Benrath Palace, Rococo pleasure palace in Benrath, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Benrath Palace is a Rococo maison de plaisance in Benrath, southern Düsseldorf, built from 1755 to 1771 by Nicolas de Pigage for Elector Palatine Charles Theodor. Its pink, two-story corps de logis with a dark mansard roof and central clock pediment stands between a circular pond to the north and a long mirror pond to the south, flanked by two arched wings. Behind the seemingly single-story facade lie four levels with 80 rooms, two hidden courtyards and seven staircases.
Nicolas de Pigage demolished the derelict 15th-century water castle and built the new palace from 1755 to 1771 for Elector Charles Theodor, at a cost of 700,000 thalers. The elector and Elisabeth Auguste each visited only once. In 1777, when Charles Theodor inherited Bavaria, he moved his residence to Munich.
The palace houses two separate museums: the Museum for European Garden Art in the east wing displays the history of gardens and landscaping, while the west wing contains the Natural History Museum with collections of animals and plants. Visitors can see in these spaces how artistic forms and scientific interests of the era were closely connected.
Access to the palace is through guided tours that show the furnished rooms, ceiling paintings, and decoration, with the option to freely explore the gardens surrounding the building. Visitors should expect interior spaces spread across multiple levels and should wear comfortable shoes and allow plenty of time for exploration.
The palace hides four storeys behind a facade that looks single-storey: 80 rooms, two inner courtyards and seven staircases. Visitors were meant to be surprised by the space inside. The building and park were conceived as one unit, with the round and angular shapes of the gardens repeated in the palace layout.
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