Ellwangen Palace rises up impressively on a mountain spur above the former monastery town of Ellwangen. Built around 1200 as a monastery castle, the building served from 1460 until Secularization as the royal seat and residence of the Prince Provosts of the Prince Provostship of Ellwangen and was characterized by a worldly royal household of the provosts, who had risen to the rank of imperial sovereigns.
In the 17th century the castle was converted to a four-wing palace in the style of the Renaissance and a Baroque decoration of the rooms was carried out from 1720 to 1727 with the installation of a representative staircase and ceiling paintings by the famous fresco painter Christoph Thomas Scheffler (1694 - 1756).
The palace has been home to the Palace Museum in its stately rooms (3rd floor) since 1908. The permanent and special exhibitions present the over 1,200 years of culture and history of the former Prince Provostship of Ellwangen with descriptive testimonials to the rich history. The furnishings of the Prince Provosts and the King, for example a cabinet cupboard from 1670, valuable collector pieces of Baroque ceramic from the Schrezheim Faience Manufactory or two Rococo mangers from the Swabian region, accompany visitors on their journey through fascinating centuries gone by.
You can get a brief summary on our flyer >>> Ellwangen Palace