Schlossinnenhof Osnabrück

The Schlossinnenhof in Osnabrück is the courtyard of the four-winged Baroque palace begun in 1667 for Prince-Bishop Ernst August of Brunswick-Lüneburg. After the secularisation of the prince-bishopric in 1803, the palace lost its residential function and was used for administration. The courtyard also became a setting for public ceremonies and gatherings. The palace was rebuilt after destruction in the Second World War and has housed the presidency and administration of Osnabrück University since 1974. In the west wing, preserved former Gestapo cells were opened as a memorial in 2001, adding a place of historical remembrance to the university complex. Ernst August of Hanover, prince-bishop of Osnabrück, put up a Baroque residence for himself between 1667 and 1673, four wings enclosing a courtyard at the southern edge of the old town. Bombing in 1945 left little but the shell. Restored, the building has served since the 1970s as the main house of Osnabrück University; students cross the courtyard all year, and in summer it is closed off for open-air performance, the four walls keeping the sound where it is wanted.