CASTLE IN ESSLINGEN NEAR STUTTGART
WEIL CASTLE - AN ARCHITECTURAL WORK OF ART
Built for King Wilhelm I by the Florentine master builder Giovanni Salucci.
In 1817, King Wilhelm I had a stud farm built on the site, which is now Esslingen-Weil. Two years later, he commissioned the Florentine master builder Giovanni Salucci to erect a two-story castle on the site. This was Salucci's first project on behalf of the royal house of Württemberg and at the same time his acid test. The "Schlösschen Weil" was built in the classicist style of Italian country houses.
The property is surrounded by a park-like estate with old trees on an area of approx. 4,798 sqm. Already in the entrance hall, with the imposing ceiling height, a chandelier and the black marble as flooring, the special nature of this property becomes clear. With a total area of 546 sqm distributed over 10 rooms, laid out in a square floor plan, decorated with historic stucco elements and ceiling paintings, the castle still exudes the majestic grace of the royal family.
All rooms feature floor-to-ceiling custom windows and double-leaf solid wood doors. The crowning glory of the palace is the Great Hall, located on the north-east side. It extends across the entire width of the structure and adjoins the small hall and the modernly equipped kitchen. The upper floor is reached through the central staircase, decorated with Neresheim marble and extraordinary shadow paintings.
On the upper floor, in addition to four stately corner rooms, there are the ladies' and men's bathrooms and two other large rooms. From all rooms there is access to the garden on the first floor and to the veranda surrounding the entire building on the upper floor. The castle is one of the first buildings in Württemberg with a cast iron construction. With this then modern technique, Salucci succeeded in constructing a glass dome in the center of the building, which at that time was considered unbuildable. The structure was built using a solid construction of sandstone and brick and a tent roof with slate roofing.
In 1997, a basic technical renovation and restoration began, which lasted almost seven years. The substance has been preserved in the exterior and interior almost in its original condition until today. The overwhelming ambience not only offers the possibility of living, but is also ideally suited for studios, law firms, embassies, family offices or similar businesses.
The property is under monumental protection and is listed in the monumental list of the state of Baden-Württemberg as a "cultural monument of special importance". In addition to Weil Palace, Giovanni Salucci designed the Burial Chapel on the Württemberg, the Wilhelmspalais in Stuttgart, Rosenstein Palace, the Royal Riding House and the Löwentor.