Magnificent receptionThe Marble Hall

Duke Carl Eugen von Württemberg greeted his guests here. The design of the Marble Hall, which was designed by French royal architect Philippe de La Guêpière, differs significantly from other rooms: Classical elements dominate.

Schloss Solitude Stuttgart, Wandreliefs im Marmorsaal

A Classic interior.

Models from antiquity

The Marble Hall, like the White Hall, is different from the other rooms in Solitude Palace. Both are furnished in the Classic style that developed in the 18th century in France and replaced Rococo. Simple shapes and the adaptation of models from classical Greek antiquity and the early Italian Renaissance are typical for this style. In the Marble Hall, visitors can identify the Classic style in the wall reliefs reminiscent of antiquity and the columns that seem to belong to a Greek temple.

Solitude Palace Stuttgart, entrance to the Marble Hall

Guests were given a ceremonial reception here.

Representational function

Guests were typically received in the Marble Hall. The duke's general adjunct, Freiherr von Bouwinghausen, wrote in his diaries: "As soon as the duke came to the third basin, all five choirs, trumpeters, and timpanists let themselves be heard and continued until everyone had entered the palace's large Marble Hall. After we had stayed there a short time and the duke had assigned the strangers to the remaining apartments, the duke accompanied each (...) to their room in the cavalier building."

Two architects

The magnificent design of the Marble Hall primarily originated from a Frenchman, Philippe de La Guêpière, who acted as Duke Carl Eugen's royal architect. After he returned to his home city of Paris in 1768, construction was led by Reinhard Ferdinand Heinrich Fischer (1746–1813). He received his education as an architect from La Guêpière and, like his teacher and predecessor as royal architect and architect of Solitude Palace, Fischer was drawn to the architectural style and decor of Classicism.