II. - Schloss Schwetzingen

c)
History of the Palace
1. The Origins of the Castle and Palace
The following text reviews the state of research
into the origins of the palace complex
(up to 1700) and reports on current research
regarding developments in the 18th, 19th and
20th centuries.
Building History
When Carl Theodor became ruler of the
Palatinate in 1742 at the age of eighteen, 1
the heritage included, among other things,
the summer palace at Schwetzingen. At the
time, the palace’s core buildings were almost
identical to those still visible today, with the
exception of the later kitchen building and
the quarter-circle pavilions 2 . Both of Carl
Theodor’s predecessors – Johann Wilhelm
(1690-1716), who rebuilt the palace after
the ravages of the Palatine War of Succession,
and Carl Philipp (1716-42), who used
Schwetzingen as the regular residence of the
Elector Palatine up to the completion of his
new palace at Mannheim 3 – had been fond of
their summer retreat, and the opportunities
it offered as a hunting lodge. The Palatinate
hunts were widely famous. 4
The new Elector was faced with a team of
veteran court architects (Bibiena, Rabaliatti
and Zeller), 5 whose building style had shaped
the Absolutist “look” of the residences of
Mannheim and Schwetzingen for the past
four decades, and, who had more or less
1 1724-1799; 1733 Count Palatine in Sulzbach; 1742 Elector
Palatine; 1777 Elector Palatine and Elector of Bavaria.
2 North pavilion built 1748-50, south pavilion 1753-55.
3 „For a period of more than ten years, Carl Philipp had to make
do with the ‘Oppenheimer Haus’ serving as a palace during
the months spent in his winter residence – the summers were
spent in the country, at Schwetzingen Palace” and “it was only
in 1731, that Carl Philipp moved into his new palace”, from:
Stefan Mörz, “Haupt- und Residenzstadt; Carl Theodor, sein
Hof und Mannheim”, in: Kleine Schriften des Stadtarchivs
Mannheim, no. 12, Mannheim 1998, pp. 19 and 24.
4 Die Lust am Jagen, exhibition catalogue, Staatliche Schlösser
und Gärten Baden-Württemberg (ed.), Ubstadt-Weiher 1999.
5 Alessandro Galli da Bibiena, b. Parma 1687, d. Mannheim
1748, from 1719 primus architectus of the Elector. Francesco
(Franz Wilhelm) Rabaliatti, 1716-1782, pupil of Bibiena, 1742
appointed court architect by Carl Philipp. Sigismund Zeller,
1680-1764, succeeded Court Builder Breunig in 1727.
III. Schwetzingen – Historical Context
divided up the building work due to be dealt
with among themselves.
While Mannheim had been planned on the
drawing board, a new city 6 with a prestigious
residential palace, there was a centuries-old
heritage to be considered at Schwetzingen.
Palatine history and tradition demanded to be
treated with respect. Even after the ravages
infl icted fi rst by the Thirty Years’ War, and
later by the Palatine War of Succession of
1689/93, pulling down the old buildings and
replacing them with a new palace was never
even considered, damaged though they must
have been.
Johann Wilhelm: Reconstruction and
Absolutist Beginnings
It was the interest Carl Theodor’s predecessor
Johann Wilhelm von Pfalz-Neuburg 7 took in
the Palatinate, after the devastation infl icted
on it by Louis XIV’s French troops, that
gained him a standing with the inhabitants
of his heartland. He had spent many years at
his Düsseldorf residence, seemingly without
taking much notice of Schwetzingen. Now,
however, that attitude changed – the estate at
Schwetzingen was renovated and converted
into a comfortable summer palace. The only
hindrance was the claim of ownership of the
widow of Johann Wilhelm’s predecessor. The
Elector made several offers, but Wilhelmine
Ernestine of Denmark 8 refused to sell.
It did not prevent Johann Wilhelm from
embarking on the necessary repairs, although
Court Architect Alberti’s 9 plans for a grand
6 Mörz 1998, s. n. 3, pp. 19, 24.
7 Johann Wilhelm v. Pfalz-Neuburg, Duke of Jülich and Berg,
Elector Palatine, b. 19th April 1658 in Düsseldorf, d. 8th June
in Düsseldorf; succeeded his father as Elector Palatine on 2nd
September 1690. The Palatine War of Succession (1688-1697)
prevented the planned move from Düsseldorf to Heidelberg.
Supported by his second wife, Anna Maria Luise of the Medici
family (1667-1743), he made his Düsseldorf residence into one
of the major European centres of the arts; the Palatinate had
nothing comparable to offer to this splendour-loving Baroque
prince. After: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon,
DAHM, Christof, Vol. III, 1992, cols. 171-174.
8 Ernestine Wilhelmine of Denmark, b. 20th June 1650. She
married Elector Karl II (1651-1685) in 1671, a marriage that
remained without issue and thus led to the Palatine War of
Succession. She died on 23rd April 1706 at Schwetzingen,
in the palace given to her by her husband on 22nd February
1681.
9 Count Matteo Alberti, born in Venice, 1690-1716 Oberbaudirektor
of Johann Wilhelm, active mainly in the Rhineland
(Schloss Bensberg).
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