Neues Schloss

The Neues Schloss stands on Stuttgart's Schlossplatz, a Baroque palace begun in the eighteenth century. It ranks among the last large city palaces built in Southern Germany. The Jubiläumssäule column and the Königsbau stand on either side, and together the three frame the square.

Duke Carl Eugen of Württemberg commissioned the palace to replace the Old Castle, a decisive shift for the ruling house. He had become duke at sixteen and wanted a residence that matched his royal dignity. Debates over its necessity did not stop construction, which began in 1746 under Leopoldo Retti. After Retti's death Philippe de La Guêpière took over and looked to the Palace of Versailles for inspiration. Reinhard Heinrich Ferdinand Fischer added significant work in the late eighteenth century.

The Second World War reduced the building to a bare shell, and it came close to demolition after the war. A reconstruction that began in 1957 brought it back, and public tours of the interior are possible by special arrangement. The State Ministries of Finance and Education now work inside, a ducal residence put to everyday use.