WHERE BISMARCK LIVES.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume IX, Issue 15, 9 April 1892, Page 371

WHERE BISMARCK LIVES.

An hour distant from Hamburg is the castle of Friedrichsruhe, the residence of the Prince and Princess Bismarck, writes the Countess Wilhelmina in a sketch of the homelife of the Bismarcks, in the Ladies' Home Journal. It is situated :n a dense forest, bordered by river, hedge, and wall, which render it invisible alike to road anil rail passengers. Originally built for a hunting-lodge by Count Frederick of Lippe Sternberg, in 1763, it was converted later into an inn — * Frascati,’ as it was called—whither the inhabitants of Hamburg went on holidays, and where they held their picnics and carnivals. In 1871, when William I. presented the estate to Bismarck the house proper consisted of a two storeyed yellow-painted structure. It has remained the main building, although considerably enlarged and altered since that time. The effect within is bare and plain. Walls and ceilings are white washed, the furniture is scanty and uncomfortable, and ornaments are few. A large portrait of the Emperor William, in the enormous dining room, and photographs of various members of the Bismarck family, and of several of the Prince's colleagues, comprise the only art specimens that the castle contains. Its grounds are extensive and beautiful, dense woods, a winding river and handsome shrubbery combining to secure this effect. They were, in former years, open to the public ; but the flowers and trees were so mutilated by visitors in quest of * souvenirs de Friedrichsruhe ’ that it was found necessary to close the gates. The life at the castle is one of rural simplicity ; possessing but few neighbours, its inmates rely for entertainment upon themselves and the guests with whom the house is always crowded. Extensive entertaining is also the rule at Varzin, and at the ancestral home of • Schonhausen,’ the two other estates of the ex Chancellor.