New Castle Tettnang

Tettnang Castle - usually referred to as Tettnang New Castle (Neues Schloss) - is one of three castles in the German town of Tettnang.

Originally a fort stood on the site of the New 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.