Detmold Castle

In the 13th century, the noblemen of Lippe built a moated castle in Detmold. In 1468, Bernhard VII of Lippe made the castle his residence. By the middle of the 15th century, the castle had reached its present size. Around 1530, Simon V first ordered the construction of a fortification with roundels at the corners. Bernhard VIII commissioned Swabian master builder, Jörg Unkair, to rebuild the north, east and west wings in the Weser Renaissance style in 1550, incorporating the medieval keep.

After Unkair's death in 1553, Cord Tönnis supervised the work until 1557. Around 1672/73, the rear west wing completed the present four-wing complex, dominated at the entrance by a Renaissance-style keep and multi-storey oriel windows. Unkair's signature can still be seen in the right half of the façade, which has a simpler structure. The two stair towers on the courtyard side of the entrance wing also date from Unkair's time. On the parapet of the Trumpet Corridor opposite, a relief of Justice was placed between the ancestral coats of arms of the building's owners. Above the entrance to the castle on the courtyard side is a medallion with a portrait of the builder.

The interior of the castle is characterised by later periods. Baroque stucco ceilings were made by Italian masters around 1710. The Lippe court painter, Hans Hinrich Rundt, created the ceiling paintings at this time. In the Hall of Ancestors in the north wing, furnished in 1880-82, historical portraits were set into the wall panelling and supplemented by contemporary portraits. The King's Rooms contain a collection of high-quality tapestries depicting scenes from the life of Alexander the Great, woven in Brussels around 1670.