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  • Wagen und Schlittenhalle im Herzoginbau der Veste Coburg

Carriages and sleighs

With the two richly gilded bridal carriages from the 16th century the Art Collections have in their possession an outstanding treasure, as these are two of the earliest, fully preserved European carriages from the Renaissance period. The other objects highlight the changes in princely means of transport from the 17th to the 20th centuries.

Another very special feature is the collection of “carousel sleighs” or racing sleighs, which were used during festivities at the court of Coburg in the Baroque period. These sleighs were used for festive excursions and for the Damencaroussel, or “ladies’ carousel”, a Baroque tournament game. To play it, the ladies sat in the sleighs and put their skill and accuracy to the test with lances, daggers or pistols. The sleighs were steered by a gentleman who sat on the seat behind the box.

This richly decorated ceremonial carriage was used in 1586 at the wedding of Duke Johann Casimir of Saxe-Coburg to Anna of Saxony. While the chassis was probably made in Coburg, it is thought that the body of the carriage was made in Dresden and transported to Coburg.
At the front, two lions hold the coat of arms of the bride’s father, the Elector Augustus of Saxony. Mirroring this on the back are the Danish coat of arms, as the bride’s mother, Anna, was a princess of Denmark by birth.
The openwork carriage roof is also completely gilded and was probably originally covered with precious cloth. Heart motifs allude to the love between the young couple, but this was not to last. As early as 1593, Johann Casimir divorced Anna on the accusation of adultery.
The “Red Lion” carousel sleigh might be the earliest of the entire collection and was probably built around 1660-70 at the court of Ernest the Pious in Gotha. It arrived in Coburg with his son Duke Albrecht III in 1680.
The red lion represents the coat of arms of the Duchy of Berg and is mentioned in an inventory of 1699. It originally belonged to a group of sleighs “presenting all the coats of arms of Saxony”. Five of these have survived to the present day.
These sleighs were used for festive excursions and for the Damencaroussel, or “ladies’ carousel”, a Baroque tournament game. They could be viewed from all sides, which is why they were richly ornamented all the way round.
The “Ceres” carousel sleigh was built in Coburg around 1725. The sculptor Georg Kaufmann made this addition to the older fleet of “pleasure vehicles” on a commission from Duke Johann Ernst.
The sculpture on the sleigh body represents Ceres, the goddess of fertility and the symbol of summer. During the courtly carousel tournaments, both the lady seated in the sleigh and the cavalier who steered the sleigh sitting behind her dressed up according to the theme.
Used by members of court, the sleighs were also representative of the splendour and wealth of their princely owners. They were correspondingly richly carved, painted and gilded.