The Little Pheasant Castle, known locally as Fasanenschlösschen, is an eigteenth-century hunting lodge located on the grounds of the Moritzburg estate, outside Dresden, Germany. The building was designed by the Dresden architect Johann Daniel Schade (1730-1798) and constructed between 1770 and 76, to be used for hunting pheasant and other small game. (...)
The Little Pheasant Castle, known locally as Fasanenschlösschen, is an eigteenth-century hunting lodge located on the grounds of the Moritzburg estate, outside Dresden, Germany. The building was designed by the Dresden architect Johann Daniel Schade (1730-1798) and constructed between 1770 and 76, to be used for hunting pheasant and other small game. The interior spaces were decorated with rare and exotic rococo finishes. The full range of finishes includes painted wood and plaster, stucco lustro (a special plaster finish in imitation of marble), mural paintings on canvas, inlaid wood paneling, painted and gilded ceiling stucco, as well as unique finishes crafted out of materials like embroidered silk, straw, pearls, and feathers. In royal hands until 1945, the building was then used as part of a natural history museum, until it was closed for restoration in 1996. After eleven years, the building opened for very small groups of visitors. Such is the fragile condition of the interior that visitors to the Little Pheasant Castle have been asked to use white gloves and protective footwear inside the building.
