Arsenal

The Grand Ducal Arsenal on the south-western bank of the Pfaffenteich in Schwerin, built between 1840 and 1844, is an impressive example of Tudor Gothic architecture. Today it serves as the seat of the state's Ministry of the Interior and combines historical architecture with a central location on the waterfront. The impressive Grand Ducal ensemble of the Arsenal stretches along the south-western bank of the Pfaffenteich. The imposing building draws the flâneur's gaze across the water and captures it. Georg Adolf Demmler drew up the plans for the Arsenal. These were implemented between 1840 and 1844 by the architects Herrmann Willebrand and Gottlieb Ruge - as an arsenal. The Grand Duke's decision to move his residence from Ludwigslust to Schwerin was also linked to the relocation of the garrison of the guard regiment. The new building was therefore to become both barracks and armory - a task for Demmler. The building included all the facilities required for military administration, namely the military court, the prison, the recruitment commission, classrooms, training rooms for the crews, a dining facility and stables. The Pfaffenteich, which had previously been located outside, was now included in the planning as an urban development motif, as further buildings soon developed there following the arsenal. As a result, the western bank had to be firmly enclosed. Grand Ducal administrative building projects provided the reason for the fortification of the area and the start of the development of the buildings. To the west, the medieval town around the historic Pfaffenteich had hardly grown at all. After the First World War, the police were housed in the Arsenal. Refugees found shelter here after the end of the Second World War until 1947. The Schwerin district administration used the large administrative complex as the headquarters of the People's Police after the GDR was founded. The style The style of the Arsenal is based on Tudor Gothic, the English late Gothic style, which is typical of the first decades of historicism. The massive towers of the central risalit and the corner pavilions are connected to the elegant canted turrets by the entire battlement crowning the eaves. The building gets its castle-like character from the continuous ashlar jointing of the wall surfaces. Refined in keeping with the times with a light coat of paint, the grand ducal administrative complex had the appearance of a representative stately palace on the waterfront. In the course of the complete renovation, the impression of a representative, stately palace on the water was lost. The Arsenal was initially used as an arsenal and after the First World War as police barracks. During the Third Reich, it was known as the Adolf Hitler Barracks. From 1945 to July 1947, it served as accommodation for refugees. After that, the building was the headquarters of the district authority of the German People's Police. Since 1990, the Arsenal has been the seat of the State Ministry of the Interior.