Grabkapelle auf dem Württemberg

Grabkapelle auf dem Württemberg stands on Stuttgart’s Württemberg hill, surrounded by vineyards above the Neckar Valley. Its circular Neoclassical form has four projecting arms, three of them porticos, beneath a freestanding dome.

Giovanni Salucci designed the mausoleum for King William I of Württemberg, who honoured Catherine Pavlovna of Russia. Construction ran from 1820 to 1824, while the interior decoration took another four years. William, Catherine, and their daughter Maria Friederike Charlotte rest in the crypt below. Russian Orthodox traditions shape the interior, dividing it into a vestibule, nave, and chancel. Eight Corinthian columns and pilasters support the dome, while Carrara-marble statues of the Four Evangelists occupy the niches.

Antonio Isopi carved the double sarcophagus from Salucci’s design beneath the chapel. Two former residences for a Russian Orthodox priest and liturgical singers now serve as a visitor centre. The chapel functioned as a Russian Orthodox church from 1825 to 1899, and a service still takes place at Pentecost. From the hill, vineyards frame the view across the Neckar Valley.