introduction

Molsdorf Palace’s ornamental facade, the richly adorned south aspect.

Alongside the motorway linking the cities Erfurt and Arnstadt lies the small community of Molsdorf famous for its baroque-rococo palace. The building with its four wing extensions located in eight hectares of English Gardens is undoubtedly one of Thuringia’s most notable sights, renowned for its of majestic architectural and artistic style and its fascinating history extending back to the 16^th century.
 

Originally built as a moated castle, it had its heyday in the 18^th century, when its owner, Gustav Adolf von Gotter, commissioned its reconstruction into a representative rural residential Palace. Von Gotter was a Prussian diplomat and playboy.  Even today the Palace bears the imprint of his imagination, his wit and his artistic taste. Gotter’s favorite motto was “Enjoy all pleasure to the full“, a motto he had inscribed in all four corners of the palace’s magnificently appointed ball­room.
 However, his pleasure was destined to be short lived. In 1748 he was obliged to sell the Palace that he had acquired in 1733 and transformed at great expense. After these fifteen glorious years it lost significance and fell into neglect.  Only in the nineteen fifties did extensive reconstruction of Molsdorf Palace begin. Its restoration has proceeded in small steps and is still going on. The Palace has now again assumed an attractive prominence, that might be figuratively considered an act of respect by the present owner for the creative intelligence of its original founder.

text and pictures: folder "Schloss Molsdorf"
translation: webmaster