Solitude Castle

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Solitude Palace, south facade of the main building
Between the “cavalier houses”, a view of the palace complex at night
Solitude Castle at night
Panoramic view of the castle, north facade
Cavalier's cottage
Plan for the castle and the no longer existing gardens

Solitude Castle (from French solitude 'solitude') was built between 1763 and 1769 by Johann Friedrich Weyhing and Philippe de La Guêpière as a hunting and representation castle under Duke Carl Eugen von Württemberg .

In 1858 “die Solitude ” became part of the municipality of Gerlingen (Württemberg). Solitude was not incorporated into the city of Stuttgart until April 1, 1942. Since 1956, the area is one of Solitude to Stuttgart District Stuttgart-West . The palace or the Hermitage Solitude lies on a long ridge between the cities of Leonberg , Gerlingen and the Stuttgart districts of Weilimdorf and Botnang . Built directly on the edge of its northern slope, it offers a view to the north of the Württemberg lowlands towards Ludwigsburg .

Solitude Castle

history

The construction period was marked by political and financial adversity. Carl Eugen was a prince who loved building and representing himself - Giacomo Casanova , for example, gave an enthusiastic description of the splendid court rulings, the buildings and the technically sophisticated theater performances. The construction exceeded the financial possibilities of the Duchy of Württemberg. Because of the financial problems of the state, the duke came to political conflicts with the influential Württemberg estates in Stuttgart, as a result of which the duke moved his residence from Stuttgart to Ludwigsburg. Ultimately, the elaborate representation and maintenance of Solitude were neither financially nor politically sustainable. As early as 1775 the court was stopped there and relocated to Hohenheim .

In 1770 the Karlsschule (since 1781 Hohe Karlsschule ) was founded by Duke Carl Eugen and was initially located in the ducal pleasure palace Solitude. It served as a military academy, an art academy and later as a general university and was intended as an elite school for sons from respected Württemberg families. Her most famous student was Friedrich von Schiller , who was enrolled there just like his father Johann Caspar Schiller . In 1775 the school was moved to Stuttgart. Friedrich Schiller also spent some time as an apprentice (student) on the Solitude.

Schiller's father became head of the ducal court gardens at Solitude Palace in 1775.

Later the site was less used and the gardens fell into disrepair. The Eberhard Church was demolished and rebuilt at its current location on Königstrasse in Stuttgart. The castle and domain were leased and used as a hotel. During the war of 1866 a field hospital and in 1870/71 a main hospital were set up.

After further decay, the building was heavily damaged in the middle of the 20th century and the roofs rotted away. The ceiling paintings by Nicolas Guibal and the ceiling frescoes were largely destroyed by water damage . 1972–1983 the Federal Republic of Germany renovated the building with the interior including the frescoes and ceiling paintings.

From May 1968 to 1986 there was an autonomous student residence in today's academy building. Many of the residents were musicians, actors and dancers, as well as social workers, architects and engineers. They got together and organized concerts, jazz sessions, dance theater and other art projects. Professor KRH Sonderborg from the Stuttgart Art Academy, the conductor Manfred Schreier and the actress Bettina Kupfer were frequent guests.

Todays use

Solitude Castle is open for tours. It is one of the state's own monuments and is looked after by the “ State Palaces and Gardens of Baden-Württemberg ”. Since 1990 , the Schloss Solitude Academy has been housed in the outbuildings of the palace, the two offices and cavaliers buildings, and has made it its mission to promote the next generation of artists. The cavalier buildings serve, among other things, as apartments for scholarship holders.

The Graevenitz Museum is also housed here. It shows works by the Stuttgart sculptor Fritz von Graevenitz (1892–1959).

Architectural style

Solitude Palace was designed by a working group under the guidance of the court architect Philippe de La Guêpière at court, with the active participation of the prince himself and a few other builders such as Johann Friedrich Weyhing . Outwardly it is a typical rococo castle . Inside, however, the early classical era is already noticeable: Instead of the irregular, lively forms of the Rococo, the rooms and walls are divided into calm, classical proportions.

Imitators

Like many other castles, Schloss Solitude was copied quite late. In 1908 the Franconian baron and imperial Rittmeister Crafft Freiherr Truchseß von und zu Wetzhausen planned an exact replica in his Franconian homeland near Schweinfurt . The Württemberg King Wilhelm II prevented this plan. Thus, with Craheim Castle, a new palace was built, the south facade of which is merely based on Solitude.

View through the north gate over Solitude-Allee
Memorial plaque for the national survey, which used the avenue as a base

Solitudeallee

Duke Carl Eugen had Solitude-Allee built from 1764 to 1768 as a direct connecting axis from the Ludwigsburg residence to his favorite place to stay on Solitude . It begins at the northern main gate of Solitude Palace. As a nameless wide path it leads steeply down the slope. At the foot of the slope it joins the Bergheimer Steige. From the Weilimdorf district of Bergheim, it is called Solitudestrasse . It continues through the Wolfbusch district to the center of Stuttgart-Weilimdorf . From the boundary to Korntal , the street name is Solitudeallee . Via Korntal it continues to Stuttgart-Neuwirtshaus , Stuttgart-Stammheim and Kornwestheim , then as an asphalt dirt road over the Lange Feld to Ludwigsburg .

Despite the hilly landscape, it is an exact straight line and could therefore serve as the base line for the Württemberg state survey of 1820. Today it is almost completely preserved. Only in Weilimdorf, where it coincides with the main street, and in Ludwigsburg, where it crosses the railway site, is there a slight offset.

According to the plaque inside the palace, it is 40,118.718 Paris feet or 13,032.14 meters long.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ To the best of his knowledge, this happened on the recommendation of the then Vice-Director of Rentkammer, his close friend Johann Christoph Dertinger (1731–1787), a nephew of the prelate Friedrich Christoph Oetinger . Cf. Reinhard Breymayer : Between Princess Antonia of Württemberg and Heinrich von Kleist's Käthchen von Heilbronn . News on the magnetic and tension fields of Prelate Friedrich Christoph Oetinger . Heck , Dußlingen 2010, p. 24 f.
  2. ↑ See the letter from Schiller's father: “Dearest son! [...] In addition to the fact that I wanted to inquire about his condition at the moment, I informed him that our former Mr. Cammer-Director [Johann Christoph] Dertinger will soon be coming to Mannheim and inquire about him there. This is one of my best friends and has shown me a great deal of friendship for the 33rd years that I have known him, and as far as I know, I have been with Serenissimo [d. i. Duke Karl II. Eugene of Württemberg] proposed for my post here. ” Schiller's works. National Edition, Vol. 33, Part 1, Ed. Siegfried Seidel, Weimar 1989, pp. 9 f.- See the comments ibid., Vol. 33, Part 2. Ed. By Georg Kurscheidt. Weimar 1998, p. 100 f .; the register.

literature

  • Architectural studies. Published by the Architects' Association. Kgl. Polytechnic in Stuttgart 1870 / approx. 1874, volume 3, sheet 4.
  • Gotthilf Kleemann: Solitude Castle near Stuttgart. Construction - heyday - decline . Ernst Klett Verlag, Stuttgart 1966.
  • Eberhard Fritz: The castle in solitude - Duke Karl Eugen and his hunting castle Solitude. In: Ludwigsburg history sheets 68/2014. Pp. 99-134.

Web links

Commons : Schloss Solitude  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 48 ° 47 '12.8 "  N , 9 ° 5' 3.5"  E