Schloss Solitude

After successfully making it through the holiday season, we disposed of the Christmas tree and took the decorations down. With our apartment feeling awfully empty, we decided it was time to get out and go see some of the local sights. Our first stop was Schloss Solitude (the Solitude Palace), which lies on the southwest edge of Stuttgart.

The palace was constructed between 1763 and 1769 by Duke Carl Eugen von Württemberg. Designed as a hunting lodge and summer residence, it was his most ambitious and most personal creation. He was also responsible for the construction of the New Palace located in downtown Stuttgart, which was seen in our Out and About post. Pictured above is the actual Solitude Palace building. In addition to this building, a large number of other buildings and an enormous garden (approximately the size of 100 soccer fields) were built on the grounds. Unfortunately the gardens, which contained four pavilions, a Chinesisches Haus (Chinese House), and numerous pools, greenhouses and stables, were leveled in 1810.

What remains on the palace grounds today is pictured below. The two large buildings that extend around the back side of the palace were constructed as the Officenbau (administrative and housekeeping building) on the left and the Kavaliersbau (Noblemen’s Building) on the right. The apartment of the Duke and chapel were located in the Kavaliersbau, which now serves as a restaurant. There was a theater in the Officenbau, which has housed the Akademie Schloss Solitude (Solitude Palace Academy), an institution that supports young artists, since 1990.

We arrived at the palace on a cold afternoon. From where we parked, we first walked by the Kavaliershäuschen (Noblemen’s Houses), which extend on either side of the Officenbau and Kavaliersbau buildings. We fell in love with these gorgeous little cottages and decided we would LOVE to live in one, especially one covered in ivy! As it turns out, today they are used as living quarters for students attending the Akademie Schloss Solitude. (Those lucky ducks! My college housing was never this cool!)

 The Kavaliersbau (Noblemen’s Building) on the left and the Officenbau (administrative and housekeeping building) on the right.

The back of the palace. The two girls to the right of the staircase were having a chilly photo shoot on the palace grounds with some fun costumes. I wanted to join in!

The open area on the ground level of the palace. The fact that this area is completely open to the elements didn’t stop them from making the ceiling beautiful.

View of the surrounding lowlands from the palace.

A door just my size!

My handsome husband with a crumbling statue.

The lobby of the palace on the ground level. We began our guided tour of the second floor here. The tour was in German, so we didn’t get too much out of it. Luckily, our tour guide was nice enough to tell us a bit about each room in English after he finished his detailed German description.

The first room on the tour – the Musikzimmer (Music Room).

The Weißer Saal (White Hall), which lies beneath the domed roof of the palace. It is where banquets and events were mostly held. It was breathtaking!

The Marmorsaal (Marble Hall). This was the only room in the palace with original hardwood floors. They were incredible!

Shhhhh…he’s watching you!

Looking into the Palmenzimmer (Palm Room) at the Mr.

The ceiling of the Palmenzimmer (Palm Room).

The elaborate door into the Duke’s bedroom from the Palmenzimmer.

I believe I have already mentioned that the day of our visit was very cold (although not as cold as it is today – the high today is supposed to be 19°F, the low was 7°F). Even though we were inside the palace, it was still freezing. It almost seemed colder in the palace than it was outside. Thus in the winter months, when the Duke was staying in his bedroom inside the palace, the fire had to be kept going all the time. Not a problem because there were tons of servants working there, right?…Wrong! There were lots of servants working at the palace but none of them were allowed to enter his bedroom without his permission. This created a problem at night when he was sleeping. So a tunnel was created from the servants’ quarters to the inside of the fireplace (which is what Andy is looking at). That way they could keep wood on the fire without having to enter the Duke’s room.

The library with gorgeous wood paneling.

Auf wiedersehen!