II. - Schloss Schwetzingen

2. The Cultural Landscape of Schwetzingen
Today’s Schwetzingen is situated in the northwestern
part of Baden-Württemberg, on the
low terrace of the Rhine valley, about 18 km
southeast of Mannheim and 12 km west of
Heidelberg. To the north is the alluvial fan,
created by the Neckar river where it meets the
Rhine; today the Leimbach stream runs in the
old channels. To the west, the largely unwooded
plain that has been settled since antiquity,
is bordered by the Rhine meadow; south are
the Hardt forests. East the Bergstraße, once
an important north-south connection running
through Heidelberg, skirts the foot of the
Odenwald hills.
The Transformation of Schwetzingen into a
Hunting Lodge (c.1225-1720)
As early as c.1225, when Heidelberg
became the main residence of the Palatine
Wittelsbachs, the Hardt forests and the
nearby settlement of Schwetzingen became
of interest as a hunting ground. 10 From the
Palatinate’s rising to the rank of an Electorate,
during the mid-14th century and into the
early 18th century, the Electors gradually
transformed Schwetzingen and its surroundings
into an aristocratic hunting lodge
and electoral hunting ground, permanently
altering the appearance of the region west of
their capital, in the process. 11 The only major
interruptions of this development were the
Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) and the Palatine
War of Succession (1688-1697).
The “fort” 12 (i.e. fortifi ed manor) of Schwetzingen
fi rst appears in a written document of
1350; it was probably Elector Ludwig V., who
10 Cp. Karl Wörn, “Auf dem Weg zur Großen Kreisstadt. Aus
Geschichte und Kultur Schwetzingens”, in: Badische Heimat,
1/1993, pp. 29-40. P. 32: In the 13th century Elector Ludwig I.
gave Heidelberg and Schwetzingen to his wife as a present.
Cp. Walter Koch, “Die Schwetzinger Hardt. Die sieben
Hardtgemeinden und die Renovationskarte der ‚Haard’ aus
dem Jahre 1782”, in: Badische Heimat, 3/1986, pp. 113-120. P.
114: Elector Ludwig II. adds the Hardt of Schwetzingen to the
Palatine possessions.
11 Kurt Martin, Die Kunstdenkmäler Badens, Vol. 10, Kreis
Mannheim, Stadt Schwetzingen, Karlsruhe/Baden 1933. P. 6:
In the 15th century, Elector Ludwig III systematically acquired
land in and around Schwetzingen. See also Ralf Richard
Wagner, “Das Goldene Zeitalter der Kurpfalz”, in: Badische
Heimat, 1/2004, pp. 20-35. In the 16th century, the Schwetzingen
forests were used both as a communal pasture and an
electoral hunting ground.
12 Cp. Martin 1933, p. 5.
III. Schwetzingen – Historical Context
turned it into a hunting lodge in the course of
the 16th century. 13 According to contemporary
depictions, 14 the building was situated on the
outskirts of two settlements, the Unterdorf
(Lower Village) in the north and the Oberdorf
(Upper Village) in the south (see Fig. 1).
It is assumed that the Unterdorf, with its
church and market originated as a “Haufendorf”
(an irregularly shaped village of
buildings arranged round a central square),
the Oberdorf as a “Straßendorf” (a settlement
of houses lining one main street). An open
space, today occupied by the palace square,
separated both settlements. 15 During the
Thirty Years’ War, Schwetzingen was sacked;
towards the end of the war the castle was
probably burned down. 16
After the war Elector Carl Ludwig I. had the
ruined castle converted into a palace with a
garden 17 , and a tree-lined avenue, the “Neuer
Weg”, was built to connect the new structure
with Heidelberg Castle via Plankstadt. 18
Later, a pheasant-house was added to the new
palace. 19 Early in the Palatine War of Succession,
the village and palace were burned to
13 Max Miller/Gerhard Taddey (eds.), Handbuch der historischen
Stätten Deutschlands, Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart 1980, p.
733.
14 Cp. Martin 1933, p. 23, fi g. 15 und 16.
15 Cp. Martin 1933, p. 400.
16 Martin 1933, p. 7.
17 Cp. Wilfried Schweinfurth, “Schwetzingen – Residenzstadt
oder Stadt mit Residenz?”, in: Badische Heimat, 2/2001, pp.
229-242.
Schweinfurth 2001, p. 231.
18 Schweinfurth 2001, p. 234. Cp. Martin 1933, p. 41. Here,
however, a path leading from Oftersheim to Schwetzingen is
called ‚Neuer Weg’.
19 Cp. Martin 1933, p. 89
III.
Fig. 1: Samson Schmalkalder,
View of Schwetzingen, 1690,
section of map (Karlsruhe,
Badisches Landesmuseum).
At the end of the 17th century
the electoral hunting lodge of
Schwetzingen bordered two
settlements.
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