In 1763 Duke Carl Eugen chose a lonely site on the heights southwest of Stuttgart as the location for his latest project, the hermitage Solitude. Hard-pressed by the Württemberg Diet and the "Reichshofkammer" (highest court) in Vienna and cut off from an increase in political importance, the Duke poured all his strength into the building of this palace, which he oversaw.
However, he was unable to realize the seclusion from the pompous courtly life, which corresponded to the fashion of the rococo period. Solitude Palace, in its variety and dimensions, nearly became a third residence. Together with his court painter Nicolas de Pigage and the architect Johann Friedrich Weyhing, Carl Eugen worked on the building from 1764 on, however in the end he had to consult his actual court architect Philippe de La Guêpière for much-needed advice on designing the facade and on the interior decoration.
The palace building accommodates the rooms for festive occasions - the White Hall (Weißer Saal), Music Room (Musikzimmer) and Assembly Room (Assemblézimmer) - and the official appartement of Duke Carl Eugen. This includes the Marble Hall (Marmorsaal) and the Palm Room (Palmenzimmer). All these rooms were used for representation. The early classicist and late rococo decoration of the interior is of very high quality. As the central room, the White Hall forms a dome over the interior, and its ceiling painting glorifies the benevolence and wisdom of the government of Carl Eugen, under whose protection war and vice were driven from the state.
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In 1769 the palace was completed and connected to Ludwigsburg Palace with a fifteen kilometer long, straight-as-an-arrow avenue. In addition to the actual palace building, which rises up on a pedestal level (Sockelgeschoß) embraced by arcades to which two elegantly curved staircases lead, a large number of buildings and an enormous garden were also erected.
The actual appartement of the Duke and the chapel were housed in the wings, i.e. in the High Noblemen's Building (Cavaliersbau), while the Administrative and Housekeeping Tract (Officienbau) contained the theater and domestic rooms.
The dimensions of the garden, which has all but disappeared today, can still be recognized. It consisted of several spacious, individual "compartments" and was characterized by its large variety and its multitude of small elements. It was added to between 1767 and 1771 with more spacious areas in the early classicist style. Four pavilions bordered the plantation, and a Hall of Laurels (Lorbeersaal), an Orangery and the Hedge theater (Heckentheater) supplemented the program, which had the task of offering courtly society with diversion and to occasionally provide the Duke with little retreats. The Chinese House (Chinesisches Haus), pools, greenhouses and stables expanded the garden. In 1772 Duke Carl Eugen established his military academy at Solitude Palace, and now the secluded refuge once and for all became a lively summer residence.