The Ancestral Hall
In the central banquet hall of the palace, the Ancestral Hall, a number of ancestral portraits refer to the many centuries of rule of the house of Baden-Baden. The ceiling fresco shows the reception of Hercules on Mount Olympus. In the same way Hercules freed the world of its ills, Ludwig Wilhelm protected the Empire from the Turks and contributed to rescuing Christianity. The bound slaves cowering on the Corinthian wall pilaster and surrounded by trophies of war remind the viewer of the victorious battles of the Imperial lieutenant general.
Rastatt Palace: The winter. Ceiling fresco by Paolo Manni, 1701/ 1703. Bedroom of the Margrave.
To the right of the Ancestral Hall lies the Margrave's apartment of state, and to the left the Margravine's apartment of state. Both have been completely preserved with their original sequence of rooms. In accordance with court ceremony, the importance of the rooms increased within both apartments, which are laid out as suites of rooms. Parallel to the importance, the splendor of the appointments also grew from room to room.
The Margrave's apartment
In the Margrave's apartment of state, the first room was the "Vorzimmer" (Antechamber). Lesser government business was conducted here. The medallions of the stucco ceilings show the royal virtues ascribed to Ludwig Wilhelm.
This was followed by the "Audienzzimmer" (Audience Chamber), where state receptions took place and official government business was conducted. The throne with its canopy was set up in the center of the western wall. The members of the government who were present sat on a chair with a back or on a stool depending on their rank.
Rastatt Palace: Bedroom of state of the Margrave with stuck ornaments, probable by Giovanni Battista Artario, created after 1704.
The climax of the apartment was the bedroom of state, in which royal representation unfolds its full splendor: Court ceremony reaches its pinnacle here. The ceiling painting shows an allegory of winter and the related signs of the zodiac. The magnificent bed stands in an alcove surrounded with double pilasters and columns adorned with rich, partially gilded stucco decorations. Putti hold a laurel garland, which refers to the fame of the sleeping sovereign they watch over.
The "Porzellan- oder Spiegelkabinett" (Porcelain or Mirror Cabinet) completes the arrangement of rooms. Here the Margrave exhibited his personal collection and invited others for a tête-à-tête to discuss important questions of government. The room was named after the many mirrors inset in the richly carved and gilded wall paneling. Over one hundred porcelain and faience vases, cups and urns, as well as colorful bottles of ground glass, stood on consoles mounted around the room.
The "Schreibkabinett" (Study) that follows has gone down in history: Prince Eugen of Savoy and the French Field Marshall Villars are said to have signed the Peace of Rastatt here in 1714, which ended the Spanish War of Succession.
The wall paneling of walnut was installed under Margrave Ludwig Georg.
A private apartment was also available to the Margrave: It was accessible from the rooms of state and was located on the side toward the Court of Honor. The three considerable less sumptuously appointed rooms were reserved for the sovereign and his family and were intended exclusively for private living.
Rastatt Palace: Second Chamber in the Private Apartment of the Margrave.
The Margravine's apartment
The Margravine's apartment of state differs considerably in style and execution from that of her husband. The stuccowork and the painted architectural elements on the ceilings harmonize impressively with the overall picture and blur the limits of perception. The illusionistic architectural painting appears to vault the flat ceiling and to open the sphere which lies above it. This form of decoration was developed to extreme perfection in Italy from the 16th century. The ceilings in Rastatt are among the earliest examples of this kind in Germany and evidence the modern taste of Ludwig Wilhelm and his architect.
Rastatt Palace: Antechamber of the Margravine with fayences and tapisseries: Exotic landscapes, Aubusson.
In the Antechamber the ceiling painting shows the unison of Bacchus and Ariadne, a reference to the earthly marriage of Sibylla Augusta to Ludwig Wilhelm. While the architectural painting is kept tone-in-tone here, colorful painting with playful putti unfolds in the adjacent Audience Chamber. The ceiling painting describes the main task of the sovereign using the myth of Alcmene and her son Hercules, namely the raising of a prince to a future hero.
In the bedroom of the Margravine the ceiling painting shows the "Sleep of Venus", a typical bedroom motif. Artistically gilded framework runs over the ceiling and surrounds the painting. A magnificent arc of triumph rises up over the alcove.
Rastatt Palace: Bed in the Bedroom of state of the Margravine.
In the "Miniaturenkabinett" (Miniatures Cabinet) the walls were once adorned with 143 miniature paintings in gilded frames, which have unfortunately been lost.
In the Margravine's private apartment, which also consists of three rooms, the ceiling program is continued with the portrayal of goddesses. For example, Flora symbolizes growth and affluence, and therefore represents Margravine Sibylla Augusta, who provided for the prosperity of the country.