II. - Schloss Schwetzingen

III.
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III. Schwetzingen – Historical Context
his brother’s wife – a claim that was entirely
without foundation.
In the Palatine War of Succession that
followed, French troops occupied the country
for the fi rst time in 1689, destroying Heidelberg
Castle and ravaging the surroundings.
Schwetzingen did not escape either. On
22nd March 1698, a treasury offi cial, Johann
Thomas Urspringer, wrote: “The outer walls
of the palace at Schwetzingen are standing
fi rm, the middle storey, however, has collapsed
down to the lowest vaults... “. 40 Rebuilding the
palace was out of the question considering
the condition of the Palatinate, and Philipp
Wilhelm was unable to take charge again. He
died in 1691, leaving it to his son and heir,
Johann Wilhelm to rebuild his predecessors’
badly damaged old hunting lodge, as a stately
summer residence in the spirit of Absolutism
for the Electors Palatine.
The Conversion into a Summer Residence
Under Johann Wilhelm and Carl Philipp
As described above, Johann Wilhelm
undertook a complete restructuring of the
estate in the years from 1700 to his death
in 1716 (Building phase IV). The east-west
axis, originally created by Carl Ludwig in
the shape of an avenue east of the palace,
was given added emphasis by the wings
surrounding the court of honour in the east,
and the jutting corner towers of the new west
building. The original intention had been to
create a visual connection between the palace
at Schwetzingen and the “Squat Tower” of
Heidelberg Castle. 41 Johann Wilhelm’s brother
and successor, Carl Philipp 42 , resurrected this
idea. His main project was the building of
the orangery, which was to house the famous
collection of orange trees 43 from Düsseldorf
over the winter. This building was aligned on
the axis between the Königstuhl hill, rising
behind Heidelberg Castle and the summit
40 Martin 1933, p. 24, n. 1.; Gropp 1930, p. 22, n. 46; Sillib 1907,
p. 7.
41 Martin 1933, p. 41, n. 1 and 2.
42 Carl Philipp von Pfalz-Neuburg, 1660-1742, succeeded 1716.
43 Sillib 1907, p. 10; Martin 1933, p. 129, n. 2, bill for the
shipping of 760 plants from Düsseldorf to Schwetzingen, 15th
Nov. 1724.
of Kalmit, the highest hill of the “Pfälzische
Haardt” 44 . In order to enlarge the (originally
rather modest) garden and create the necessary
space for the building of the orangery,
land belonging to a number of Schwetzingen
farmers was expropriated – eleven years later
they were still waiting to be recompensed. 45
The commission went to Galli da Bibiena,
who was appointed chief architect by the new
Elector, and probably started building in 1718.
Two undated plans 46 show almost identical
ground plans for the orangery and its location
close to what today is the Arion basin. Its
south side is connected with the palace via a
roofed passage; the remains of this are still
visible next to the palace’s south wing (cp.
Volume 2, dendrochronological plan). A full
description of the building can be gained from
a detailed list of bricklaying work done for
the “electoral orange-house”, dating from 25th
February 1726. 47
Kurt Martin describes the chief parts of the
building thus 48 : “The central room of the old
orangery building was a large hall taking
up the entire depth of the building, and
emphasized on the outside by the fact that it
protruded markedly. The curving segments
that constituted the wings enclosed the garden
(as it was then); in this way, the orangery
constituted a corresponding architecture to
that of the palace. At the end of each wing
there was a pavilion, probably accentuated by
the structuring of the elevation. To the west,
the hall featured two small protruding alcoves;
between them was a terrace with steps leading
down to the open grounds. The garden front,
too, featured a base of low steps that served to
raise the architecture above its surroundings.
Above the central hall was a gallery which
probably protruded towards the garden. The
outside wall was structured by lesenes of
rough stone, and covered with plaster; the
44 Expropriation plan of 1758 with the old palace garden, GLA
KA; Martin 1933, Fig. 109.
45 Gropp 1930, p. 81.
46 Expropriation plan, 1753-58; ground plan of the old orangery
and the quarter-circle pavilions by Schreiber and Hoffer,
c.1753, GLA KA; Martin 1933, Figs. 109 and 69.
47 Gropp 1930, D. Anhang, pp. 145-156.
48 Martin 1933, pp. 90 ff.