Wiesbaden City Palace ( or Wiesbadener Stadtschloss) is a neo-classical building in the center of Wiesbaden, Germany. It was completed in 1841 as the principal city residence of the Dukes of Nassau. The palace has several wings, 145 rooms, and is architecturally integrated with a group of ancillary buildings constructed both before and after it was built. With ornate towers, gables and a slate roof laid in herringbone patterns, the three-story complex lends charm and its name to the central square of Wiesbaden: Palace Square ().
The Palace has had a turbulent history. After withstanding the Revolutions of 1848 and annexation by Prussia in 1866, it has served variously as a second home of the German Emperors, a gathering place for soldiers and workers during the German Revolution of 1918–1919, a museum, and a military headquarters for both the Wehrmacht and Allied occupation forces. Damaged during World War II, the Palace has since been restored and portions modernized. Since 1946, it has been the seat of the State Parliament of Hesse (). A new Parliamentary Chamber was added to the complex in 2008.
History
Early beginnings
The site where the City Palace now stands has been the center of political power in Wiesbaden for centuries. It was first occupied by a castle from the Early Middle Ages around which the medieval city developed. By 1236 the Counts of Nassau were already in residence, when there is a record of Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich II celebrating Pentecost in the castle church. During this time the city enjoyed the status of Reichsstadt (Free Imperial City), but only briefly. In subsequent wars Wiesbaden was completely destroyed and rebuilt at least three times. During the Renaissance the city became a notable spa town, and Philipp Ludwig III commissioned construction of a New City Palace, completed in 1599. This renewal was not to last, however. The lands of the House of Nassau were reshuffled in inheritances and as lines died out. The Thirty Years' War again devastated the city, with chronicles recording that by 1648 it had barely 40 residents left. In the 1700s, Schloss Biebrich (the "Versailles on the Rhine" on the outskirts of Wiesbaden) became a principal residence of the line of Nassau-Idstein and the City Palace fell into disuse. Little is known about the extent of the old original Castle, but remains of a tower dating back as early as the Frankish period (481–800 CE) were discovered in 1952 during reconstruction of adjacent buildings damaged in the Second World War.
City Residence of the Duchy of Nassau 1841–1866
In 1806, the counties of Nassau-Usingen and Nassau-Weilburg merged to form the Duchy of Nassau at the insistence of Napoleon. Frederick Augustus, Duke of Nassau, became the ducal head of state. After the defeat of Napoleon, the Duchy of Nassau joined the German Confederation at the Congress of Vienna in 1815. The capital moved from Weilburg to Wiesbaden and the city became the ducal residence. When Frederick died childless in 1816, the dukedom was transferred to the line of Nassau-Weilburg. His cousin Wilhelm of Nassau-Weilburg became Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau and moved from Weilburg into Schloss Biebrich on the outskirts of Wiesbaden.
By 1826, extensive building began to give the new capital city a magnificent appearance and in 1830 plans were laid to move the ducal residence into the city. Initially, a site on the Luisenplatz was considered, which was then still on the outskirts. However, the Duke felt it important to live amidst his subjects, so a central location on the Market Square was decided upon. In 1835, Wilhelm I engaged his Senior Architect Georg Moller to design the new City Palace. Several buildings were acquired on the north side of the square and in 1837 the foundation stone was laid. Duke Wilhelm would not live to its completion; He died of a stroke on 20 August 1839 while "taking the cure" at Bad Kissingen. His son Adolph I, Duke of Nassau became the Palace's first and only ducal resident in 1841. He lived there during the winter and in summers resided at Schloss Biebrich.