Schwetzingen - Schlösser-Magazin

2. The Palace Interior Through the Ages
The palace of Schwetzingen, once a medieval
fortress, underwent many alterations in the
course of its 650-year history. Not only the
building itself, but also its interiors, were much
changed over time. Especially the demands
made on a Baroque summer residence
necessitated a lot of refurbishing. From the
time before the Palatine War of Succession
only a few Gothic rooms with oriels survive.
As regards the interior decoration and
furnishing, little is known even of the early
Baroque period.
The earliest remains date from the time of
Elector Carl Philipp (1716-1742): fine stuccoed
ceilings on the first floor and a recess for
an oven on the second. Between 1748 and
1785, Elector Carl Theodor commissioned
the architect Nicolas Pigage (1723-1796) to
redecorate a number of rooms in a Rococo
style. Pigage, who was director of gardens
and water features too, had little chance
of influencing the outer appearance of the
palace – the look of the main building,
wings and quarter-circle pavilions, had long
been determined. Only in the design of the
interior could he make his influence felt, and
he cooperated with the Elector in designing
the mantelpieces, wainscoting and stuccoed
ceilings. When the rooms were apportioned,
those in the north of the ground and first
floors became Carl Theodor’s apartments
(Rooms 103-107), while the southern rooms
on the ground and first floors became those
of the Electress, Elisabeth Auguste (Rooms
115-127). The medieval core building did not
allow a symmetrical layout modeled on that
proposed by French theoretician Blondel, and
so the two linear suites of rooms (enfilades)
were arranged east-west and north-south
instead. Both include antechambers, salles de
compagnie or salles d’assemblée, chambres de
parade and cabinets.
The second floor was reserved for the
apartments of Duke Christian von Pfalz-
VI. Schwetzingen – Historical Context
Zweibrücken (1722-1775) and Count Palatine
Friedrich Michael von Pfalz-Zweibrücken
(1724-1767). When Carl Theodor’s longawaited
son and heir died, they had become
next in the line of succession. The rooms were
not elaborately decorated, however.
The most valuable and authentic interior of
the electoral age is without a doubt, that of
the bathhouse in the Schwetzingen grounds.
Built c.1775 by Pigage and the court craftsmen
from Mannheim in a neo-Classical style, it
has survived intact, except for some pieces
of furniture. This is where Carl Theodor
retreated when he wanted to be merely “a
good man and pleasant companion”. 62 The
interior betrays the Elector’s very modern
personal taste; the intimacy and functionality
displayed here did not become customary
until the 19th century. The walls and furniture
are designed to complement each other; the
precious materials add to the dignity of the
rooms.
Besides the court carpenters Zeller and Graf,
Carl Theodor employed a master furniture
maker from Osthofen, Johann Georg
Wahl. Among other things, Wahl created
a highly decorated bureau for the Elector’s
62 Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart 1777. From: Dietrich
Rentsch, Schloss und Garten Schwetzingen, Karlsruhe 1987,
p. 44.
VI.
Fig. 1: Room on the first floor
of the central block, historical
photograph dating from the
early 20th century (Staatliche
Schlösser und Gärten Baden-
Württemberg, Bruchsal).
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