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Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Marc Michelmann

The origins of Ludwigsburg date from the beginning of the 18th century (1718–1723) when the largest baroque castle in Germany, Ludwigsburg Palace was built by Duke Eberhard Ludwig von Württemberg. Originally, the Duke planned to just build one country home (albeit a palace), which he began building in 1704. However, the examples of other princes fostered a desire to project his absolutist power by establishing a city. To the baroque palace, he added a hunting lodge and country seat, called Schloss Favorite (1713–1728), and the Seeschloss (castle on the lake) Monrepos (1764–1768).




March 2019


A settlement began near the palace in 1709 and a town charter was granted on 3 April 1718. That same year, Ludwigsburg became a bailiff's seat, which eventually became the rural district of Ludwigsburg in 1938.

In the years between 1730 and 1800, the royal seat of residence changed back and forth several times between Stuttgart and Ludwigsburg. In 1800, Württemberg was occupied by France under Napoleon Bonaparte and was forced into an alliance. In 1806, the Kurfürst (Prince-Elector) Friedrich was made king of Württemberg by Napoleon. In 1812, the Württembergish army was raised in Ludwigsburg for Napoleon's Russian campaign. Of the 15,800 Württemberg soldiers who served, just a few hundred returned.





March 2019


In 1921, Ludwigsburg became the largest garrison in southwest Germany. In 1945, Ludwigsburg was made a "Kreisstadt" (urban district), and later, when the Baden-Württemberg municipal code took effect on 1 April 1956, the city was named a major urban district. In 1956 the tradition of the German garrison town was taken up again by the Bundeswehr, Germany's federal armed forces.

2004 was the 300th birthday of Residenzschloss Ludwigsburg, celebrated by the opening of the Baroque Gallery and the Ceramic Museum in the Residenzschloss.

Schloss Favorite is a Baroque maison de plaisance and hunting lodge in Ludwigsburg, Germany and was used as a summer residence and hunting lodge. It is located on a rise, directly north of Ludwigsburg Palace and connected via an avenue to it.

Schloss Favorite was built from 1717 to 1723 for the sovereign Duke of Württemberg, Eberhard Ludwig, to a design by Donato Giuseppe Frisoni. The model was the Gartenpalais in Vienna. The original plan provided for combining the functions of a hunting castle, surrounded by a vast park and hunting grounds, and a country villa with a beautiful view. In 1748, it served as a backdrop for a grandiose firework display arranged on the occasion of the wedding of Charles Eugene, Duke of Württemberg and Princess Margravine Elisabeth Fredericka Sophie of Brandenburg-Bayreuth.

March 2019


From 1806, King Frederick I of Württemberg converted the park into a ménagerie, containing wild boar, deer and chamois, and the house was used as a hunting lodge. At much the same time, the architect Nikolaus Friedrich von Thouret renovated the building's interior in the neoclassical style.

With the fall of the monarchy in the 20th century, the house was little used, neglected and fell into disrepair. It was restored from 1980 onward, and it opened to the public in 1983. The park has been transformed into a landscape garden, which has since served as an animal park. Today, the originally furnished castle rooms give an insight into courtly life.

Monrepos (German: Seeschloss Monrepos) is a lakeside schloss in Ludwigsburg, Germany. Although quite far and almost separate from Favorite Palace and Ludwigsburg Palace, it is connected to the rest of the grounds by way of pedestrian paths. It is one of the two minor palaces on the estate, along with the main one. The smaller ones were used as hunting lodges.

Of all three, this is the only one that is still owned by the royal family of Württemberg after its overthrow in 1918. Much of the privately owned land surrounding Monrepos is now an 18-hole golf course, unlike the state-owned part, which is made up of parks and museums.

Since the 16th century, the Dukes of Württemberg enjoyed hunting along the Eglosheimer Lake. In 1714, Duke Eberhard Ludwig had an octagonal pavilion, the Seehäuslein ("Little Lake House"), constructed on the northern shore.

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