Schloss


Schloss, formerly written Schloß, is the German term for a building similar to a château, palace or manor house. In the United Kingdom, it would be known as a stately home or country house.
Similarly, in the Scandinavian languages, the cognate word slot/slott is normally used for what in English could be either a palace or a castle. In Dutch, the word slot is considered to be more archaic; nowadays, one commonly uses paleis or kasteel.
Most Schlösser were built after the Middle Ages as residences for the nobility and not as true fortresses, although they were often originally fortified. The usual German term for a true castle is Burg, and for a fortress is Festung or — slightly more archaic — Veste. However, many castles were called Schloss, especially those that were used as residences after they lost their defensive significance, and many were adapted to new tastes during the Renaissance and Baroque periods.
Like a castle, a Schloss is often surrounded by a moat and is then called a Wasserschloss. Other types include the Stadtschloss, the Jagdschloss and the Lustschloss.

Examples of ''Schlösser''


Sometimes, the medieval Carolingian Kaiserpfalzen are considered as Schlösser already, such as the Palace of Aachen and the Imperial Palace of Goslar.
;Gothic
;Renaissance
;Baroque
;Neo-Baroque
;Neoclassicism
;Historicism
;Cross overs
In another context, Schloss is also the German word for a lock.