Ludwigsburg Palace

Ludwigsburg Palace
German: Residenzschloss Ludwigsburg
Arms of the Duchy of Württemberg, circa 1773
Ludwigsburg Palace's new corps de logis, or New Hauptbau, and the Blooming Baroque gardens from the south.
Alternative names	"Versailles of Swabia"
Etymology	Castle and residence of Eberhard Ludwig, Duke of Württemberg
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Palace
Architectural style	Baroque, Rococo, Empire
Location	Ludwigsburg district, Stuttgart region
Address	Schlossstraße 30, 71634 Ludwigsburg
Town or city	Ludwigsburg, Germany
Coordinates	48°54′0″N 9°11′45″E / 48.90000°N 9.19583°E / 48.90000; 9.19583Coordinates: 48°54′0″N 9°11′45″E / 48.90000°N 9.19583°E / 48.90000; 9.19583
Construction started	1704
Completed	1733
Cost	3,000,000 florins
Client	Eberhard Louis, Duke of Württemberg Charles Eugene, Duke of Württemberg Frederick I of Württemberg
Affiliation	Duchy of Württemberg Kingdom of Württemberg
Grounds	32 ha (79 acres)
Design and construction
Architect	Philipp Joseph Jenisch Johann Friedrich Nette Donato Giuseppe Frisoni Philippe de La Guêpière Friedrich Thouret
Known for	Residence of the Dukes of Württemberg
Other information
Number of rooms	452
Website
www.schloss-ludwigsburg.de/en/home/

Ludwigsburg Palace (German: Residenzschloss Ludwigsburg) is a massive, Baroque palace complex located in Ludwigsburg, Germany, about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) from the Baden-Württemberg state capital of Stuttgart. The palace complex, nicknamed the "Versailles of Swabia" is one of the largest Baroque palaces in Germany, and one of its most prominent features is the enormous garden around the palace of the same style. Today, its sumptuous interiors contain various museums and tourist shops.

The castle is surrounded on three sides by a massive garden, the Blühendes Barock (or "Blooming Baroque") that was arranged according to how it might have appeared around 1800 in 1954, the 250th anniversary of the start of construction on Ludwigsburg. Also on the grounds are the ancillary residencies of Monrepos and Schloss Favorite, which complete the grounds of this regional tourist attraction. Altogether, the gardens, sumptuous interiors complete with original furnishing, and the architecture altogether tell the tale of four distinct epochs of art and architecture: the Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassical, and Empire eras.

In the days before the palace of the 17th century, a hunting property with a falconry stood on the site of the current palace before it was razed by French soldiers in 1697. A few years later, Duke Eberhard Louis of Württemberg visited the court of French king Louis XIV and was so inspired by the Palace of Versailles that he, like many other German princes, decided to build a new baroque palace in Versaille's image to reflect his own dreams of an absolutist Württemberg. So it was that master builder Philipp Joseph Jenisch was commissioned to design and construct a new hunting retreat and pleasure palace for Eberhard Louis, who himself laid the foundation of what would become the largest Baroque palace in Germany in 1704. The next year, Eberhard Louis, in German Eberhard Ludwig, christened his new palace "Ludwigsburg," literally "Ludwig's castle."