Fürstenhof (Ducal Palace)

The Fürstenhof stands on the southern side of the Marktplatz and is the finest example of Italian Renaissance architecture in Mecklenburg. Built between 1512 and 1555 for the Dukes of Mecklenburg, the building presents an elaborate facade of terracotta ornamentation quite unlike anything else in northern Germany: relief friezes, medallion portraits, classical architectural details, and a general exuberance that contrasts sharply with the sober brick Gothic of the surrounding churches. The building was updated and expanded several times through the sixteenth century, and different phases of the Italian Renaissance influence are visible in different parts of the facade.

The Fürstenhof now houses the city's Amtsgericht (district court), which limits interior access. The exterior, however, is fully public and can be examined at length from the Marktplatz. Standing in front of it and then turning to look at the Nikolaikirche tower a few streets away captures the two great architectural traditions of sixteenth-century Wismar in a single glance.

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A story
When the Dukes of Mecklenburg built the Fürstenhof in the mid-sixteenth century, they decorated the facade with a terracotta frieze depicting scenes from the Trojan War — a deliberate statement of Renaissance learning in a city still dominated by brick Gothic churches. During the Swedish period (1648–1803) the building served as the seat of Swedish administration for their German territories, one of the more unexpected legacies of the Peace of Westphalia in a town that still shows Swedish street names.