Rastatt Things to Do

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Baroque life had two sides - the luxurious life at court, the abundance and pleasure on one hand, the fear of death and devote piety on the other. The 'other side' was present in Sibylla Augusta's way of life, too. In a corner of the park she had her spiritual retreat, the Hermitage with the chapel of St Magdalena, built in 1717. The Margravine was a pious Catholic. Now and then she would retreat from luxury for some time of repentance and prayer to atone for her sins.

Nothing wrong with being a pious Catholic, but the good lady would exaggerate her exercises in a way that the average citizen of the 21st century will consider lunatic. She spent some days or weeks secluded in her hermitage, where she resigned from all comfort, prayed and flagellated herself and so on. She took her simple meals seated at a table together with three life-size wax figures of Mary, Joseph and young Jesus.

The interior of the Hermitage is only accessible with special tours that are offered on rare occasions. I once had the chance to see it. Everything, including the figures, is still there. It is really really weird and almost scary. The strange atmosphere can already be felt outside the building. If ever you have the chance to go in, don't miss it.

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A small exhibition presents the history and development of the gardens around Favorite palace. One model shows the original baroque garden, the second model shows the landscape garden as it is today, so you can compare how design and fashion have changed.

The exhibition is located in the head pavillon of the eastern (right) orangerie, at the end towards the palace. Entry is free.

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Sibylla Augusta's summer palace was begun in 1710. Court architect Johann Michael Ludwig Rohrer created the plans. The palace became the Margravine's favourite place to live whenever she could get away from the court in Rastatt. Here she enjoyed the pleasures of a princess's life, here she kept her collections of porcelaine and other arts.

The palace is small but it has three wings which surround a small front courtyard. Two long orangerie wings reach out into the park. The backside of the palace has a large terrace which overlooks the northern part of the park and offers a view of the Black Forest hills.
The facades of the palace have a unique design. The surfaces consist of small pebbles set in plaster.

Favorite palace has never been destroyed. Most of the interior is original and well preserved. The rooms are extravagantly decorated in all abundance of the baroque arts.
Official website of Favorite with photos of the interior

The interior of the palace can only be visited with guided tours.
Opening hours, admisson fees etc.

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The tiny little palace is located on a terrace above the river Murg. It was built in 1722-1724 outside the boundaries of the town. The architect Johann Michael Ludwig Rohrer designed it as a tea-house for Margravine Sibylla Augusta. It follows the model of the Pagodenburg in the park of Nymphenburg palace in Munich. Not much of it resembles a Chinese pagoda except the curved roof, but it was meant to be a building in Chinese, or better Chinoise, style.

It is surrounded by a baroque garden on two levels. Together with the adjacent Einsiedeln chapel it makes a cute ensemble.

No, the huge yellow tower is not part of the palace... The water tower was erected in 1901. The concave roof adapts the form of the neighbouring Pagodenburg.

The pilgrimage chapel of Maria Einsiedeln next to Pagodenburg is a few years older. Sibylla Augusta had it built in 1715. It was designed, also by her court architect Rohrer, after the model of the chapel of mercy in Einsiedeln/Switzerland.

The interior of neither chapel nor Pagodenburg is open to visitors but the ensemble is nevertheless worth a visit.

Favorite was the summer palace of the Margraves of Baden-Baden who resided in Rastatt. Margravine Sibylla Augusta, who reigned after the death of her husband as proxy for her young son, had it begun in 1710. Her "favourite" sojourn also hosted her collections of porcelaine and other art from East Asia she collected. The palace is surrounded by a park with some side buildings. The park has been turned into a landscape garden later on.

How to get there: The palace is located in the countryside southeast of Rastatt next to the small village of Förch. Direct bus connections are not very frequent. The nearest S-Bahn stop (S 41) is Kuppenheim. From there it is half an hour's walk to the palace grounds. A bicycle is useful to avoid the long walk if you have one at hand; bikes can be taken on the S-Bahn for free after 9 a.m.

Visiting the park is free. The interior of the palace can only be visited with guided tours.

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Rastatt Palace is the oldest baroque residence on the Upper Rhine. built from 1700 to 1707. Margrave Ludwig Wilhelm von Baden-Baden, the so-called "Türkenlouis" (Turkish Louis) because he gained fame as a general in the late 17th century wars against the Turks, founded the new residence town in 1700. Since his old residence Baden-Baden had been destroyed by French troups, he decided to build a new residence on a flat terrain in the Rhine plain instead of rebuilding the hilltop palace in Baden-Baden.
The plan of palace, garden and town is based on the model of Versailles and was designed by the Italian architect Domenico Egidio Rossi. That's how fashion goes - despite the fact that the French king Louis XIV. was the enemy who had the country devastated, his court and his architecture were taken as a model.

Visitors can see the state apartments of the Margrave and Margravine on the Beletage (principle floor) of the palace. These magnificent rooms are fully furnitured. They can be visited with guided tours only.
The right side wing hosts the Wehrgeschichtliches Museum (Military History Museum) and a commemorative site for the freedom movements in German history.

Tickets for guided tours of the palace can be obtained at the visitors' centre, which is located outside the courtyard next to the ramp - watch out for the sign "Kasse". Tours usually start every hour, depending on how many visitors show up. Rastatt is an off-the-beaten-path location, there won't be crowds - although the palace really deserves more attention.

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The town hall closes the western end of the market square, opposite of the parish church. It was built by Johann Michael Ludwig Rohrer and Johann Peter Ernst Rohrer in 1750.

The gable bears the coat of arms of the town, the golden Weinleiter or locally Raste, a frame that was used to carry the grape buckets during the wine harvest. The town's name is said to derive from the word Raste.

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The town's parish church of St Alexander closes the eastern side of the rectangular market square. The baroque church was already planned and begun during the first planning process of palace and town in 1701/1702 but construction works were not continued until around 1740. The present church was finally completed in 1756-1765. The original interior is preserved.

The church is open in the daytime.