Germany is full of beautiful palaces in all shapes, sizes and colours. You may recognise the famous ones like Neuschwanstein – perhaps better known as the “Disney Castle” – maybe you’ve even visited a few yourself. But one palace you’ve probably never even heard of is a small but incredibly ornate former hunting lodge just outside of Stuttgart centre, known as Schloss Solitude.
Commissioned in 1763 by the then Duke of Württemberg, Charles Eugene, the palace is set in the countryside and originally functioned as both a place of residence and a hunting lodge. It has had multiple uses since, and even acted as a student accommodation in the 60’s and 70’s! Today nobody lives on site, but its a great little local attraction with guided tours through the rooms, as well as a cafe and paths to walk amongst the grounds.
It’s possible to take a bus from Stuttgart centre directly to the palace, but Sam and I opted for the more interesting route, heading on a forest walk which began directly behind the university campus where I live. The first stop on this route was a series of three connected lakes – Pfaffensee, Neuer See and Bärensee – located to the north of the campus, in the Rotwildpark woodland area. Stretching across almost the entire width of the park, the lakes are a popular local walking spot and they were looking lovely and green during our visit.
We reached the middle lake first, the Neuer See, and from there walked around and between two of the lakes to the Bärenschlössle, a reconstructed “pleasure palace” retreat that now houses a cafe/restaurant. We didn’t go in here but it was pretty busy, so I assume the food and drink is decent enough! Instead we sat outside on a bench for a snack break and to figure out the next stage of our walk.
From here we took a path leading northeast, which led us shortly to a large red deer enclosure where we did indeed spot some red deer. And then we came across one of the highlights of the walk – the wild boar enclosure! We were lucky enough to be there at the right time of year for the babies, and they’re so adorable with their cream-striped coats and playful behaviour. It was really a delight to watch them.
After a lunch break here, we switched direction and began to head northwest, in the direction of Schloss Solitude. The path wound gently through more forest before descending down and eventually bringing us out to a road just outside of the palace. We crossed over, and then – spotting a small cemetery just off the road – we took a momentary pause to investigate.
The Solitude Friedhof, as its known in German, is a tiny and peaceful cemetery which originally was built as the final resting place for the occupants of the palace. It also however came into use as a military cemetery during several wars in the 1800s, when the palace was used to house a field hospital. I had no idea of this history before coming across the cemetery (an information board there explains the story) so it was definitely worth exploring and it’s always good to learn more about the history of this local area.
From here we were almost at the Schloss! Just a short walk up a grand tree-lined entrance road remained, and then we were inside the palace grounds.
We hadn’t known beforehand, but it turned out that an event was being held on the grounds during our visit which was actually pretty cool! It was some kind of classic car show, with cars turning up and departing as we got there as well as some parked on the courtyard. I don’t know much about cars, but I can appreciate a pristine classic model when I see one and there were some really interesting ones on display.
There are actually several buildings which make up the Schloss – the main one housing the residence rooms, and then a curved block which was used to house staff, horses and supplies. We spotted a sign for guided tours outside the main building and discovered that a) a tour is the only way to see inside the Schloss and b) the tickets were actually super affordable! Only €3 each for us as students, but I also think the full-price €6 adult ticket is a great deal considering the tour is around 45 minutes and takes you through the entire length of the palace.
We booked onto the next tour which happened to be a family tour (geared towards children so there were likely to be more of them than for an average tour) but we didn’t want to wait hours for the next standard tour and we would be seeing inside the palace regardless! Since its such a local and little-known palace, the tours only run in German (though the guides do speak English and you can ask them questions in English if you like). I’ll admit this was a little daunting for my at-the-time basic/intermediate German skills, but luckily Sam’s German is much better than mine and I knew I could ask him to fill in any gaps later.
It was about 45 minutes wait until this tour started, so we took some time to explore the exterior of the palace and the grounds. From the outside it’s a pretty but not especially ornate building – we later learned this was a stark contrast to the interior! We also saw not one but three different bridal/wedding photoshoots taking place here which offered a nice bit of people-watching.
Soon it was time for our tour to begin. Unfortunately photography is not allowed inside, but I’ll drop some links to the Schloss Solitude website throughout my descriptions where you can see pictures of most of the rooms – because they really are stunning!
The first room we entered was a circular space of white and gilded gold, with mirrors on almost every wall. At first it was not immediately obvious what the room was for, but with a bit of nudging from our guide, one of the kids spotted some golden instrument motifs on the ceilings and correctly identified it as a music room. Definitely the most unique music room that I’d ever been in!
From there we were led through the doors into the next room. This was a much bigger space, and in contrast to the brilliant white of the music room, the walls here were painted in a tasteful sort of purple-blue colour. This was the social or “assembly” room, where guests would gather to eat, drink and play card games. There is also a secret door in this room which leads to a small red cabinet, where the Duke would head off to when he wanted a bit of privacy from the crowd.
We continued on to the “White Hall” – a huge circular space in the centre of the palace, designed to receive high-ranking guests and to hold luxurious balls and dinners. Perhaps most interesting here is the ceiling, which houses a large oval-shaped painting depicting and glorifying the “welfare state” of Württemberg under the Duke’s rule.
From there we moved into the private apartments and rooms for the Duke himself. Although this suite includes an antechamber, writing room and a bedroom, the Duke never actually lived here permanently (his actual residence was in the curved building opposite) and these rooms were mainly for “representational purposes” i.e. to show off the Duke’s immense wealth, or occasionally to house important guests. One of the most interesting – and perhaps humorous – facts about these rooms is that the “wood” panelling on the walls of the library/writing room is actually a painted imitation, as this was considered such skilled work that it was prized more highly than the wood itself!
This final part of the tour was my favourite, as we entered the stunning Marble Hall and Palm Room. The Marble Hall has a unique and very impressive wooden patterned floor, as well as columns of pink marble and a chandelier in the centre. I’d never seen anything like this room before and pictures don’t quite do it justice! It leads directly to the Palm Room, another majestic space, with golden plant motifs and French doors opening directly onto a balcony with a view of the palace grounds.
Despite a few crying children and some gaps in my understanding of the German, I thoroughly enjoyed the tour and was surprised and impressed by the beauty of this relatively unknown little palace. Even now, sitting here writing this several months later, I rate it as one of the best things to do in Stuttgart and we have since taken family members there as well, who enjoyed it just as much as we did.
