Schwetzingen - Schlösser-Magazin

honour wings, a golden yellow, to emphasize
the different ages of the buildings. 92 Hans
Möhrle was in charge of a thorough renovation
of the theatre in 1937 – the northern quartercircle
pavilion was converted into a theatre
lobby and palace restaurant. Some of the
additions and furniture, imitating historic
styles and of remarkably fine craftsmanship,
have survived (Schlossrestaurant und
Kurfürstenstube).
The palace was spared destruction during
WWII. In the second half of the 20th
century, large-scale and costly renovation
and maintenance work was carried out. The
palace theatre, the main palace building, the
Temple of Apollo, and finally the mosque and
bathhouse, were carefully and thoroughly
renovated. The relevant reports and plans
have been archived by the authority in
charge, the Schwetzingen planning office of
the Baden-Württemberg State Agency for
Property Assets and Construction, Mannheim
department (Bauleitung Schwetzingen des
Landesbetriebs Vermögen und Bau Baden-
Württemberg, Amt Mannheim; bis 2004:
Staatliches Vermögens- und Hochbauamt)
and incorporated in a management plan, the
“Baupflegekatalog”. 93
All building and repair work done in the
course of the 20th century was supervised by
the State Department for the Conservation of
Monuments (Staatliche Denkmalpflege), and
reflects the ongoing international discussion
on the treatment of historic buildings. 94
Considering the sheer number of individual
92 Schwetzinger Zeitung, “Ochsenblut und Eigelb - der Schwetzinger
Farbenstreit”, n.d., early 1930s; the article states: “In
1924/25 the palace has been rescued from its state of decay by
a thorough renovation. The State of Baden invested a million
and a half [...] the entire palace has received a new garb in
brilliant red and yellow. [...] This colour treatment has met with
a storm of protest [...].“
93 Baupflegekatalog: A documentation, drawn up as part of
the management plan by Hans-Dieter Proske, director of the
Bauleitung Schwetzingen, which documents the history of uses
and alterations of every building in the palace grounds. The
Bauleitung Schwetzingen keeps approx. 1,000 plans, reports
and documentation, incomplete up to 1980, complete since
then.
94 Application of the law for the protection of cultural monuments
(Monument Protection Act of Baden-Württemberg) of
1975 and the Venice Charter of 1964. Item 793 29 in the state
budget of the Land of Baden-Württemberg: Schwetzingen,
restoration of palace, 1962; overall expenditure up to 2005:
€52m; budgeted: €71m.
VI. Schwetzingen – Historical Context
measures, only two examples taken from the
palace and garden can be discussed in detail.
VI.
Fig. 4: Wilhelm Schweitzer,
ground plan of the Temple of
Apollo, c.1930 (From: Martin
1933, p. 197).
Fig. 5: Photo taken in 1937: The
new palace restaurant in the
north quarter-circle pavilion
(From: Leopold/Pelker 2004,
p. 349).
177