Schloss Oldenburg

Schloss Oldenburg (Oldenburg palace) is a schloss, or palace, in the city of Oldenburg in the present-day state of Lower Saxony, Germany. The first castle on the site was built around 1100 and became the ancestral home of the House of Oldenburg. The present building served as residence to the counts (1667–1785), dukes (1785–1815) and grand dukes (1815–1918) of Oldenburg. The building now houses part of the State Museum for Art and Cultural History, especially its decorative arts and local history exhibitions, as well as some old master paintings. Immediately outside the palace to the west and north is the Schlossplatz. Opposite it, to the north, is the Schlosshöfe shopping mall, opened in 2011. To the south are the Prinzenpalais and Augusteum, also part of the State Museum for Art and Cultural History. To the southwest is the Elisabeth-Anna-Palais, adjacent to the Schlossgarten Oldenburg, the main public park in Oldenburg.