|The staggering cupola of Schloss Bruchsal, a masterpiece of baroque decoration|
"I have now selected the place for my residence. I have never seen a more beautiful location in all my life." So said Damian Hugo von Schönborn in 1720. He wasted no time drawing up plans for no less than fifty separate buildings to occupy the grounds that comprise the palace. He said the reason he wanted so many buildings was so that, in the event of war, he could run into another building if one got damaged.
|Detail of the grotto ceiling (photo)|
There were, of course, the usual construction hiccups that happen on any project. Only these were a whole lot bigger. Balthasar Neumann stepped in when the going was rough, and created the gorgeous twin staircase that is one of the reasons his face ended up on the 50 Deutsche mark banknote. "The staircase in Bruchsal was the queen of all staircases in the baroque style, unparalleled in it's brilliant design and the high poetry of the room." (Georg Dehio)
|Another of Marcini's ceilings, this one for Weissenstein Palace|
Two painters, Johannes Zick and Giovanni Francesco Marcini were responsible for much of the work. Zick spent nine years working in Bruchsal, Marcini spent five, completing the dizzying illusionistic painting.
|The Main Hall at Schloss Bruchsal|
|Detail of the rotunda ceiling in the Main Hall (photo)|
|Ceiling detail from the Marble Room (photo)|
Hugo's vision seems prescient in hindsight: Bruchsal, like many towns in Germany, was absolutely devastated during the Second World War. The palace was barely standing, and debate raged as to whether it was even worth trying to restore it.
|The palace was devastated in an air raid lasting only forty minutes on March 1st, 1945|
|I guess they fixed it (photo)|