Schloss Rastatt

Rastatt Castle

Schloss Rastatt is a baroque schloss in Rastatt, Germany. The palace and the Garden were built between 1700 and 1707 by the Italian architect Domenico Egidio Rossi as ordered by Margrave Louis William of Baden.

History

During the Palatine war of succession the residence of Margrave Louis William of Baden-Baden had been burnt by French troops. A rebuild of the destroyed castle would not have suited the representative needs of the court of Baden-Baden. Since he also needed a home for his wife Sibylle Auguste of Saxe-Lauenburg, whom he had married in 1690, he had a new residence built in place of the former hunting lodge.

During this operation the 1697 hunting lodge was demolished to leave space for the new castle. The village of Rastatt was promoted to city status in 1700 and the Margrave moved here with his court. The residence in Rastatt is the oldest Baroque residence in the German Upper-Rhine area. It was built according to the example of the French Palace of Versailles. During the 19th century the castle was used as headquarters.

The castle was not damaged during World War II. Today the castle is home of two museums, the "Wehrgeschichtliche Museum" (military history) and Erinnerungsstätte für die Freiheitsbewegungen in der deutschen Geschichte (Memorial site for the German liberation movement).

Interior

File:Schloss Rastatt Prunksaal.jpg

Prunksaal.

A large staircase with stucco decorations give way to the Beletage. The biggest and most decorated hall is the Ahnensaal ("Ancestral Hall""). It is decorated with numerous frescoes and shows paintings of ancestors and of captured Ottoman soldiers.

See also

• List of castles in Germany
• List of Baroque residences

External links

• http://www.schloss-rastatt.de/en/palace-rastatt/Home/268159.html English page of Schloss Rastatt