Duke Christoph's mother, Sabina of Bavaria, fled from her husband, Duke Ulrich, and from an untenable marriage. The son she left behind, who treated his father with great mistrust his entire life, was raised in Innsbruck at the court of Ferdinand I. He was involved in dynastic conflicts for many years. Duke Christoph imposed the Lutheran orientation of the Württemberg church once and for all, established thirteen monastery schools for training theologians and assumed the role of the political leader of German Protestantism. His court in the Old Palace was that of a Renaissance sovereign, who placed great value on courtly representation and self-portrayal. Duke Christoph's achievements in government laid the basis for Württemberg's body politic for over two hundred years. He began building the Front Palace (Vorderes Schloss) in Neuenbürg.
Heinrich Schickhardt was one of the first architects of the Renaissance. Born in Herrenberg in Württemberg, he worked with the court architect Georg Beer, together with whom he created the New Pleasure House (Neues Lusthaus) in Stuttgart and the Duke's Palace (Herzogliches Schloss) in Hirsau. In 1600 Schickhardt was appointed to the position of first architect of the Duchy of Württemberg. In the time that followed he planned and built in Freudenstadt (town complex), Stuttgart (predecessor building to New Palace (Neues Schloss), Granary (Fruchtkasten)), Tübingen (outer gate of palace), Leonberg (Bitter-Orange Garden (Pomeranzengarten)) and in Mömpelgard (Montbéliard). Schickhart also lived in this earldom in the possession of Württemberg for many years. He controlled the redesigning of the town and erected numerous buildings, e.g. the Church of St. Martin, (Kirche St. Martin), the Noblemen's Building (Kavaliersgebäude) of the palace and engineered structures, such as defense installations, bridges and cisterns. In Neuenbürg Schickhardt was responsible from 1610 for the interior appointments of the palace and the planning of the pleasure garden. The "Swabian Leonardo" died in 1635 in Stuttgart.
Ulrich made a "Grand Tour" through France as a young man. Following this journey he lived with his mother Barbara Sophie at Kirchheim Palace. He became a soldier and following the Peace of Westphalia was general of the German troops of the Spanish army in the Netherlands from 1649 to 1657. Ulrich received Neuenbürg Palace in 1651 as an inheritance. He lived there only very seldom. In addition to his military career, Duke Ulrich was also interest in art and collected paintings and books. He died in Stuttgart and lies buried in the Collegiate Church (Stiftskirche).
The poet Wilhelm Hauff was born in Stuttgart and studied theology and philosophy in Tübingen. He became a private tutor and editor at the "Morning Newspaper for the Educated Classes" (Morgenblatt für gebildete Stände) published by Johann Friedrich Cotta. Hauff wrote the historical novel "Lichtenstein", which made him famous. His fairytales and songs are also well-known.
His Black Forest fairytale "The Cold Heart (Das kalte Herz) is staged at Neuenbürg Palace as a walk-through exhibition.
The painter and sculptor Hans Ludwig Pfeiffer was born in Rome as the son of husband-and-wife painters and grew up in Bavaria, Breslau and Königsberg. He studied in Königsberg and Berlin. In the 1930's Pfeiffer worked as an illustrator and cartoonist for daily newspapers and as a stage designer. In 1942 he lost his artistic work following an air raid.
Hans Ludwig Pfeiffer was one of the co-founders of the art school on the Bernstein near Sulz on the Neckar river, an academy which he later also directed.
From 1953 to 1990 he lived and worked in Neuenbürg. He had his studio in Neuenbürg Palace. The focus of his fantastic-surrealistic late work was his creed "Man is the measure of all things".