Beginning in 1538, Duke Ulrich of Württemberg had the palace built in Kirchheim unter Teck built in the form of a water castle surrounded by motes as a corner bastion of the town fortification. This took place before the backdrop of the expulsion and exile of Ulrich, who wanted to secure his central area with seven fortresses of the duchy of Württemberg following his return. Kirchheim became a town developed into a kind of fortress.
With two half-timber stories, Kirchheim Palace rises above a massive base as a military, unpretentious building. It was completed in 1556 by Duke Christoph. The modestly developed palace served the sovereign princes as a hunting lodge. When the Plague ranges in the residential city of Stuttgart in 1594, Duke Friedrich I of Württemberg moved the Court to these alternative accommodations in Kirchheim..
|
|
|
|
On 22 January 1795 the widow of Duke Carl Eugen, Franziska of Hohenheim, moved into Kirchheim Palace – which was marked by a total of six widows. It was in an extremely modest state and Franziska had the Duke's architect R.F.H. Fischer redesign the building inside and out. She had now portals erected, two small rooms were added on the "Beletage" (principle floor), a palace terrace was built and the rooms were decorated in the Empire style.
The original charm of the palace interior and many of Franziska's furnishings have been preserved. Following restorations in 1985 and 1997 they have returned to their traditional place. From 1857 Kirchheim Palace was used both as a military hospital and as a school, as a museum of local history and culture (Heimatmuseum) and as a teachers' seminar. Today Kirchheim Palace is the only widow's seat in Württemberg (with the exception of Ludwigsburg Palace) open to the public as a palace museum.