The origins of Ludwigsburg date from the beginning of the 18th century (1718–1723) when the largest baroque castle in Germany, Ludwigsburg Palace was built by Duke Eberhard Ludwig von Württemberg. Originally, the Duke planned to just build one country home, which he began building in 1704. However, the examples of other princes fostered a desire to project his absolutist power by establishing a city. To the baroque palace, he added a hunting lodge and country seat, called Schloss Favorite (1713–1728), and the Seeschloss Monrepos (1764–1768). 2004 was the 300th birthday of Ludwigsburg Palace, celebrated by the opening of the Baroque Gallery and the Ceramic Museum in the Palace.
Since its foundation in 1948 the Franco-German Institute (German: Deutsch-Französisches Institut (DFI)) has its seat at Ludwigsburg. In 1991, the national film school Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg was established in Ludwigsburg, which won several national and international awards. Since 2007, there is also the Academy of Performing Arts Baden-Wuerttemberg (German: Akademie für Darstellende Kunst Baden-Württemberg).
Karl Eugen, Duke of Württemberg, enrolled the young Friedrich Schiller in the Karlsschule Stuttgart (an elite military academy he had founded) in 1773, where Schiller eventually studied medicine. The Duke was very demanding of his students, and Schiller’s childhood was a lonely and unhappy one, but he was greatly enriched by the excellent education he received. It was there that he wrote his first play, Die Räuber (“The Robbers”), about a group of naïve revolutionaries and their tragic failure.
[caption id="attachment_228039" align="aligncenter" width="426"] Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1934) by Hugo Erfurt[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was a German-American architect. He was commonly referred to as Mies, h...
