Schwetzingen - Schlösser-Magazin

VI.
Fig. 6: Findings 6 – Quoins of
the former southwestern corner.
Medieval rusticated blocks
underneath, the added storeys
with cushion-shaped bosses
on top.
Fig. 7: Findings 7 – In the
centre is the octagonal Renaissance
stair tower on the south
side (Photos: Knoch/Erb).
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VI. Schwetzingen – Historical Context
exterior wall provide information about the
building. A construction joint and a break in
the basement, mark the join of the medieval
north-west corner (Fig 4; Findings 4a;
Findings 9). The upper edge of the basement
is no longer smooth; it has acquired a quarterround
moulding. The former north-west
corner, dating from the mid-16th century,
is still visible in the shape of quoins from
ground floor to roof (Fig. 10; Findings 10). To
the left of them, two of the original floor-level
windows have survived; the sill is a reworked
Baroque version (Fig. 10; Findings 11).
The southwestern corner of this, the palace’s
largest single building, features another stair
tower with a spiral staircase, which resembles
the one on the south side (Fig. 11; Findings
12).
The surface treatment of the building recalls
that of the older medieval one; some of the
old rusticated blocks were even re-used in
the walls. Mostly, however, new blocks with
cushion-shaped bosses have been used. The
deliberate roughness suggesting well-fortified
strength, has become a Renaissance conceit
(Fig. 6, original south corner; the shape of the
blocks changes between the second and third
floor).
The building done in the 14th and 15th
centuries (tinted purple) is hard to determine
without invasive measures. Easiest to identify
is the square, barrel-vaulted room adjoining
the donjon to the east (Findings 13). All that
remains apart from it is probably stretches
of wall, that somehow escaped the later
rebuilding.