Rastatt Palace

Rastatt, Germany

Schloss Rastatt is a baroque palace built between 1700 and 1707 by the Italian architect Domenico Egidio Rossi. The palace and garden were built to Margrave Louis William of Baden. During the Palatine war of succession the residence of Margrave Louis William of Baden-Baden had been burnt by French troops. A rebuild of the destroyed castle would not have suited the representative needs of the court of Baden-Baden. Since he also needed a home for his wife Sibylle Auguste of Saxe-Lauenburg, whom he had married in 1690, he had a new residence built in place of the former hunting lodge.

During this operation the 1697 hunting lodge was demolished to leave space for the new castle. The village of Rastatt was promoted to city status in 1700 and the Margrave moved here with his court. The residence in Rastatt is the oldest Baroque residence in the German Upper-Rhine area. It was built according to the example of the French Palace of Versailles. During the 19th century the castle was used as headquarters.

Inside the palace a large staircase with stucco decorations give way to the Beletage. The biggest and most decorated hall is the Ahnensaal. It is decorated with numerous frescoes and shows paintings of ancestors and of captured Ottoman soldiers.

The castle was not damaged during World War II. Today the castle is home of two museums, the military history museum and memorial site for the German liberation movement.

References:

Comments

Your name


Address

Herrenstraße 18, Rastatt, Germany
See all sites in Rastatt

Details

Founded: 1700-1707
Category: Palaces, manors and town halls in Germany
Historical period: Thirty Years War & Rise of Prussia (Germany)

More Information

www.schloss-rastatt.de
en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Kammerzell House (45,4 km)
Strasbourg Cathedral (45,4 km)
Ponts Couverts (46,2 km)
Palais Rohan (45,4 km)
Temple Neuf (45,4 km)
Barrage Vauban (46,3 km)
Speyer Cathedral (53,8 km)
St. Thomas Church (45,8 km)
Karlsruhe Palace (22,5 km)

User Reviews

Judy OBrien (9 months ago)
We experience the first concert in 18 months with Mayflower cruises amd Tours on the Scenic Jasper with this concert at the Palace in Baden Baden!! Bravo
olivier pochet (10 months ago)
Experience very upsetting Speaking French and not understanding German we were asked to wait a half hour to have a visit in English. We did. The visit was in German, we asked for written guides in French. The guide took very long time in each room (some people were falling asleep) Anyway we flue away from this visit. Very beautiful castle but Very bad service
Monalisa Chakraborty (10 months ago)
Beautiful castle with a wide garden in the backyard...
Van VietNam (10 months ago)
Very beautiful. Thanks ??
Victoria Fischer (11 months ago)
Very nice tour. I always like it when the tour guide tells a story rather than just listing names and numbers. Really fascinating.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Landmarks of Sicily
Photo from Flickr, copyright CucombreLibre

Historic Site of the week

Gruyères Castle

The Castle of Gruyères is one of the most famous in Switzerland. It was built between 1270 and 1282, following the typical square plan of the fortifications in Savoy. It was the property of the Counts of Gruyères until the bankruptcy of the Count Michel in 1554. His creditors the cantons of Fribourg and Bern shared his earldom. From 1555 to 1798 the castle became residence to the bailiffs and then to the prefects sent by Fribourg.

In 1849 the castle was sold to the Bovy and Balland families, who used the castle as their summer residency and restored it. The castle was then bought back by the canton of Fribourg in 1938, made into a museum and opened to the public. Since 1993, a foundation ensures the conservation as well as the highlighting of the building and the art collection.

The castle is the home of three capes of the Order of the Golden Fleece. They were part of the war booty captured by the Swiss Confederates (which included troops from Gruyères) at the Battle of Morat against Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy in 1476. As Charles the Bold was celebrating the anniversary of his father's death, one of the capes is a black velvet sacerdotal vestment with Philip the Good's emblem sewn into it.

A collection of landscapes by 19th century artists Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Barthélemy Menn and others are on display in the castle.

Map Top Sights Tags Historical Periods City Guides About Us Sign Up Upload new site
© 2022 SpottingHistory.com. All rights reserved.