Thread by @MikeStuchbery_

You want to know about Barockschloss Ludwigsburg? Too bad, I'm going to tell you some stuff about it, as it's my 'local'...

https://twitter.com/dw_culture/status/1340929497768423424

It all came about because Eberhard Ludwig, Duke of Württe.berg, decided in 1704 that he wanted a big old palace from which to be an absolutist Duke, and do absolutist things. So, picking an old hunting lodge, he started to extend it...

Thing is, though, to build a residential palace, you need a workforce. To gain a workforce, they needed somewhere to live. So, alongside the palace, he founded the town of Ludwigsburg, now adjacent to Stuttgart.

Ludwig resided at Ludwigsburg until 1733, when, childless, he kicked the bucket. Then Carl-Eugen, a relative, became Duke, and that's when things became lit.

See Carl Eugen had been raised in the court of Frederick the Great, and had been deprived of fun and female company - they were banned from the Prussian court.

So, he was essentially a big fat party animal from the get-go.

Carl-Eugen massively extended the theatre into one of the finest in what is now southern Germany, and actresses, singers and ballet dancers flocked there, along with courtly ladies.

It's not such a stretch to say that this was his plan all along...

There's a very famous legend, that almost certainly has some truth to it, that Carl-Eugen gifted blue shoes to everyone he slept with, partially as a way to keep track.

Another room is covered in mirrors. Say no more fam.

Various historians in Württemberg have suggested that Carl-Eugen had 77 recognized sons, and up to 200 children in all with his many mistresses and consorts.

Ludwigsburg was also were Phillipp Matthäus Hahn unveiled his 'World Machine' in 1769 - it was an attempt to synergize the movement of the planets, a calendar, clock and other diagnostic instruments in one little package. It's now in @LMWStuttgart.

One day in 1805, Napoleon turned up unannounced to visit Duke Friedrich of Württemberg, who reigned in the palace. He wanted Württemberg's support, so by the end of the day, Friedrich had been elevated to the status of a king. What a good day!

There's much more to say about Barockschloss Ludwigsburg, but little time. If you're in the Stuttgart region, please visit - it's amazing, and cared for by @palaces_BaWu. schloss-ludwigsburg.de/en/home