Schwetzingen
Encyclopedia
Schwetzingen is a German town
situated in the northwest of Baden-Württemberg
, around 10 km (6.2 mi) southwest of Heidelberg
and 15 km (9.3 mi) southeast of Mannheim
.
Schwetzingen is one of the 5 biggest cities of the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis
district and it is a medium-sized centre including the cities and municipalities of Altlußheim
, Brühl
, Hockenheim
, Ketsch, Neulußheim
, Oftersheim
, Plankstadt
and Reilingen
near the higher ranked city of Mannheim
.
-triangle in the plain of the Rhine river, lying west of the Odenwald
and in the east of the Rhine. A small stream, the Leimbach
, runs through the city before joining the Rhine.
Mannheim
, Plankstadt
, Oftersheim
, Hockenheim
, Ketsch and Brühl
. The municipal area of Schwetzingen is completely consolidated with Oftersheim
. The limits of Plankstadt
are only separated by one street from the limits of Schwetzingen.
, but there are already traces of settlement from the Stone Age
.
Originally it consisted of two settlements, Ober- and Unterschwetzingen, that grew together in the course of the 17th and 18th century. Originally the town belonged to the diocese of Worms
, but later passed to the Counts of the Palatinate in the 12th century.
The moated castle of Schwetzingen is mentioned for the first time in 1350. It was destroyed in the Thirty Years' War
and in the following War of the Palatinate Succession; it was rebuilt by count Johann Wilhelm and his predecessor. From 1720 it served temporarily as the residence of the Prince-elector
Karl Philip after he moved away from Heidelberg
. Later on it served as a summer residence of the Prince-Electors of the Palatinate and their court
.
Schwetzingen Castle
began as a simple aristocratic fishing retreat (much like Versailles
which began as a hunting lodge) and had an eventful architectural history, in several phases of construction, especially during the reigns of the Electors Palatine Karl Philip (1716–1742) and Karl IV Theodor
(1742–1799) who, as their answer to Versailles, embellished the castle gardens with some of the finest and most elaborate formal water parterre
s in Germany gardens.
As it evolved, the high central Baroque block of the Castle was extended to either side (from 1747 onwards) in matching curved ranges of glazed arcades that were punctuated by pavilions which followed the arc of the vast garden circle. They partly enclose the circle bisected by a wide gravel axis flanked by parterres which centers on a spring-fed water-basin inspired by the bassin of Diana at Versailles, but here expressing the more appropriately water-centered Greek myth of the poet Arion
and the dolphins.
On the other side at the entrance, a mulberry-tree allée
stretched from the centre of the Castle to the city of Heidelberg
, 10 km away on the horizon, truly a remarkable feat of autocratic landscaping.
The curving outbuildings of Schwetzingen inspired the smaller Rococo perfections of Schloss Benrath
, with its quarter arcs of matching corps de logis embracing a formal sheet of water, built for Carl Theodor near Düsseldorf
, 1756–1770.
In 1759 Schwetzingen received permission to host markets and was developed into a baroque
city through the 18th century. In 1803 all the territories of the Palatine electorate east of the Rhine, including Schwetzingen were absorbed into the grand duchy
of Baden
and the castle became a residence of the Grand Dukes of Baden. In 1833 Schwetzingen was elevated to city status by Grand Duke Leopold
of Baden
. The beginning of industrialization in Schwetzingen in the year 1850 made the city an important seat of cigar factories and canneries. Also, the cultivation of asparagus gained importance and has remained one of Schwetzingen's claim to fame.
For more information visit: www.schwetzingen.de
¹ official census results
The lion symbolizes the Palatine Electorate, of which Schwetzingen was a member until 1803. The ring was originally a wheel originating from the seal of an inhabitant who had contacts to the castle of Schwetzingen.
Lunéville
, France
, since 1969 Pápa
, Hungary
, since 1992 Spoleto
, Italy
, since 2005 Fredericksburg
, United States of America: signed an intent letter in 2010 to become sister cities
Between 1910 and 1938 there was a tramline connecting Schwetzingen and Ketsch
, between 1927 and 1973 there was also a tramline connecting Heidelberg with Schwetzingen.
-Gymnasium
, the Karl-Friedrich-Schimper-Realschule
, the Hilda Hauptschule
, four elementary schools (Grundschule Hirschacker, Johann-Michael-Zeyher Grundschule, Nordstadt-Grundschule and Südstadt-Grundschule) as well as a special school, the Kurt-Waibel-Förderschule.
Furthermore there are two vocational schools (Carl-Theodor- and Erhart-Schott-School) and the Comenius
-School for mentally handicapped.
In the left wing of Schwetzingen's castle there is an advanced technical college for administration of justice, maintained by the state of Baden-Württemberg
.
, which was built as the Schlosstheatre ("castle theatre") in 1751–1752 by Nicolas de Pigage
, is located in the complex of Schloss Schwetzingen, which hosts, among other events, the annual opera and music festival, the Schwetzingen Festival
. The theatre fell into disuse by the late 19th century, but was renovated in 1937 and given its present name after its Rococo
style of architecture and used by the Festival since 1952. Between 1971 and 1974, it was modernized and re-opened with 450 seats for opera and 510 seats for drama. It is the oldest surviving theatre in Europe with boxless circles.
Schwetzingen Castle
is the city's most famous landmark. Its gardens are also notable, as there are elements of French Baroque and the English garden
style, with statuary by Peter Anton von Verschaffelt
. Also worth seeing are the theatre, the orangery, the bath and various follies
, including the temples of Apollo
, Mercury
and Minerva
, the Mosque (built 1778–1791) and the fountain of Arion
.
The city hall was built in 1821 and expanded in 1889, 1912 and 1919.
There are four churches in Schwetzingen:
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
situated in the northwest of Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
, around 10 km (6.2 mi) southwest of Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
and 15 km (9.3 mi) southeast of Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
.
Schwetzingen is one of the 5 biggest cities of the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis
Rhein-Neckar-Kreis
Rhein-Neckar-Kreis is a district in the northwest of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Bergstraße, Odenwaldkreis, Neckar-Odenwald, Heilbronn, Karlsruhe, district-free Speyer, the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, and district-free Mannheim and Heidelberg.-History:The district was created in...
district and it is a medium-sized centre including the cities and municipalities of Altlußheim
Altlußheim
Altlußheim is a municipality in Baden-Württemberg and belongs to Rhein-Neckar-Kreis.Altlußheim sits in the Rhine rift directly on the right bank of a meandering of the Rhine, where the Kriegbach flows into the Rhine....
, Brühl
Brühl (Baden)
Brühl is a municipality in the Rhein-Neckar district of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The former fishing village along the Rhine has become a satellite of a growing Mannheim. Many of the residents of Brühl work in Mannheim. Brühl is known as the hometown of former tennis player Steffi...
, Hockenheim
Hockenheim
Hockenheim is a German town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, about 20 km south of Mannheim. It is located in the Upper Rhine valley on the touristical theme routes Baden Asparagus Route and Bertha Benz Memorial Route...
, Ketsch, Neulußheim
Neulußheim
Neulußheim is a town in the district of Rhein-Neckar in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
, Oftersheim
Oftersheim
Oftersheim is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 8 km southwest of Heidelberg....
, Plankstadt
Plankstadt
Plankstadt is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany....
and Reilingen
Reilingen
Reilingen is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Neckar in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on Bertha Benz Memorial Route....
near the higher ranked city of Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
.
Geography
Schwetzingen is located in the Rhine-NeckarNeckar
The Neckar is a long river, mainly flowing through the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, but also a short section through Hesse, in Germany. The Neckar is a major right tributary of the River Rhine...
-triangle in the plain of the Rhine river, lying west of the Odenwald
Odenwald
The Odenwald is a low mountain range in Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in Germany.- Location :The Odenwald lies between the Upper Rhine Rift Valley with the Bergstraße and the Hessisches Ried in the west, the Main and the Bauland in the east, the Hanau-Seligenstadt Basin – a subbasin of...
and in the east of the Rhine. A small stream, the Leimbach
Leimbach
Leimbach can refer to the following places:* Leimbach, Haut-Rhin, commune in Haut-Rhin, France* Leimbach, Aargau, municipality in Switzerland* Leimbach , quarter of the city Zürich in Switzerland* in Germany:...
, runs through the city before joining the Rhine.
Neighbouring municipalities
The following municipalities, listed clockwise beginning in the north, border on the city limits of Schwetzingen:Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
, Plankstadt
Plankstadt
Plankstadt is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany....
, Oftersheim
Oftersheim
Oftersheim is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 8 km southwest of Heidelberg....
, Hockenheim
Hockenheim
Hockenheim is a German town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, about 20 km south of Mannheim. It is located in the Upper Rhine valley on the touristical theme routes Baden Asparagus Route and Bertha Benz Memorial Route...
, Ketsch and Brühl
Brühl (Baden)
Brühl is a municipality in the Rhein-Neckar district of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The former fishing village along the Rhine has become a satellite of a growing Mannheim. Many of the residents of Brühl work in Mannheim. Brühl is known as the hometown of former tennis player Steffi...
. The municipal area of Schwetzingen is completely consolidated with Oftersheim
Oftersheim
Oftersheim is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 8 km southwest of Heidelberg....
. The limits of Plankstadt
Plankstadt
Plankstadt is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany....
are only separated by one street from the limits of Schwetzingen.
History
Schwetzingen was mentioned as "Suezzingen" for the first time in 766, recorded in the late twelfth-century Codex Aureus of LorschCodex Aureus of Lorsch
The Codex Aureus of Lorsch or Lorsch Gospels is an illuminated Gospel Book written between 778 and 820, roughly coinciding with the period of Charlemagne's rule over the Frankish Empire.It was first recorded in Lorsch Abbey , for which it was presumably written, and...
, but there are already traces of settlement from the Stone Age
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
.
Originally it consisted of two settlements, Ober- and Unterschwetzingen, that grew together in the course of the 17th and 18th century. Originally the town belonged to the diocese of Worms
Worms, Germany
Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...
, but later passed to the Counts of the Palatinate in the 12th century.
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
and in the following War of the Palatinate Succession; it was rebuilt by count Johann Wilhelm and his predecessor. From 1720 it served temporarily as the residence of the Prince-elector
Prince-elector
The Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Roman king or, from the middle of the 16th century onwards, directly the Holy Roman Emperor.The heir-apparent to a prince-elector was known as an...
Karl Philip after he moved away from Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
. Later on it served as a summer residence of the Prince-Electors of the Palatinate and their court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
.
Schwetzingen Castle
Schwetzingen Castle
Schloss Schwetzingen, or Schwetzingen Castle is a palace in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Schwetzingen was the summer residence of the Electors Palatine Karl III Philip and Charles Theodore. It is situated in Schwetzingen, roughly equidistant from the electors' seats at Heidelberg and...
began as a simple aristocratic fishing retreat (much like Versailles
Versailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
which began as a hunting lodge) and had an eventful architectural history, in several phases of construction, especially during the reigns of the Electors Palatine Karl Philip (1716–1742) and Karl IV Theodor
Karl Theodor
Karl Theodor may refer to:* Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria , Prince-Elector of Palatine and of Bavaria* Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg , Freiherr of Dalberg and Archbishop-Elector of Mainz...
(1742–1799) who, as their answer to Versailles, embellished the castle gardens with some of the finest and most elaborate formal water parterre
Parterre
A parterre is a formal garden construction on a level surface consisting of planting beds, edged in stone or tightly clipped hedging, and gravel paths arranged to form a pleasing, usually symmetrical pattern. Parterres need not have any flowers at all...
s in Germany gardens.
As it evolved, the high central Baroque block of the Castle was extended to either side (from 1747 onwards) in matching curved ranges of glazed arcades that were punctuated by pavilions which followed the arc of the vast garden circle. They partly enclose the circle bisected by a wide gravel axis flanked by parterres which centers on a spring-fed water-basin inspired by the bassin of Diana at Versailles, but here expressing the more appropriately water-centered Greek myth of the poet Arion
Arion
Arion was a kitharode in ancient Greece, a Dionysiac poet credited with inventing the dithyramb: "As a literary composition for chorus dithyramb was the creation of Arion of Corinth," The islanders of Lesbos claimed him as their native son, but Arion found a patron in Periander, tyrant of Corinth...
and the dolphins.
On the other side at the entrance, a mulberry-tree allée
Allee
Allee may refer to:* Alfred Allee , U.S. sheriff.* J. Frank Allee , U.S. merchant and politician.* Warder Clyde Allee , U.S. ecologist, discoverer of the Allee effect.* Verna Allee , U.S. business consultant....
stretched from the centre of the Castle to the city of Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
, 10 km away on the horizon, truly a remarkable feat of autocratic landscaping.
The curving outbuildings of Schwetzingen inspired the smaller Rococo perfections of Schloss Benrath
Schloss Benrath
Schloss Benrath is a Rococo maison de plaisance near Düsseldorf, Germany, erected for the Elector Palatine Charles Theodore by his garden and building director and garden supervisor, Nicolas de Pigage...
, with its quarter arcs of matching corps de logis embracing a formal sheet of water, built for Carl Theodor near Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, 1756–1770.
In 1759 Schwetzingen received permission to host markets and was developed into a baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
city through the 18th century. In 1803 all the territories of the Palatine electorate east of the Rhine, including Schwetzingen were absorbed into the grand duchy
Grand duchy
A grand duchy, sometimes referred to as a grand dukedom, is a territory whose head of state is a monarch, either a grand duke or grand duchess.Today Luxembourg is the only remaining grand duchy...
of Baden
Baden
Baden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....
and the castle became a residence of the Grand Dukes of Baden. In 1833 Schwetzingen was elevated to city status by Grand Duke Leopold
Leopold
-Literature:* Aldo Leopold , American author, ecologist, forester, and environmentalist* Jan Hendrik Leopold , Dutch poet and classicist-Crime:* Nathan Leopold Jr , convicted of the kidnap and murder of Bobby Franks-Music:...
of Baden
Baden
Baden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....
. The beginning of industrialization in Schwetzingen in the year 1850 made the city an important seat of cigar factories and canneries. Also, the cultivation of asparagus gained importance and has remained one of Schwetzingen's claim to fame.
For more information visit: www.schwetzingen.de
Population development
These figures are estimates only, official census results (¹) or statistics of the resident's registration office.
|
|
¹ official census results
Local council
The local council of Schwetzingen has 26 members since the last elections in June 2009.Mayors
- 1833 – 1838: Daniel Helmreich
- 1838 – 1851: Carl Welde
- 1851 – 1855: Josef Vetter
- 1855 – 1865: Johann Wilhelm Ihm
- 1865 – 1883: Heinrich Wittmann
- 1883 – 1898: Karl Mechling
- 1898 – 1904: Heinrich Häfner
- 1904 – 1910: Jean Wipfinger
- 1910 – 1914: Wilfried Hartmann
- 1914 – 1923: Jakob Reinhard
- 1914 – 1918: Georg Pitsch
- 1923 – 1929: Johannes Götz
- 1929 – 1930: Leopold Stratthaus
- 1930 – 1933: Dr. Arthur Trautmann
- 1933 – 1945: Arthur Stober
- 1945: Ernst Karl
- 1945 – 1948: Dr. Valentin Gaa
- 1948 – 1954: Franz Dusberger
- 1954 – 1961: Hans Kahrmann
- 1961 – 1962: Adolf Schmitt
- 1962 – 1981: Kurt Waibel
- 1981 – 1982: Walter Bährle
- 1982 – 1998: Gerhard Stratthaus
- 1999 – 2007: Bernd Kappenstein
- 2007 – 2008: Bernd Junker
- since 2008: René Pöltl
Coat of arms
The coat of arms of Schwetzingen consists of a divided shield with a golden lion on the upper half on a black background and on the lower half there is a silver ring on blue background. The city flag is white and blue.The lion symbolizes the Palatine Electorate, of which Schwetzingen was a member until 1803. The ring was originally a wheel originating from the seal of an inhabitant who had contacts to the castle of Schwetzingen.
Twin towns
Schwetzingen is twinned with:Lunéville
Lunéville
Lunéville is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in France.It is a sub-prefecture of the department and lies on the Meurthe River.-History:...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, since 1969 Pápa
Pápa
Pápa is a historical city in Veszprém county, Hungary, located close to the northern edge of the Bakony Hills, and noted for its baroque architecture. With its 33,000 inhabitants, it is the cultural, economic and tourism centre of the region....
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, since 1992 Spoleto
Spoleto
Spoleto is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome.-History:...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, since 2005 Fredericksburg
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Fredericksburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia located south of Washington, D.C., and north of Richmond. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 24,286...
, United States of America: signed an intent letter in 2010 to become sister cities
Transport
Schwetzingen lies relatively favourably between the two autobahns A 5 (with the junction Heidelberg/Schwetzingen) and A 6 (with the junctions Schwetzingen/Hockenheim and Mannheim/Schwetzingen). Since 1870 the city has had a station on the Rhine Railway, connecting Mannheim and Karlsruhe.Between 1910 and 1938 there was a tramline connecting Schwetzingen and Ketsch
Ketsch
Ketsch is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located on Bertha Benz Memorial Route. It is situated on the right bank of the Rhine, 13 km south of Mannheim....
, between 1927 and 1973 there was also a tramline connecting Heidelberg with Schwetzingen.
Media
In Schwetzingen the daily newspaper is the "Schwetzinger Zeitung", which is a local newspaper published by the "Mannheimer Morgen".Public institutions
In Schwetzingen there is a district court, a notary's office, an internal revenue service, a customs office and an employment office.Education
The city maintains the HebelHebel
Hebel can refer to:* An alternative transliteration of the Hebrew name of the Biblical figure Abel* Johann Peter Hebel , German poet* Hebel, Queensland, Australia* A brand of aerated autoclaved concrete from CSR Limited...
-Gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
, the Karl-Friedrich-Schimper-Realschule
Realschule
The Realschule is a type of secondary school in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia , Denmark , Sweden , Hungary and in the Russian Empire .-History:The Realschule was an outgrowth of the rationalism and empiricism of the seventeenth and...
, the Hilda Hauptschule
Hauptschule
A Hauptschule is a secondary school in Germany and Austria, starting after 4 years of elementary schooling, which offers Lower Secondary Education according to the International Standard Classification of Education...
, four elementary schools (Grundschule Hirschacker, Johann-Michael-Zeyher Grundschule, Nordstadt-Grundschule and Südstadt-Grundschule) as well as a special school, the Kurt-Waibel-Förderschule.
Furthermore there are two vocational schools (Carl-Theodor- and Erhart-Schott-School) and the Comenius
Comenius
John Amos Comenius ; ; Latinized: Iohannes Amos Comenius) was a Czech teacher, educator, and writer. He served as the last bishop of Unity of the Brethren, and became a religious refugee and one of the earliest champions of universal education, a concept eventually set forth in his book Didactica...
-School for mentally handicapped.
In the left wing of Schwetzingen's castle there is an advanced technical college for administration of justice, maintained by the state of Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
.
Theatre
The Schlosstheater SchwetzingenSchlosstheater Schwetzingen
Schlosstheater Schwetzingen is a theater in Schwetzingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The historic building, opened in 1753, is part of the Schwetzingen Castle and since 1952 the principal venue of the Schwetzingen Festival. It is also called Hoftheater , Hofoper , and Comoedienhaus...
, which was built as the Schlosstheatre ("castle theatre") in 1751–1752 by Nicolas de Pigage
Nicolas de Pigage
Nicolas de Pigage was a French builder.Pigage was born in Lunéville. His father was a stonemason. In 1743 he began his studies at the École Militaire changing to the Académie Royale d'Architecture after only one year studying under Jacques-François Blondel...
, is located in the complex of Schloss Schwetzingen, which hosts, among other events, the annual opera and music festival, the Schwetzingen Festival
Schwetzingen Festival
The Schwetzingen Festival is an early summer festival of opera and other classical music presented each year from May to early June in Schwetzingen, Germany....
. The theatre fell into disuse by the late 19th century, but was renovated in 1937 and given its present name after its Rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
style of architecture and used by the Festival since 1952. Between 1971 and 1974, it was modernized and re-opened with 450 seats for opera and 510 seats for drama. It is the oldest surviving theatre in Europe with boxless circles.
Buildings
Schwetzingen Castle
Schloss Schwetzingen, or Schwetzingen Castle is a palace in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Schwetzingen was the summer residence of the Electors Palatine Karl III Philip and Charles Theodore. It is situated in Schwetzingen, roughly equidistant from the electors' seats at Heidelberg and...
is the city's most famous landmark. Its gardens are also notable, as there are elements of French Baroque and the English garden
English garden
The English garden, also called English landscape park , is a style of Landscape garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal, symmetrical Garden à la française of the 17th century as the principal gardening style of Europe. The...
style, with statuary by Peter Anton von Verschaffelt
Peter Anton von Verschaffelt
Peter Anton von Verschaffelt was a Flemish sculptor and architect.Verschaffelt designed, among other things in Mannheim, the High Altar of the Jesuit church , the arsenal and the Bretzenheim Palace, as well as the church Wallfahrtskirche Mariä Himmelfahrt in Oggersheim .-Life and work:Verschaffelt...
. Also worth seeing are the theatre, the orangery, the bath and various follies
Folly
In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but either suggesting by its appearance some other purpose, or merely so extravagant that it transcends the normal range of garden ornaments or other class of building to which it belongs...
, including the temples of Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
, Mercury
Mercury (mythology)
Mercury was a messenger who wore winged sandals, and a god of trade, the son of Maia Maiestas and Jupiter in Roman mythology. His name is related to the Latin word merx , mercari , and merces...
and Minerva
Minerva
Minerva was the Roman goddess whom Romans from the 2nd century BC onwards equated with the Greek goddess Athena. She was the virgin goddess of poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, crafts, magic...
, the Mosque (built 1778–1791) and the fountain of Arion
Arion
Arion was a kitharode in ancient Greece, a Dionysiac poet credited with inventing the dithyramb: "As a literary composition for chorus dithyramb was the creation of Arion of Corinth," The islanders of Lesbos claimed him as their native son, but Arion found a patron in Periander, tyrant of Corinth...
.
The city hall was built in 1821 and expanded in 1889, 1912 and 1919.
There are four churches in Schwetzingen:
- Catholic church St. Pankratius (built 1736/38, modified 1763/65)
- Catholic church St. Maria (built 1958)
- Catholic church St. Josef
- Protestant church (built 1756, expanded 1884/88 and 1912/13)
Regular events
- Schwetzinger Festspiele
- Mozartfestival (September/October)
- European Concours d'Elegance
- the castle square party
- Spargelfest
- Fiesta Mexicana
- Christmas fair
Scenic byways
Schwetzingen is located on three major tourist or theme routes:- The Baden Asparagus Road, leading from Schwetzingen to Lichtenau-Scherzheim.
- The Bertha Benz Memorial RouteBertha Benz Memorial RouteThe Bertha Benz Memorial Route is a German tourist and theme route in Baden-Württemberg and member of the European Route of Industrial Heritage...
, leading from MannheimMannheimMannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
to PforzheimPforzheimPforzheim is a town of nearly 119,000 inhabitants in the state of Baden-Württemberg, southwest Germany at the gate to the Black Forest. It is world-famous for its jewelry and watch-making industry. Until 1565 it was the home to the Margraves of Baden. Because of that it gained the nickname...
and back via Schwetzingen. - The Castle RoadCastle RoadThe Castle Road is a theme route in southern Germany and a small portion in the Czech Republic, between Mannheim and Prague.It was established in 1954...
, leading from Mannheim via Schwetzingen to PraguePraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
.