In the Renaissance courtly celebrations were an important part of cultural life, which was also ascribed the function of legitimizing sovereignty and supporting the state. In accordance with this, splendid tournaments, processions and banquets were put on. At the wedding of Duke Ludwig von Württemberg to Ursula Dorothea von Baden in 1575 a fantastic table decoration of wax, resin, chalk, sugar and lead was built as a pate in the shape of a lion, a "garden with hunters, hounds and stags", a forest with Adam and Eve, the birth of Christ with the shepherd and the procession of kings, a mountain with a fountain of wine in the middle, a sow-and-hound hunt and live birds below it.
The famous Venetian once visited Stuttgart and also attended the
royal opera of Duke Carl Eugen von Württemberg. A memorable
event is said to have taken place there. "(...) When an aria
sung by a famous castrate pleased me greatly, I clapped. A minute
later a gentleman came to me and spoke insistently to me in German
in an impolite tone. I replied with only the four words which mean:
Ich verstehe kein deutsch (I do not understand German). He left
and another came to tell me in French that it is not permitted to
clap when His Grace is present in the theater. Casanova replied,
"Very well. Then I will come when His Grace is not here, for
when I like an aria, I cannot help but clap." Shortly thereafter
the Duke wished to speak to Casanova and permitted him to clap.
By the way, during the next aria the Duke clapped, however Monsieur
Casanova did not...
Hohenheim, 26 Sept., Tuesday, 1780
Heide wahr man die mereste Zeidt im Dörfle, ich kochde ein
Zwetschgen geseltz in meiner Kleinen Küch(...)." (Today
we were in the little village most of the time, I cooked a plum
marmalade in my little kitchen ...")
"Friday, 8 (June 1781)
(...) der herzog gaben audientz u. sonsten geng nichts sonderliches
vor, auch säde ich im Dörfle Salad u. der Herzog rechneden
in hinein." (... the Duke gave an audience and otherwise
nothing in particular occurred. I also planted lettuce in the
little village and the Duke raked it in).
"My darling little Franzele! (...) most beautiful little woman!,
the most important thing is, do you like me too? I have thought
of you a hundred times, and also that you would praise my patience,
yes, my Franzele, is always in my mind. Adieu, angel! I kiss you
a thousand times in my thoughts and am yours from all may heart
until death, the ruling Duchess, my dearest wife in Stuttgart."
Duke Carl Eugen von Württemberg, Kirchheim,
1786
Swabian Solitude and Roman Pantheon
It lies about one and a half little hours from Stuttgart. When the quarrels with the provincial diet began, the Duke was also seized by an anger against the city of Stuttgart and did not go there again. This also gave occasion to this new building. The Duke already had the large forest located there, the one on the peak of the mountain, chopped down and leveled. As a result the new palace was round, and wonderfully laid out like the Pantheon. Although it is not very large, it is built with very good taste."
"The city is well-built and is inhabited by a handsome and
strong breed of people. (...) The wealth of the earthly kingdom
and the ease of finding amusement at court or in the country are
the reason that one lives very well here. What we serve for 12 persons
is hardly enough for six here. Therefore, the resident of Stuttgart
is so comfortable at home that he becomes homesick at a distance
of 6 to 8 miles.
Johann Caspar Riesbeck, Letter of 14 April
1780
"It is impossible here to let the change which is recently
said to have taken place in the ceiling paintings of the Palace
with several naked figures pass without comment. It is namely said
that several painters were commissioned to make those ceiling figures,
which were in the state in which one of the most famous Greek beauties
had no doubts about exposing herself to the glances of the entire
assembled public, viewable even to the eyes of a vestal with thickly-covering
garments. (...)
Friedrich Matthisson, 1794
"Solitude, on one of the most severe heights of the forested
area between Stuttgart and Leonberg, which had appealed to him (Duke
Carl Eugen) due to its beautiful, far-reaching view, now became
a main place of joy. Like Ludwigsburg this palace was built on foreign
ground; it belonged to a neighboring village. Lakes were dug on
mountains, lined with clay and filled with water as corvée
service by thousands of farmers. The forests were illuminated: Entire
armies of fawns and satyrs sprang out of artificial grottos in the
middle of them and danced ballet at the midnight hour."
Carl Eduard Vehse,The Courts of Württemberg,
1853
From the "Provisions of His Royal Majesty" on the use
of "the royal complex behind the royal residential palace":
"Im Tal der Fluß. Auf
steilen Hügeln.
An seinen Ufern wächst der Wein,
Und auf des Abendwindes Flügeln
Zieh´n Wolken hell im Sonnenschein
Des Wandrers Blick, emporgehoben
Vom grünen Tal ins Himmelblau,
Sieht auf dem Bergesgipfel droben
der runden Kirche lichten Bau.
Hier kam zur Ruh der Strom des Lebens,
Hier ist der Toten ernste Gruft,
Hier ist das Ziel des Erdenstrebens,
Und leicht und rein ist hier die Luft.
Still scheint hier die Natur zu lauschen
Auf ihres eignen Herzens Schlag,
Und Wind und Fluß und Bäume rauschen
Ein Lied vom ewigen Feiertag."
Fjodor Iwanowitsch Tjutschew (1803-1873),
1835/36 übersetzt von Ludolf Müller
The Palace Square (Schlossplatz) before the New Palace (Neues
Schloss) has been adorned with an anniversary column since
1841, the 25th anniversary of the reign of King Wilhelm I.
The original wooden column was finished in granite in 1844, however
the crowning Viktoria at the top was not mounted at first. For this
reason, the public gave this column the nickname "Landeskerzenlicht"
(State Candlelight).
The landscape park to the west of Rosenstein Palace, which today
appears classical, accommodated a large cattle breeding operation
during the reign of King Wilhelm I. The milk produced by the cows
was made into butter and cheese at the adjacent dairy farm, and
the hay of the large meadows was used as feed for the "Rosenstein
Cattle".
During a visit to the Württemberg residence in 1855, the later Chancellor of the German Reich, Otto von Bismarck, received an invitation from King Wilhelm I to visit Wilhelma Palace, the "Villa". Only a select few enjoyed this privilege, and Bismarck expressed his appreciation of the "quite surprising originality". However, it would be "difficult to find "a collection of "female nudities" comparable to those here and in nearby Rosenstein Palace.