The Neo Byzantinian Empire of Stropon

[Yoman]

Excellent update. The battle reminded me alot of the novel War & Peace (well the whole MD does really )

What real battle were those images taken from?

[Strechnitz]

Kwakelaar Thank you my friend for the compliments. and yes, if time allowes me I have a lot in store for december.
Suplado Welcome and thanks It is a matter of using the Loteditor
Emperor Stormont 1&2 Thank you Michael. Revol and I both felt that a battlefield a la Waterloo was something not yet seen And being neighbours we soon 'remembered' our little war. 
Bat thanks mate!
ElPhantasmo Welcome in Stropon then and I'm glad that you like it here. don't be a stranger
Rooker1 I know I am so terribly "wordy" I try to shorten things and increase the number of pics But the important thing is that you like it and can laugh about it. it is all for fun in the end the squares and gardens are often mine sometimes I relot buildings as well. If you want to have something just let me know. 
And I'll be watching back at you
Sebes Thank you Sebes. It was fun to make, and a joy to work with Revol on this joint effort.
Nova VesfaloHey, welcome back my friend. Glad you like it. 
Yoman he he thanks. I have read it but not based on it (as far as I am aware of it ) the battlepaintings are from several different battles. and from a south african painter. they are very new apart from the one used for the surrender. that is a vintage painting of Wellington inspecting his troops at waterloo. I can look up the artist for you if you will. I have taken them from the internet.

And now for the update at hand.




Good evening. My name is Alexandra von Hofenburg, and welcome dear viewers, to the new series of Sights and seeings. After a thrilling start of this season with our visit to Kaiserbürgen we then showed you the treasure trove of Listerlunde. And now... now we will take you to what is generally seen, as the loveliest of all the imperial residences. And not only so, but it is also, apart from the imperial citadel, the oldest imperial residence still in use today. Indeed, Dampotzen Palace, the praised Imperial summer residence.

And here we are, in front of the main gates of the Dampotzen complex. But we will not enter here, oh no. This gate and indeed the entire entrance did not exist until the late eighteenth century. No, we will enter through another gate which stands on the spot where the original entrance used to be. And this is only one of the many major changes the Dampotzen palace and park have witnessed through the ages. Will you follow me?

Countless architects, artists and labourers have worked for generations to turn the site located where the Zerlingen River joins the Strachen River into a veritable earthly paradise. Many emperors have left their mark here although the improvements of some have been completely erased by the improvements of later emperors. The main function of Dampotzen was to entertain and offer peace and quiet in the summer months. Ruling an empire is quite an undertaking you know.

But before we enter through the gates, let me tell you a bit of the history of this special place.
And that history starts in 1493. The Empire is still young, it has just started its second decade. Emperor Victor Otto I had restored order and had built up an administration to run the Stroponian lands. Peace and trade brought the first signs of stability and prosperity to his loyal subjects. And the borders were secure and unthreatened by neighbours.

And so the Emperor could start spending time on leisure. Everybody knew about Tivoli, the fabled summer palace of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. A man made paradise, in size and luxury unrivalled by anything built by king, pope, or emperor in later centuries. Emperor Victor Otto I formed the idea to build himself a modern Tivoli where all the good things of the classical age would be incorporated. But where to build it?

Dampotzen itself was in those days a small hamlet with small castle consisting of a large donjon surrounded by defence walls. They were given to a commander who had thought well in the war of conquest in 1472 which was as you know the birth f the empire. That lord, whose name happens to be lost in history, was found in bed with one of the imperial princesses. He and his family felt the wrath of the emperor and were executed. The princess was sent to a nunnery to spend the remainder of her life alone and chaste.

The castle was modified to be more comfortable and some gardens were made around it. It was however still a far cry from Tivoli and could not stand any comparison, but the first summer residence was now a fact. It was seldom used for long periods for it was custom in medieval times for kings to travel around and empty the larders and wine cellars of their lords rather than his own. It was part of the taxes they were due to the emperor.

Around 1520 Hector Friedrich II, nicknamed the benevolent, wanted his own summer residence and let his peers come to him instead of the other way around.

He had the macabre castle demolished and a proper renaissance pavilion constructed after the new fashion of the day. The italian renaissance.

He also ordered the construction of the square garden which we can still see today. and apart from the design of the fountains and the center pavilion the lay out of the knot gardens is virtualy unchanged.

In 1593 Victor Augustus I, nicknamed the pompous, rose to the throne. The Stroponian Empire was very prosperous at the time and the young emperor had a taste for fine architecture and was a celebrated patron of the arts. It was he who extended Kaiserbürgen palace and rebuilt the Imperial Citadel in Strechnitz in 1598. He also beautified Dampotzen.

In the midst of the forest surrounding the gardens he built 'der Wasser Palast' or water palace. Which was a series of connected pavilions that could be used for dinners and balls.

On the terrace down by the river fireworks would light up the dark skies. these elegant and impressive firework displays were also enjoyed by peasants and burgers of the nearby towns who used to have their own picknicks and parties on the river bank on the other side of the Strachen where the water palace lay.

unfortunately it were also the fireworks that burnt down the original Water Palace. After which the current was constructed on the same spot. But that's for the next part of the series where we will enter the pavilion and also make a visit to 'der neue palast' or new palace which was built after the small palace of Hector Friedrich II was demolished. bye.



Strech.

[Emperor Stormont]

WOW, truly fabulous work, the palace and gardens look stunning, love the large amount of trees and open green spaces also, has a natural yet beautiful feel to it while at the same time looking well planning.

Truly fabulous work Hubert. 

[JanYpe]

 

Don't mind me, I'll just sit here for a while and take it all in. 

:edit: It's good to see that Dampotzen is in a lot better shape than the Villa Adriana is now.

[sebes]

Wonderful story Hubert - wonderful. The overview of Damplotzen Palace grounds is amazing...you can be very pround on such result. However, I am kind of pleasantly shocked by the beauty and simplicity at the same time of the first picture that you show : the entrance to the complex... I don't know why, but I can fall in love with that picture!

[ElPhantasmo69]

Excellent story! The design of the gardens is awesome.

[Schulmanator]

This has the makings of a fabulous palace! 

[kimcar]

  Sorry to not post often , but it`s not because i don`t like. I relly enjoy looking your excellent work. You are an artist. Great work.

[bat]

Another wonderful update there! And great places, too!

[suplado!]

great huge palace! its really amazing and i also like the large gardens around it

[paroch]

OMG,

Only just caught up with your MD.  Not had the chance to go through it all but that last update is amazing.  I have never seen, nor even contemplated such a large estate.  But with your story and the pics you produce something magnificent.

I'll be back for more.

[Pat]

Hubert wonderful updates as normal from you!!! Great colaberation you have going on with Revol and i love the twist!!! So i must inquire as my mind is very inquiring as you probaly allready know, is this true peace or a setup? 

[Revol]

The new palace is amazing! wow!!! 

The joint update was so much fun, hope we can collaborate again in the future! 

[Adept2Rock]

Waow!So big!!So realistic!So beatiful like French Castle!

[tkirch]

WOW.  The complex is huge.  Versailles has nothing on you, that is awesome

[Badsim]

Hi Hubert ,

I'm glad that you take that occasion (to be a second time in the "Special Interest of the Month" - congratulations ! ) to show us more pictures again . Frankly , I don't follow the story ... ( too much time & efforts trying to translate and understand ... I'm sorry .)
About baroque style MD/CJ(s) , your is far ahead ... That's not an easy subject ( 'cause that's easy to be "too much" ) and you successfully reach the feat to be convincing .
Looking at your fabulous gardens , I just can name you the André Le Nôtre of our SC4 world ...

Yes sir ... wonderful !

[kwakelaar]

Like Badsim has said, André Le Notre of SC4 is something that describes your gardening style very well. Also like Sebes pointed out the entrance to this complex is a very nice creation, great job. Fantastic that you have dug up the Brighton Pavilion, I hardly ever see it in any MDs but it is a very well made bat, and you have put it to good use here.
I look forward to the rest of the tour of this palace.

[Shadow Assassin]

I want to see more!

It's beautiful in that egotistical Imperial way, of course.

[Strechnitz]

WOW, you all surprise and spoil me with your comments. The reason you have heard not much from me these last days is that i am in the middle of my exams. I have some time now to respond tou your posts. But fear not. coming thursday is my last exam for this period. So friday the next installment of the Dampotzen palace showcase.

so...stay tuned

Emperor StormontThank you Michael. as opposite to Listerlunde Palace I wanted to integrate the buildings and formal gardens into the surroundings. That is why the formal gardens are surrounded by english romantic gardens (a bit densely wooded but still) and around that a shell of natural forest. in the next updates you will see much more details.

Jan Ype I hope you have taken it all in now? for the details will reveal much more than this overhead view. 
And yes, than god it does look better than the villa Adriana does today. but then again. Dampotzen is still "in use" as fatr as that's possible with a virtual palace.

Sebes Thank you Sebes I am glad that you like the entrance. I will show you a better one once we get to the Grand Palast (red roofed palace) in part 3. It has worked out to my satisfaction also. combining the gates of Debussyman and the pavilion of Kwakelaar has resulted in a very pleasant and fitting combination. And instead of the usual tarmac/asphalt the driveway is topped with cobblestones. which give a much more rustic feel to it.

ElPhantasmo Thank you, I am glad that you like it. and this was just the first quarter of the entire update.

Schulmanator Thank you for saying that. I am very pleased with the results of this project. wait till you see the rest of it in detail.

Kimcar don't worry about not posting often. I find it more important that you like what you see here than upping the ratings

Bat Thank you my friend.

Suplado Glad you like it but this is only from far away. the details I'll post next week are nicer...I hope

Paroch Well, welcome to Stropon my friend, And if you like large estates. you'll probably love Listerlunde palace. If you click the image in my signature or go to the table of contents on page 21 of this MD you can see my other palaces and estates under the header "Palaces"  have fun! 

Pat Thank you Pat, the collaboration with Revol on the War of 1807 was great fun to do. And I'm glad that you like Dampotzen.

Revol Thank you my friend. And yes indeed, after celebrating 200 years of peace we could go to war,... or do something else together.

Adept2Rock Bonjour mon ami. Versailles and Veau le Vicomte were my first inspirations for this palace.

Tkirch Thank you my friend. I find that a very kind remark. I'll treasure that

Badsim I am sorry for that mon ami. I wish I could translate it into french for you but the pictures speak for themselves dont they   Oh WOW. thé André Le Nôtre of SC4. I consider that a great honour. I consider him the master gardenarchitect of the baroque era. It was my wish to produce something recognisable as baroque. So you have made me very hapy with this comparison.  Je vous remercie mon ami, pour se grand honeur!

Kwakelaar Thank you my friend for your kind words. I have written in Sebes reply how much I myself like the entrance to the main palace. In my opinion it is a first class combination of your pavilion and Debussyman's Listerlunde gates. What is also nice is that in that pic you see the first glimpse of the banners that Heblem has so kindly produced for me.

Shadowassasin Don't worry my friend. you will see more. In fact you will see all of it in due time. Friday is only a few days away.

Well that's it for now. In a few days part 2 will come to you all.

Strech.

[Ennedi]

Hello Hubert,

It's my first visit in your MD, but I must say I lurked in it many times  and the main reason I didn't post anything here was my poor English - I had some troubles with your extensive story  . In fact I can understand everything, but I must read with a dictionary (I don't like translators, the translation quality is usually very poor) and it needs a lot of time. My time is often very limited, so...

Your story is great, and your RL pictures (both old paintings and new photos ) are excellent! I'm constantly amazed where do you get them from 

You show beautiful buildings here. Your space arrangement skills are great too. I'm not a fan of French gardens, I rather like English ones with their natural and intimate parts, but your extremely well ordered parks harmonize very well with your story 

Congratulations on the second advance to the "Special Interest..." and best wishes for you!

Adam