Castle Solitude
Encyclopedia
Castle Solitude in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....

, Germany , was built as a hunting lodge between 1764 and 1769 under Duke Karl Eugen
Karl Eugen, Duke of Württemberg
Charles Eugene , Duke of Württemberg was the eldest son of Duke Karl I Alexander and Princess Maria Augusta of Thurn and Taxis .-Life:...

 of Württemberg
Württemberg
Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....

. It is not a true castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

, but rather a rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...

 palace
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 itself is derived from the Latin name Palātium, for Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills in Rome. In many parts of Europe, the...

. Since 1956 the area is part of the urban district of Stuttgart-West. The castle is located on a high plain between the towns of Leonberg
Leonberg
Leonberg is a town in the German federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg about 10 miles to the west of Stuttgart, the state capital. Approximately 45,000 people live in Leonberg, making it the third biggest borough in the rural district of Böblingen .Leonberg is most famous for its picturesque market...

, Gerlingen
Gerlingen
Gerlingen is a town in the district of Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 9 km west of Stuttgart, and 15 km southwest of Ludwigsburg, Gerlingen is home to BOSCH appliances....

 and Stuttgart. The castle offers views to the north over Weilimdorf
Stuttgart-Weilimdorf
Weilimdorf is a north-western municipality of the German city of Stuttgart and covers an area of 12,6 km² with a population of around 30,0001 . It first became part of Stuttgart in 1933 and until that time was a separate entity with its own administration which was then subsumed into the city...

, Korntal
Korntal-Münchingen
Korntal-Münchingen is a town in the district of Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated at the northwestern border of Stuttgart and 8 km of its centre, and 10 km southwest of Ludwigsburg...

 and Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg urban district with about 87,000 inhabitants...

.

History

Schloss Solitude was originally designed to act as a refugium, a place of quiet, reflection and solitude (thus the name). Construction of the castle was plagued by political and financial difficulties. Karl Eugen had taken Württemberg into the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...

 on the losing side against Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

. The building exceeded the budget allocated by the duchy of Württemberg. Further, political wrangling between the duke and influential Stuttgart land barons led to the duke moving temporarily from Stuttgart to Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg urban district with about 87,000 inhabitants...

. In the long run, the castle was prohibitively expensive to keep just as a temporary residence. In 1770 it housed a high school founded by Duke Eugen. In 1775, the Karlsschule academy moved to Castle Solitude. It served as an academy of arts, a military academy
Military academy
A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps of the army, the navy, air force or coast guard, which normally provides education in a service environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned.Three...

, and later a general university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

 for children of the elite. Eventually, maintenance costs led to its closure as a school after the Duke's death late in the 18th century. Between 1972 and 1983, the Federal Republic of Germany restored the castle.

Current use

Since 1990, the annexed buildings (Officen-building and Kavaliers-building) have housed the 'Castle Solitude' academy
Academy
An academy is an institution of higher learning, research, or honorary membership.The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 385 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and skill, north of Athens, Greece. In the western world academia is the...

. The Kavaliers building incorporates living quarters for students.

Architecture

Castle Solitude was designed by a working group
Working group
A working group is an interdisciplinary collaboration of researchers working on new research activities that would be difficult to develop under traditional funding mechanisms . The lifespan of the WG can last anywhere between a few months and several years...

 at the ducal court under the guidance of Philippe de La Guêpière
Philippe de La Guêpière
Philippe de La Guêpière was a French architect whose main commissions were from Karl Eugen, Duke of Württemberg.-Early life :...

 with active input from Duke Karl Eugen
Karl Eugen, Duke of Württemberg
Charles Eugene , Duke of Württemberg was the eldest son of Duke Karl I Alexander and Princess Maria Augusta of Thurn and Taxis .-Life:...

 and master craftsmen. Its exterior is typical Rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...

. On the inside, however, the style is characteristic of classicism
Classicism
Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for classical antiquity, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. The art of classicism typically seeks to be formal and restrained: of the Discobolus Sir Kenneth Clark observed, "if we object to his restraint...

: instead of the irregular lively forms typical of Rococo, the proportions of the rooms and wall are typically classical in design.

Solitude avenue

The northern main gate
Gate
A gate is a point of entry to a space enclosed by walls, or a moderately sized opening in a fence. Gates may prevent or control entry or exit, or they may be merely decorative. Other terms for gate include yett and port...

 of the castle marks the beginning of Solitudeallee, a partially tree-lined straight avenue leads directly to Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg urban district with about 87,000 inhabitants...

 over 13 km. Duke Karl-Eugen commissioned the building of the avenue from 1764 to 1768 as a connecting route to the residence palace in Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg urban district with about 87,000 inhabitants...

. The avenue, which is still largely intact today, leads via Stuttgart-Weilimdorf
Stuttgart-Weilimdorf
Weilimdorf is a north-western municipality of the German city of Stuttgart and covers an area of 12,6 km² with a population of around 30,0001 . It first became part of Stuttgart in 1933 and until that time was a separate entity with its own administration which was then subsumed into the city...

 past Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen and Stuttgart-Stammheim. Only in Weilimdorf, where it intersects the main street, and in Ludwigsburg, where it is interrupted by the railway, are there minor irregularities. According to a plaque inside the castle, the avenue served as the baseline for the Württemberg land survey of 1820 and measures exactly 40,118.718 Paris feet
Paris inch
The Paris inch, or pouce, is an old unit of measure, that among other uses, was common for giving the measurement of lenses. The Paris inch could be subdivided into 12 ligne , and 12 Paris inches made a Paris foot. The Paris inch and Paris foot could be abbreviated with " and ' like some other...

 or 13,032.14 meters.

Race track

After 1903 Castle Solitude was the finishing point of hill races. In later years, the grounds of the castle served as a hostel for drivers. From 1935 to 1965, the 11.3 kilometers Solituderennen
Solituderennen
The Solituderennen events and the 11.4 km Solitudering near Stuttgart were named after the nearby Castle Solitude. Motorsports events were held there from 1903 to 1965....

 course south of the castle was used for World Championship
World championship
A world championship is the top achievement for any sport or contest. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best nation, team, individual in the world in a particular field. Certain sports do not have a world championship, instead...

 motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...

 Grand Prix
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix is the premier championship of motorcycle road racing currently divided into three distinct classes: 125cc, Moto2 and MotoGP. The 125cc class uses a two-stroke engine while Moto2 and MotoGP use four-stroke engines. In 2010 the 250cc two-stroke was replaced...

 racing. From 1961 to 1965, a series of non-championship Formula 1
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 races were also held on the same weekends, welcoming drivers such as John Surtees
John Surtees
John Surtees, OBE is a British former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver from England. He was 500cc motorcycle World Champion in 1956 and 1958–60, Formula One World Champion in 1964, and remains the only person to have won World Championships on both two and four wheels...

, Jim Clark
Jim Clark
James "Jim" Clark, Jr OBE was a British Formula One racing driver from Scotland, who won two World Championships, in 1963 and 1965....

, Dan Gurney
Dan Gurney
Daniel Sexton Gurney is an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner.The son of a Metropolitan Opera star, he was born in Port Jefferson, New York, but moved to California as a teenager...

 and Jack Brabham
Jack Brabham
Sir John Arthur "Jack" Brabham, AO, OBE is an Australian former racing driver who was Formula One champion in , and . He was a founder of the Brabham racing team and race car constructor that bore his name....

.
In their heyday, the Solitude races attracted crowds of 288,000 spectators, but they were abandoned in 1966.

In 2003, a revival competition was staged in and around the castle with former competitors and ex-world champions such as Giacomo Agostini
Giacomo Agostini
-Non-riding career:Like John Surtees and Mike Hailwood before him, Agostini raced in Formula One cars. He competed in non-championship Formula One races in 1978. He competed in the European Formula 2 series in a Chevron B42-BMW and British Aurora Formula 1 with his own team and a Williams FW06...

. A rally to commemorate the 50th anniversary of races was held in 2004.

Suburb

The area of Castle Solitude first belonged to Weilimdorf. After the middle of the 19th century it belonged to Gerlingen
Gerlingen
Gerlingen is a town in the district of Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 9 km west of Stuttgart, and 15 km southwest of Ludwigsburg, Gerlingen is home to BOSCH appliances....

 until the 31st of March 1942, at which point it was assigned to the suburb of Botnang
Botnang
Botnang is a district of the City of Stuttgart and lies between Feuerbach, Stuttgart-West and Vaihingen.-Geography:Botnang is almost entirely surrounded by woodland and lies in the hills to the west of Stuttgart. The centre of Botnang lies 316 metres above sea level...

 before being integrated into the district of Stuttgart-West in 1956.

External links

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