Residenzschloss Urach
Bad Urach, The county of Reutlingen
The Residenzschloss was built in 1400 as a hunting lodge for Count Eberhard III. of Württemberg. When Württemberg was divided in 1442, it served as a residence for the area around Urach from 1442 to 1482. After the reunification in 1482, the governmental residence was moved back to Stuttgart.
Duke Ulrich extended the Residenzschloss Urach to the south and added a round tower in 1534. After the Thirty Years’ War in the 1660s, Duke Eberhard III added stairs on the west side of the castle. The Golden Hall also dates back to the 17th century as it was refurbished around 1610, making it the one of the richest and best preserved Renaissance hall in Württemberg that has survived to this day. In the years that followed, the priest's and the apothecary's room as well as the death chamber on the top floor were decorated in the Renaissance style. Duke Carl Eugen, who especially used the castle as a hunting lodge, had some rooms decorated in contemporary late Rococo style in the 1760s. These rooms include the so-called White Hall created as a dining room and Duke’s private living area on the first floor, as well as a series of assembly rooms on the first and second floors of the extension.
Since the castle was only rarely used at the beginning of the 19th century, King William I auctioned most of its furniture off in 1819. Even then, renovations were dangerous due to the instability, but by the middle the 20th century, a general renovation was urgent and got done between 1960 and 1968. Whilst the reconstruction was being done, the building’s interior was almost completely removed. Only the Golden Hall and the White Hall were subsequently rebuilt. Instead of the rooms on the first floor, such as the Duke’s private living area, the Palm Hall dating back to the castle’s original construction was restored. Additionally, the stairs on the west side were demolished and new stairs were built, which caused four of Duke Carl Eugen’s assembly rooms to be removed. A museum hall was created on the second floor, where a branch of the Württembergische Landesmuseum opened in 1973.
Flug über Residenzschloss Urach - Horst Guth, Cinecopter