Alzire of Bayreuth

- New Palace, Bayreuth

The gardens of the New Palace, Bayreuth.

The Neues Schloss in Bayreuth stands regal just off the cobbled stone road near the centre of the Bavarian town. Stretching the length of an entire block from North to South the palace has a beautiful street facing facade with detailed ornate arched windows the height of two storeys. The palace was completed in 1758 to the the tastes and standards of Margravine Wilhelmina of Bayreuth. In front of the entrance to the castle is a large fountain with steps leading up to the main basin. At the centre of the fountain is an elevation with five figures rising from it. On the lower level these figures are representations of people from different parts of the ‘known world’ - the world as it had been ‘discovered’ and was thus known to Europe in the 18th century when the castle was completed. There is a black African man holding a bow and arrow riding a lion, a native American man riding a griffin, an Asian man wearing a turban with a spear in his hand riding a horse side saddle and an Asian woman riding a bull. Standing on a pedestal above them all is a white European man with his sword at his side. He is seated on a rearing horse surveying all that lays beneath him.

Visitors entering the palace are presented with a narrative prefigured by the symbolism of the fountain statue.