Karlsruhe Palace

In the middle of the forest Karl Wilhelm von Baden-Durlach built his new residence “Carlos Ruh” on 17 June 1715. Initially the Karlsruhe Palace was planned as a pleasure palace. And so it soon became the first and central building of the new city of Karlsruhe.

Karlsruhe Palace – Pomp, Splendor and Nature

The castle was built between 1715 and 1718. For almost 200 years it served as the residence and government seat of the margraves. After that it was the residence of the electoral princes and grand dukes of Baden. Karlsruhe Palace received its Baroque appearance in the second half of the 18th century after alterations and extensions, which were based on plans by Balthasar Neumann. The plans were realized by architect Friedrich von Kesslau and Wilhelm Jeremias Müller.

The palace is the centre of Karlsruhe’s urban layout, which is formed by 32 radial streets. Hence its name ” fan city”: on the Via Triumphalis, the central axis of the rays emanating from the castle, Karlsruhe’s building and urban history is concentrated. From the city tower you can best see the unique regularity and symmetry of the city’s layout. A wonder of urban architecture.

Since 1921 the castle has been the seat of the Baden State Museum. In September 1944 attacks destroyed large parts of the castle. During the reconstruction it was decided to reconstruct only the exterior in a historically correct way.

The Karlsruhe castle had a number of representative rooms and others intended for the staff. Important rooms were, for example, the Marble Hall and the Garden Hall located in the tower wing. The throne of Baden was alternately located in different rooms of the castle. The interior decoration was in the baroque style.

Castle garden

The castle garden is located on the northern side of the castle. The garden facing the Hardtwald forest was laid out by Christian Thron in the French Baroque style between 1731 and 1746. As late as the 18th century, Grand Duke Karl Friedrich had parts of the park converted into an English landscape garden. In addition to numerous rare species of trees, the Karlsruhe palace garden contains rare plants, works of art, monuments and fountains from various eras – from Baroque to Modernism. To the west is the Botanical Garden.