made mainstream, and, as such, experianced a ''rebirth''.

Schoolings never occurred but SS-scientists practised "germanic purpose research" (germanische Zweckforschung) here <ref> Information about [http://www.ns-gedenkstaetten.de/nrw/de/wewelsburg/thema_3/ss_zweckforschungen.html "Zweckforschung"] at the Castle of Wewelsburg (in German)</ref> .

During the last quarter of the [[20th century]], however, more and more scholars began to take a view that the Renaissance was perhaps only one of many such movements. This was in large part due to the work of historians like [[Charles H. Haskins]], who made convincing cases for a "Renaissance of the [[12th century]]," as well as by historians arguing for a "[[Carolingian renaissance]]." Both of these concepts are now widely accepted by the scholarly community at large; as a result, the present trend among historians is to discuss each so-called renaissance in more particular terms, e.g., the ''[[Italian Renaissance]]'', the ''[[English Renaissance]]'', etc. This terminology is particularly useful because it eliminates the need for fitting "The Renaissance" into a chronology that previously held that it was preceded by the Middle Ages and followed by the [[Reformation]], which was, many argue, patently false. The entire period is now more often replaced by the term "[[Early Modern]]" in the practice of historians. See [[periodization]].

[[Image:26Jan1937HimmlerwithDrLeyintheAlmeValleybeneathWewelsburgCastle.JPG|thumb|right|Himmler with Dr. Ley in the Alme Valley beneath Wewelsburg Castle on January 27th 1937]]

Other historians disagree with the notion of a Renaissance entirely. [[Marxism|Marxist historians]] tend to view the Renaissance as a pseudo-revolution with the changes in art, literature, and philosophy affecting only a tiny minority of the very wealthy and powerful while life for the great mass of the European population was unchanged from the Middle Ages.

In 1938, [[Siegfried Taubert]] was in charge of developing the castle, when Himmler enquired about the cost of installing a [[planetarium]]. The [[Ahnenerbe]] are also said to have had major input into the redevelopment.

Other historians acknowledge the existence of the Renaissance but question whether it was a positive change. [[Johan Huzinga]] argues that the Renaissance was a period of decline from the high Middle Ages that destroyed much that was important. The [[Latin language]], for instance, had evolved greatly from the classical period and was still used in the church and by others as a living language. The Renaissance obsession with classical purity saw Latin revert to the classical form and its natural evolution was halted.

Prisoners from the Saxonia and Niederhagen concentration camps were used as labourers to perform much of the construction work on Wewelsburg between 1939 and 1943, under the design of architect [[Hermann Bartels]].

Other scholars have criticized different aspects of the Renaissance [[Robert S. Lopez]] has contended that the it was a period of deep economic recession. [[George Sarton]] and [[Lynn Thorndike]] both criticized how the Renaissance affected science, arguing that progress was slowed.

The design of floor mosaic laid in the ''Marble Hall'' during that time became known as the "[[Black Sun (occult symbol)|Black Sun]]" (''Schwarze Sonne'') and is used as a symbol in [[Germanic neopaganism|Odinism]] and [[Neo-Nazism]] and in occult currents of [[Irminenschaft]] or [[Armanenschaft]]-inspired esotericism. It is not known whether or not this symbol was placed in the floor at Wewelsburg before or after the National Socialist Regime and the taking over of the castle by Himmler. Because the ceilings of the North-Tower were casted in concrete and faced with natural stone during the Third Reich it is more likely that the ornament was created during the Himmler era.

==Origins of the Renaissance==

Any recipient of one of Himmler's [[Totenkopfring]]s (SS ring of honour) was to arrange to have the ring returned to the Castle upon his death.

[[Image:Hofkirchesmall.jpg|frame|The Hofkirche church in central [[Dresden]], [[Germany]], an example of Renaissance architecture]]

Himmler's plans included making it the centre of a new Germanocentric world following the "final victory". To symbolize that, an installation of a circular wall (including further buildings) centred on the castle, 1.2 km in diameter, was planned. Also see the [http://www.ns-gedenkstaetten.de/nrw/de/wewelsburg/thema_3/bild_41.html achitectural drawing] and [http://www.ns-gedenkstaetten.de/nrw/de/wewelsburg/thema_3/modell.html model] from 1944.

The starting point of the Renaissance is still debated. It is almost universally ascribed to Northern Italy, especially the city of [[Florence]]. The most common starting point for the Renaissance is the [[poet]] [[Dante]] ([[1265]]&ndash;[[1321]]), the first writer to embody the spirit of the Renaissance. [[Petrarch]] ([[1304]]&ndash;[[1374]]) is considered by others to be the first Renaissance figure. The Renaissance was a slow evolutionary change and there can be no exact date of transition.

===Description of the North Tower===

Northern Italy in the fourteenth century was divided into a number of warring city states, the most powerful being [[Milan]], [[Florence]], [[Pisa]], [[Sienna]], [[Genoa]], and [[Venice]]. Central and southern Italy, the heartland of the [[Roman Empire]], was far poorer. [[Rome]] was a city largely in ruins and the [[Papal States]] were a loosely administered region with little law and order. Partially because of this, the Papacy had relocated to [[Avignon]].

[[Image:1941WewelsburgSchematics.gif|thumb|left|120px|Initial SS Schematics for redesigning the North Tower]]

[[Image:WewelsburgMosaic.JPG|thumb|right|Obergruppenführersaal]]

This tower was to serve as the actual "center of the world".

* Where primary a cistern was a vault after the model of Mycenaean domed tombs was created which probably was to serve for some kind of commemoration of the dead. The room is unfinished. In the middle of the vault probably a bowl with an eternal flame was planned. Around the presumed place for the eternal flame twelve pedestals are placed. Their meaning is unknown.

In the zenith of the vault a swastika (which ends run out in sig runes) is walled in.

The vault has a special acoustic and illumination. ([http://www.dergral.de/bilder/wewelsburg/gruft.jpg Photo of the vault])

Northern Italy was further divided by the long running battle for supremacy between the forces of the Papacy and of the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. Each city would be aligned with one faction, but would also be internally divided between the two sides. Warfare between the states was common, but invasion from outside Italy was less so.

* On the ground floor the "Obergruppenführersaal" (literally translated: hall of the Obergruppenführer (the original highest ranking SS-generals)), a hall with twelve columns, was created. The room was almost finished. It was to serve as a representative hall for the SS-Obergruppenführer. In the center of the marbled whitish/grayish floor a dark green sun wheel is embedded (see [http://www.ruedigersuenner.de/schwarze%20sonne.jpg photo]). Probably a golden disc was placed in the middle of the ornament originally. After the second world war the ornament was called the "black sun". Neither it is known if the SS had a special name for the ornament nor it is known if they attributed a special meaning to the ornament.

* The upper floors were to be completed as a prestigious meeting hall for the entire corps of the SS-Gruppenführer. This room was only planned.

** Both redesigned rooms were never used. It is nothing known about the possible way and the kind of arrangement of designated ceremonies in the tower <ref>[http://www.ns-gedenkstaetten.de/nrw/de/wewelsburg/thema_3/index.html] (in German)</ref>.

===Legends and rumors===

The states of northern Italy were the wealthiest in [[Europe]]. The main trade routes running from the east past through [[Byzantium]] or the [[Arab]] lands and then to the ports of Genoa, Pisa, and Venice. These states built powerful [[navy|navies]]. The inland city states profited from the rich [[agriculture|agricultural]] land of the [[Po River]] valley. Florence became itself became extremely wealthy from the [[textile]] business that imported [[wool]] from Northern Europe and [[dye]]s from the east to make high quality [[clothing]]. In an age when armies were primarily comprised of [[mercenaries]] these city states could field considerable forces, despite their low populations.

* The vault allegedly dubbed the ''Himmler Crypt'', was (allegedly) dedicated to [[Henry the Fowler|Heinrich I]], of whom Himmler believed himself to be the [[reincarnation]], and where he hoped to be interred after his death{{Verify credibility}}.

* Himmler reportedly imagined the castle as a locus for the rebirth of the [[Knights of the Round Table]] and appointed 12 SS officers as his followers, who would gather at various rooms throughout the castle and perform unknown rites{{Verify credibility}}. The only documented meeting was in June 1941, though they are assumed to have been held regularly.

* When one of the officers died, his ashes would be interred in the castle. There is speculation, if the urns of dead SS-leaders should have been placed on the pedestals in the vault.

===Blasting operation===

The extensive trade that stretched from [[Egypt]] to the [[Baltic]] generated significant surpluses that allowed significant investment in mining and agriculture. Thus, while northern Italy was not richer in resources than many other parts of Europe, the level of development made for much higher returns.

When the final victory failed to materialize, Himmler ordered [[Heinz Macher]], with 15 of his men, to destroy the Wewelsburg, only two days before the [[US Third Infantry Division]] seized the grounds. Reports vary from near-complete damage, to only the North Tower suffering great damage; either way the damage was soon repaired after Macher's company ran out of explosives.

[[Image:Tent-Wewels.jpg|thumb|180px|Workers' camp set up during reconstruction efforts in 1939]]

===Members===

The surplus from trade also made Northern Italy the centre of European [[finance]]. The Florentine [[Florin]] became the de facto [[currency]] of international trade and Florence became the capital of European [[banking]]. This produced a new class of aristocrats who won their positions through financial skill. By necessity they were literate and educated. Powerful [[guild]]s gave the skilled tradesmen, who were essential to the city's wealth, much power in government.

*[[Heinrich Himmler]] - Overseer

*[[Manfred von Knobelsdorff]] - Commandant

*[[Karl Elstermann von Elster Stabsführer]] - replaced by [[Paul Hübner]]

*[[Walter Muller]] - Hauptsturmführer

*[[Josef Schneid]] - Hauptsturmführer also known as Pepi

*[[Walter Franzius]] - architect brought onboard in October 1935

*[[Karl Lasch]]

*Dr. [[Hans-Peter de Courdes]] - until May 1939

*Dr. [[Bernhard Frank]] - SS Commander of the Obersalzburg

*Dr. [[Heinrich Hagel Arztchef]] - Obersturmbannführer

*[[Wilhelm Jordan (nazi)|Wilhelm Jordan]]

*[[Elfriede Wippermann]]

==Niederhagen Camp==

The Italian trade routes that covered the Mediterranean and beyond were also major conduits of culture and knowledge. From [[Constantinople]], recently Christianized [[Spain]], and the Arab lands came much of the preserved ancient learning of the classical era. From Egypt and the Levant the scientific, philosophical, and mathematical thinking of the Arabs entered Northern Italy. The region also was sitting just to the north of the remnants of Roman civilization, and if one hunted long enough ancient manuscripts could be found, architectural principles observed, and art styles examined.

[[Image:Niederhagen_Camp.jpg|thumb|200px|KZ-Niederhagen]]Just offsite of Wewelsburg was the smallest German KZ , Niederhagen prison and labour camp.[http://www.iwm.org.uk/upload/package/55/ConferenceWebsite/downloads/Panel23.pdf] Begun on June 17th 1940, the camp was completed the following year and named after Niederhagen Forest, the name Himmler had given to the forest outside the castle several years earlier.

It began with 480 prisoners from [[Sachsenhausen concentration camp|Sachsenhausen]], and grew to 1200, comprised chiefly of Soviet [[POW]]s and captured foreign labourers shipped to Germany, although early in its life it was also a gathering point for [[Jehovah's Witness]] prisoners. During the [[SS]]'s December 1942 [[Korherr Report]] it was reported to have only housed 12 Jews all of whom had died.[http://www.ns-archiv.de/verfolgung/korherr/faksimile-lang/korherr-lang-13.php]

While Dante, Petrarch and the other stirrings of the Renaissance occurred in the first half of the fourteenth century, that era of turmoil saw little opportunity to develop these new ideas. The rise of [[Ottoman]] power disrupted the east, reducing the flow of trade. In [[1345]], [[England]] defaulted on its loans causing turmoil in the banking sector and destroying two of the largest banks. Two years later the [[Black Death]] would sweep Europe and the dense urban centres were especially hard hit. Widespread disorder followed, including the a revolt of the Florentine textile workers, the ''[[ciompi]]'', in [[1378]].

Of the 3900 prisoners held during the camp's existence, 1285 of them died and 56 were formally executed. In August 1942, the Allies began deciphering death tolls transmitted from the camps, Niederhagen had reported 21 deaths for that month.[http://www.fpp.co.uk/bookchapters/WSC/Typhuswar.html] The camp was dissolved in 1943 with most of the prisoners resettled in [[Buchenwald]], though several dozen prisoners remained behind, housed directly in Wewelsburg.[http://www.ns-gedenkstaetten.de/nrw/de/wewelsburg/thema_1/]

Paradoxically some of these disasters would further enable the Renaissance to arrive. The expansion of the Ottoman Empire at the expense of Byzantium caused an influx of wealthy and educated Greek refugees from the east, who brought with them both knowledge of classical Greek learning. The Black Death would wipe out a third of Europe's population, but the new smaller population would be much wealthier, better fed, and with more surplus to spend on luxury goods like art and architecture. The collapse of the [[Bardi Bank|Bardi]] and [[Peruzzi Bank]]s would open the way for the [[Medici]] to rise to prominence in Florence.

Hauptsturmführer [[Adolf Haas]], who had overseen the camp from its beginning, was transferred to a command position at [[Bergen-Belsen]], while Schutzhaftlagerführer [[Wolfgang Plaul]] was transferred to [[Buchenwald]]. Untersturmführer [[Hermann Michl]] had last been recorded at the camp in 1942, and later appeared at the [[Riga|Riga ghetto]].

==Italian Renaissance==

:Main article: [[Italian Renaissance]]

==Post-War==

Some historians mark the end of the Italian Renaissance as [[May 6]], [[1527]], when [[Spain|Spanish]] and [[Germany|German]] troops sacked [[Rome]]. In music history the end date is usually given as [[1600]], or even [[1620]].

[[Image:570_Wewelsburg.JPG|right|thumb|Wewelsburg 2004]]

On [[June 29]], [[1950]] the castle was reopened as a museum and youth hostel, while the Niederhagen kitchen had been renovated into a village [[fire station]].

In 1973, a two-year project was begun to restore the North Tower, and by 1977 it had been decided to restore the entire site as a war monument. It opened on [[March 20]], [[1982]], with several survivors of the Niederhagen camp present. [[Karl Hueser]] of the [[University of Paderborn]] was considered influential in the reopening project, and [[Wulff Brebeck]] would become the curator through the 1990s.[http://www.ns-gedenkstaetten.net/nrw/en/wewelsburg/entstehung/index.html]

===Politics and warfare===

A memorial was built in honour of the deceased Niederhagen prisoners in 2000, four years later the [http://www.wewelsburg.de/ Kreismuseum Wewelsburg] was granted [[German mark|DM]] 29,400 for restoring and moving the remnants of the Niederhagen camp, as well as producing an educational film on the Ukrainian and Russian prisoners who were housed there.[http://europa.eu.int/comm/culture/eac/other_actions/support_eur_org/pdf_word/resultsEAC33_2004.xls]

==Art==

In 2006 and 2007 it hosted the annual [[Internacia Seminario]], a meeting of [[Esperanto]] youth.

===Architecture===

The castle seems to be one of the major sources of inspiration for the [[Wolfenstein 3D|Wolfenstein]] games, such as [[Return to Castle Wolfenstein]] and [[Spear of Destiny (computer game)|Spear of Destiny]].

In Italy, the Renaissance style first started to develop in [[Florence]]. Some of the earliest buildings showing renaissance characteristics are [[Filippo Brunelleschi]]s sacral buildings S. Lorenzo and the Pazzi Chapel. The interior of S. Spirito expresses a new sense of light clarity and broadness, which is typical of the '''early Italian Renaissance''' (1420 to 1500). The revival of classical antiquity can best be illustrated by the [[Palazzo Ruccelai]]. Here the columns follow the [[Column|classical greek column order]]. The columns are topped by doric capitals on the first floor, ionic capitals on the second floor and corinthian capitals on the third floor.

The renaissance style developped to its fullest at around 1500 in [[Rome]]. [[St. Peter's Basilica]] is the most notable building of the era. Originally planned by [[Donato Bramante]], who was one of most prominent architects of the time, the building was influenced by almost all notable Renaissance artists, including [[Michelangelo]] and [[Giacomo della Porta]]. The beginning of the '''late renaissance''' in 1550 was marked by the development of a new column order by [[Andrea Palladio]]. Colossal columns that were two or more stories tall decorated the facades.

==Popular culture==

see also:

*Wewelsburg and its [[Black Sun (occult symbol)|Black Sun]] mosaic is the subject of the 2005 novel [[The Black Sun (James Twining)|The Black Sun]] by [[James Twining]].

*[[Renaissance architecture]]

*Wewelsburg and its [[Black Sun (occult symbol)|Black Sun]] mosaic is the subject of the 2005 novel [[Black Order (James Rollins)|Black Order]] by [[James Rollins]].

*Wewelsburg is one of the many missions in Medal of Honor Underground, which the player has to infiltrate and find the Knife of Abraham.

==See also==

===Painting and Sculpture===

*[[Nazi mysticism]]

*[[Karl Maria Wiligut]]

==Footnotes==

see also:

*[[Early Renaissance painting]]<br>

*[[Renaissance Classicism]]

<div class="references-small">

===Literature===

<references/>

In the early Rennaissance, especially in Italy, much focus was on translating and studying classic works from Latin and Greek.

</div>

== External links ==

The philosopher and author [[Machiavelli]] was an important Italian author who focused mainly on his own works.

* [http://www.ns-gedenkstaetten.net/nrw/en/wewelsburg/besucherinfo/index.html Kreismuseum Wewelsburg] (in English)

* [http://www.ns-gedenkstaetten.de/nrw/de/wewelsburg/thema_1/ Wewelsburg and concentration camp forced labour] (in German)

===Music and dance===

* [http://www.wewelsburg.de/ Kreismuseum Wewelsburg] (in German)

* [http://www.dergral.de/historie/wewelsburg.htm Wewelsburg website with interesting photos] (in German)

* [[Renaissance dance]]

* [http://www.ns-gedenkstaetten.de/nrw/de/wewelsburg/thema_3/ss_architektur.html Historical photos of the Wewelsburg] (in German)

* [[Renaissance music]]

* [http://www.dergral.de/Filme/german/wewelsburg.wmv Film clip about architectural plannings] (in German)

===Science and philosophy===

* [[Renaissance humanism]]

''Rinascimento'' is also considered as a sort of natural evolution of Italian ''Umanesimo'' ([[Humanism]]).

==Northern Renaissance==

[[William Shakespeare]] and [[Christopher Marlowe]] are important authors of the [[Elizabethan era]] in England.

==See also==

* [[List of Renaissance figures]]

* [[Renaissance man]]

{{coor title dms|51|36|23|N|8|39|06|E|region:DE-NW_type:landmark}}

==References==

De Lamar Jensen ''Renaissance Europe''

[[Category:Castles in Germany]]

==External links==

[[Category:Monuments and memorials in Germany]]

*[http://www.sca.org.au/cunnan/ Cunnan: A Wiki collecting information for re-enactors of the Middle Ages and Renaissance with a heavy slant towards members of the SCA]

[[Category:Buildings and structures in Germany]]

*[http://www.aiwaz.net/renaissance/ Alternative perspective on Renaissance]

[[Category:Visitor attractions in Germany]]

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