Germany - Schwetzingen

Schwetzingen Palace (Schloss Schwetzingen) was the summer residence of the Electors Palatine Karl Philipp and Karl Theodor (of the House of Wittelsbach).

The main building replaces a 17th-century hunting lodge built on the foundations of an older moated castle - dating back to 1350 - of which it also retains some foundations and walling. It was built in its current form between 1700 and 1750. Construction began in the reign of Johann Wilhelm von der Pfalz, for whom the palace was just a simple hunting lodge. He also commissioned alterations in 1697 and the addition of two wings significantly increased its size.