The Wilhelmspalais (german: link=no, Wilhelm's Palace) is a

Palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

located on the Charlottenplatz in Stuttgart-Mitte. It was the living quarters of the last Württemberg King

Wilhelm II , house = Hohenzollern , father = Frederick III, German Emperor , mother = Victoria, Princess Royal , religion = Lutheranism (Prussian United) , signature = Wilhelm II, German Emperor Signature-.svg Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor ...

. It was destroyed during World War II and between 1961 and 1965 reconstructed in modern style. The central library of the town, the

Stadtbibliothek Stuttgart The Stadtbibliothek Stuttgart (formerly ''Stadtbücherei Stuttgart'') is the public library of the city of Stuttgart. It is organized as a department of the city's cultural office and comprises the central library, 17 city district libraries, and ...

was situated in this building from 1965 until 2011. Since 2018 the City Museum of Stuttgart is situated in Wilhelm Palais.

History

The Wilhelmspalais was built from 1834 to 1840 by Giovanni Salucci, the court architect of King Wilhelm I of Württemberg in the Classical style. The king wanted to use it as a residence for his two eldest daughters, the Princesses Marie and Sophie. King Whilhelm also hired

Ludwig von Zanth Karl Ludwig Wilhelm Zanth, from 1844 von Zanth, also ''Zandt'' (6 August 1796 – 7 October 1857) was a German architect, architecture critic and watercolor painting, watercolor painter. Life and career Born in Breslau, Zanth was the son of ...

to design the interior of the palace. The grandnephew of Wilhelm II, also named Wilhelm, moved into the Wilhelmpalais until Wilhelm II abdicated on 30 November 1918. On 9 November 1918, revolutionaries stormed the castle. The property passed into the ownership if the city of

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...

upon the abdication of Wilhelm II on 30 November 1918. It became a museum in 1929 that featured exhibitions. The building was destroyed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Between 1961 and 1965, Wilhelm Tiedje rebuilt Wilhelmspalais in

Modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

style and then housed the Stuttgart City Library until 2011 when it moved to the new building at Milan court. Since the library moved out, it has been decided that Wilhelmspalais will become a museum once more (Stuttgart City Museum). Stuttgart architects Lederer Ragnarsdóttir Oei and Jangled Nerves started work in 2014. The museum opened in April 2018. The addition to a café and bar have been well received by the general populace, and Wilhelmspalais was a popular place to find local artists.

Trivia

*A modest statue of Wilhelm II stands outside the Palais.

External links

*
Search "Wilhelmspalais"
on the German Digital Library
Search "Wilhelmspalais Stuttgart"
in ''Digital SPK'' Portal on the

Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (german: Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz; SPK) is a German federal government body that oversees 27 museums and cultural organizations in and around Berlin, Germany. Its purview includes all of Berlin's ...

.
About Wilhelmspalais Stuttgart
on stuttgart.de

on the website of the Stuttgart City Museum
Virtual tour
made by Heiko Sting {{Authority control Palaces in Baden-Württemberg Royal residences in Baden-Württemberg