In World War II more than 80% of Bruchsal was destroyed, including much of the palace. To this day, its reconstruction is considered an extraordinary accomplishment. The reconstruction of the bel étage to its condition as it stood from the 18th century to its destruction in 1945, completed in 2017, was a crowning achievement.
The palace after the destruction in 1945.
The train station and the tracks close to the palace were bombed several times at the end of World War II. On March 1, 1945, two months before the end of the war, an air raid destroyed more than 80% of the city and much of the palace. The wooden ceilings with frescoes and stucco burned, but the substance of the walls and staircases remained largely intact. The most valuable pieces of furnishing had been moved to safe storage in time.
The former guard gatehouse after the destruction.
After the end of the war, the first task was to create emergency lodging. In 1946, work began on rebuilding the outbuildings to serve as offices and apartments. For a long time, the ruins of the palace's central buildings remained unprotected. It was more than a year before it received an emergency roof. The consequence: rain and frost had damaged the complex. Due to a danger of collapse, a portion of the remaining wall was completely demolished. Thus, the palace suffered further losses after the destruction.
The restored Marble Hall.
In the 1950s, the Chamber Music Hall, the church tower, and the shell of the palace's central building were recreated. The next step was the interior, which posed the greatest challenge. The wall and ceiling decorations were reconstructed in the most important rooms along the central axis. The Domed Hall, Royal Hall, and Marble Hall were given their colorful frescoes and gilded stucco once again.
Painters and stucco artists during the reconstruction of the decorations.
The work was based on old photographs.
A stroke of luck: Hundreds of photographs of the palace taken between 1870 and 1945 had been preserved, some even in color. They served as a pattern for the reconstruction of the ceiling frescoes. Instead of the apartments that once stood alongside the ceremonial halls on the second story, modern, open exhibition rooms were created for the Badisches Landesmuseum. In 1975, the palace was reopened. The reconstruction of the frescoes on the ground floor, the exterior areas, and the garden took until 1996.
Reconstructed enfilade in the bel étage.
More than 1,000 square meters were reverted back to the old layout of the bel étage. Modern technology was also installed to meet modern needs for heating, light, and air conditioning. The former prince-bishops' apartment was then furnished according to old inventory lists and photographs. Furniture, paintings, tapestries: more than 350 works of art from the bel étage were stored elsewhere during World War II. They were carefully restored before once again being displayed in the bel étage.
