Jagdschloss Springe

The Jagdschloss Springe stands in the Saupark Springe on the Deister hills near Springe. Built between 1837 and 1842 for King Ernst August I of Hanover, it served as a royal hunting lodge. The single-storey building was later extended in Prussian times, adding a western side wing in 1875 and the Kaisersaal dining room in 1877. Further alterations included an upper floor and mansard roof in 1889 and a manager’s house behind the western wing in 1898. Between the world wars it became a children’s home, then after 1945 a district hospital until 1961. The site is notable for royal hunting parties. Kaiser Wilhelm II held imperial hunts here every two years from 1894 until the last in November 1912. During the Nazi era Hermann Göring used the Kavalierhaus for his hunting guests. Since 1967 the building has housed the Museum für Natur – Jagd – Kultur and the Jägerlehrhof, which trains professional hunters and runs seminars. The western wing now contains the Saupark forest office of the Niedersächsischen Landesforsten. Visitors find the restored classical entrance hall with painted walls and ceilings, the recreated Kaisersaal with period furnishings, and displays on hunting, nature and local culture. The forest park around the lodge offers woodland walks and quiet glades. The museum occupies the main building while the forest office and teaching rooms lie in the western side wing.