Schwetzingen - Schlösser-Magazin

III.
42
Fig. 1: Mosque and courtyard,
aerial view (Photo: LAD
Esslingen, 2005).
III. Architectural Features
c)
The Mosque –
an Embodiment of
Eighteenth-Century Taste
and Thought
The mosque at Schwetzingen is the only
surviving 18th-century garden mosque in
Europe. Similar buildings at Kew, Kassel-
Wilhelmshöhe, Burgsteinfurt and Hohenheim
have been pulled down, some as early as the
late 18th century; the passion for garden
mosques was a short-lived one. 1 The building
at Schwetzingen, with its cloister and the
so-called Turkish garden, is of particular
significance, as here alone the architectural
and historical origins of the Oriental fashion
in late 18th-century garden art can be studied
and understood.
From the west the visitor is presented with a
view of the main front, a church-like central
plan with a portico, attic, tambour, dome and
cubic extensions on the sides. Quarter-circular
walls connect the central building with two
“minarets”. From this side the layout of the
building as a whole is not visible.
Approaching from the east, however, the
1 Martin Gaier, “Die Moschee im Schwetzinger Schlossgarten”,
in: S. Ögel (ed.), Okzident und Orient, Istanbul 2002, pp. 47-71,
esp. p. 56.
visitor is shown a different and impressive
view – the latticed walks, separate from
the main building, elaborately roofed and
arranged like a cloister. On this side the
structure is surrounded by an Oriental-looking
garden with meandering paths. The entrance
to the cloister in the east is marked by a
pavilion; its corners are emphasized by oval
pavilions set diagonally. The short east and
west sides each have a pavilion attached to
them on the outside, the longer north and
south sides have two small pavilions each.
The openings and latticed windows allow
numerous views of the pavilions and the main
building.
Building History
A Turkish garden is first mentioned in the
documents on 18th August 1774, when
architect Nicolas de Pigage reported on its
completion. It may be assumed that work on
it was begun around the spring of 1774 or
in the winter preceding it. A plan by Court
Gardener Friedrich Ludwig Sckell – which
differs from the garden actually created – was
probably drawn up in the summer of 1773. 2
From 1779 onwards, the cloister and pavilions
were built in this jardin turc; they were
probably largely completed by 1784.
Work on the mosque proper was carried out
in 1782-95, that is to say after Elector Carl
Theodor had moved to Munich. 3 As a building
it is first mentioned in the documents in
1782. 4 According to a report by Pigage, all
fronts of the main building were completed
in 1786, as were the dome and the quartercircular
walls connecting the central block and
the minarets. 5
It is evident that the work proceeded steadily
but very slowly. The chief reason was the
financial situation. Older research has
assumed
2 Wiltrud Heber, Die Arbeiten des Nicolas de Pigage in den ehemals
kurpfälzischen Residenzen Mannheim und Schwetzingen,
part II, Darmstadt 1986, p. 595.
3 Heber 1986, S. 596-600. Cp. also Claus Reisinger, Der Schloßgarten
zu Schwetzingen, Gerlingen 1987, pp. 63 f.
4 The term Mosqué was first mentioned in the building
documents in 1782. Heber 1986, p. 596.
5 Reisinger 1987, p. 63.