Belvedere pleasure palace in Weimar – a visit to the palace
Not far from Weimar is Belvedere Palace, built for Duke Ernst August I, with its beautiful park and orangery with its many exotic plants.
Since 1998, the complex has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Classical Weimar”.
The Belvedere pleasure palace is located about 4 kilometers south of Weimar’s city center. You can reach the large grounds via a dead-straight avenue. A great visual axis, which allows a beautiful view of the yellow-colored castle.
Castle history
Duke Ernst August I of Saxony-Weimar had the representative palace complex built in the immediate vicinity of the city from 1724 to 1744. It was not his first palace, but perhaps the most important of his 20 or so different hunting and pleasure palaces.
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Over the years, the palace complex has been used quite differently. For example, the princely house of Weimar used Belvedere Palace as a summer residence. Later, young Englishmen lived in part of the complex and attended an educational institute there.
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In 1904, the last inhabitant of the castle, Hereditary Grand Duchess Pauline of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach, died. In 1919 the property was nationalized and in 1921 the state of Thuringia took over the park.
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From the forecourt, where the castle fountain is located, I have a beautiful view of the castle building and the cavalier houses. The layout of the complex is symmetrical and if you turn your back to the Belvedere Palace, you can see the long avenue behind. Via a staircase I reached the central building of the castle.
I find the access area to be almost plain. Next to the staircase that leads to the second floor, I immediately notice four beautiful pictures made of tiles. These are designed in a blue hue and show, for example, windmills and sailing ships.
The actual tour of Belvedere Palace begins on the first floor. Here you can see East Asian porcelains, faiences from Thuringia and hanging portraits of the builder and his family. We were immediately drawn to the second floor, where a tour of many different rooms is offered. In the individual rooms there are not only isolated pieces of furniture from the 18th century, there is a lot of porcelain to discover. I was particularly pleased to see Meissen porcelain (we have already visited the manufactory here) and pieces from the Royal Porcelain Manufactory in Berlin.
Standing in one of the rooms, I can’t take my eyes off the beautiful ceiling painting. There are various animals on display, all of which presumably once lived in the small zoo that belonged to the castle. Here “hides” a small mystery, because until today the viewers “argue” – lion, monkey or maybe cat? What kind of animal could be depicted there. Look for it and decide for yourself!
I am inspired by the rooms and the view from the windows. The park of the castle attracted, I wanted to go for a walk.
Short walk through the castle park to the orangery
With 43 hectares, the Belvedere Palace Park is not really small and it takes time to explore it.
Duke Ernst August I had the park laid out as a baroque garden from 1728 to 1748. Little of this original layout is visible today. Later, the grounds were transformed into an English landscape park. Around 1811, a Russian garden was also created, which the hereditary grand duke had laid out for his Russian wife Maria Pavlovna.
Today I could walk on wide paths and admire the well-kept grounds. Benches invite you to take a break and the nice thing is that you can visit the park free of charge. A great destination with recreational character.
In the eastern garden area, an orangery and the gardener’s house were built in the course of the park design. Around 1760, this complex was extended by the Long House and the New House. The buildings are arranged around the orangery courtyard, in the center of which a fountain splashes. Originally, the Orangery was built only for representative purposes. Soon a plant collection was created, which also attracted Goethe for scientific observations.
When I arrived at the orangery, one of the doors was just open. So I could see orange trees standing inside. These are placed in the palace park and the orangery courtyard when the weather conditions are favorable.
Conclusion in the west pavilion of the castle
During the opening hours of the castle, you can go on a discovery tour in the West Pavilion free of charge. There is a large interactive model of the park that I liked very much. In addition to the history of the castle, I was able to touch various places on the map. The model not only showed me how to get there, but also gave me information about the place.
I really liked the option of displaying paths with low barriers to make it easier for people with limited mobility to go for a walk.
Address:
Weimar-Belvedere 99425 Weimar
Entrance fee castle:
Adults: 7,00 €
Entrance fee Park:
free
Opening hours:
In summer Tuesday -Sunday: 10-18 h
Monday closed
The visit to Belvedere Palace took place during a press trip to Thuringia.
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