The Schwetzingen Castle with its magnificent palace garden served the Palatinate electors as a summer residence.
background
There is evidence of a moated castle from 1350. In the 15th century it came into the possession of the Electors of the Palatinate, who used it as a hunting lodge. It was rebuilt after it was destroyed in the Thirty Years' War, and it was also badly damaged in the War of the Palatinate Succession. Today's palace largely corresponds to the reconstruction of 1697, but the magnificent palace garden with an area of 72 hectares was not built until 1752. During these years, the palace served the Electors of the Palatinate as a summer residence. After the electoral Palatinate was dissolved in 1803, Schwetzingen became part of the Grand Duchy of Baden and lost its importance.
Dynamic cardsToday the entire facility is managed by the State Palaces and Gardens of Baden-Wuerttemberg.
getting there
The castle is in the center of Schwetzingen. It is less than a kilometer away on foot from the train station. You can get there by car via the signs in the direction of the center or the castle. You should use one of the numerous signposted parking spaces, as parking near the castle is only permitted for a limited time on weekdays.
Tourist Attractions
Access
Entry only to the palace garden
- Summer time: adults € 6, reduced € 3, open daily 9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. (2017)
- Winter time: adults € 4, reduced € 2, open daily 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Entry to the palace and garden
- Summer time: adults € 10, reduced € 5, Guided tours from Tuesday to Friday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sa, Su 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Winter time: adults € 8, concessions € 4, guided tours on Sat, Sun 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m., Fri only 2 p.m.
Foreign language and special tours by appointment. Some of the castle rooms are accessible as part of a guided tour. The lounges and bedrooms of the valets as well as the living quarters of the elector and his wife can be visited. Of particular attraction are the Themed tours, with the leaders in historical clothing explaining the situation at the court of the electors.
Further information
Schlosskasse Schwetzingen, Tel. 49 (0) 6202 128828
The complex of the castle is aligned on an axis that goes straight to the east over the castle square Carl-Theodor-Strasse and on about the Kurfürstenstrasse and the Mulberry Avenue to Heidelberg pointing to the former royal palace of the electors. This axis goes to the west Kalmit, the highest mountain in the Palatinate Forest May Chamber.
The main building of the castle
If you stand at the gate of the castle, you first have the guard houses in front of you, here are the cash registers and the shop. One looks directly at the central building, it is the oldest part of the castle and dates from the 16th / 17th century. Century. The wings of the courtyard adjoin to the left and right; they were built around 1700. In the central building is the passage to the castle garden, a door on the right side leads to the castle tours.
Some of the rooms in the castle are accessible as part of a guided tour. The lounges and bedrooms of the valet as well as the living quarters of the elector and his wife can be visited. Of particular attraction are the Themed tours, with the leaders in historical clothing explain the situation at the court of the electors.
The circular buildings
Left and right of the main building are on the garden side Circular constructions, These buildings, erected around 1750, were used for representation purposes, today concerts and exhibitions take place in them, some of the rooms can be rented and can be catered for in the castle restaurant. Behind the northern circular building is the castle theater, which is for the Schwetzingen Festival is being used.
The French garden
The part facing the middle section is as french garden executed, in the center of which the Arion's Fountain stands. The figures are related to myths and legends of antiquity, but even without knowing them, one can see the splendor of the flowers Ground floor enjoy, which is renewed three times a year by the gardeners. On the southern side is their depot, next to it an orchard. On the northern side is the Orangery, there is an exhibition on horticulture. Also worth seeing Lapidary, the original stone sculptures from the castle park are kept here protected from weathering. The French garden ends with two large stone sculptures depicting a deer hunt.
The English garden
At a greater distance from the castle, the garden merges into one English country garden with old trees, with several ponds and watercourses. This natural-looking part of the garden is loosened up by a number of smaller and larger buildings. Some of these are briefly described. The orangery leads directly to the following area:
- The Temple of Apollo: There is a on a platform Monopteros with a figure representing Apollo. It is framed by a small terrace that served as a theater stage, including a lawn hollow as an auditorium Sphinxes (Sphinx figures).
- The Bath house, a building owned by the Electors Carl Theodor used as a private refuge. A representative anteroom leads into a study and a relaxation room, behind it the marble basin in the floor of the private bathroom. The water was heated in the bathroom kitchen next to it.
- The Perspective, an arcade with a painting at the end, also known as end of the world referred to as.
- The water-breathing birds, They represent an ancient Greek fable. An eagle owl has a dead bird in its fangs in a basin and is spat upon by its conspecifics. The scene of metal animals is complemented by aviaries with live birds.
At the end of this landscaped garden is a lake with canals leading to it. One of them is crossed by the Chinese bridge. In the central axis of the lake are two large statues depicting the river gods Danube and Rhine symbolize. On the southern side you come to the Mercury temple, which was designed as a ruin, is currently being extensively renovated.
The mosque
It is the most striking structure in the palace gardens. Despite its appearance, this mosque was not a place of worship, nor was it planned to be one. Nevertheless, it is worth taking a closer look at the building. On the one hand it is the ornamental decoration of the building, there are the inscriptions and sayings, it is the courtyard modeled after a cloister, and it is one of the few buildings in which one is allowed to take photos.
 Interior of the mosque |  The red mosque in the palace gardens |  Exterior view of the cloister |
kitchen
- Schwetzingen Castle Restaurant, P.O. Box 1849, 68708 Schwetzingen (In the northern circle building). Tel.: (0)6202 93300, Fax: (0)6202 933030, Email: [email protected]. Open: from April 1st to October 31st daily.
Practical advice
There are three toilets on the 72 hectare facility. The first is immediately to the right of the passage in the side wing, a second is somewhat hidden next to the bath house kitchen, the third between the temple of Mercury and the mosque in the southern part of the garden.
literature
- State palaces and gardens in Baden-Wuerttemberg (Ed.): Schwetzingen Palace Gardens. German Art Publishing House Munich Berlin, 2008, ISBN 978-3422020566 , P. 80.
