The story of this place
Duke Eberhard Ludwig of Württemberg began Ludwigsburg in 1704, expanding it into one of Germany's largest surviving Baroque palaces with 452 rooms across 18 buildings. He moved his entire court here, partly to be near his powerful mistress Wilhelmine von Grävenitz, who wielded such influence over the duchy that she was eventually banished. Later dukes added a rococo theatre — the oldest preserved Baroque theatre in Europe with its original stage machinery — and Germany's oldest surviving garden, the 'Blooming Baroque'. Poet Friedrich Schiller was born nearby and Justinus Kerner set gothic tales here. The palace never suffered war damage, so its interiors survive almost wholly authentic.