The bel étage, the main residential story of Bruchsal Palace, shows the artistic sense of the prince-bishops of Speyer; richly furnished ceremonial halls with impressive iconography and precious furniture and tapestries in the refurbished apartments.
Stucco and painting from the Marble Hall.
The reconstructed interior decorations of the three most important rooms of the palace were created under Prince-Bishop Franz Christoph von Hutten in the Rococo style between 1751 and 1754. The Domed Hall crowns the staircase, which leads to the two ceremonial halls of the palace. The Royal Hall is the ceremonial hall closest to the city. The Marble Hall lies in the direction of the garden. It is the architectural and programmatic center of the spiritual residence.
Reconstructed enfilade in the bel étage.
To the side of the Marble Hall closest to the garden, two representational apartments attach to the right and left. They are almost identical in terms of the number of rooms and the quality of the decor. This doubled sequence of staterooms was suited to a high-ranking imperial prince like the Prince-Bishop of Speyer. In the center of the reconstructed enfilade stand Bruchsal's artistic treasures: precious tapestries, Roentgen furniture, magnificent writing desks and a unique set of Savonnerie carpets.
Part of the royal private apartment.
On the south side of the main courtyard, the winter dining room, the Gallery Room, and the Blue Room make up the prince-bishop's private apartment. Prince-Bishop von Hutten likely had these re-stuccoed by Johann Michael Feichtmayr around 1760. The rooms were inhabited by the last Prince-Bishop of Speyer, Phillip Franz Wilderich von Walderdorff, from his abdication in 1802 to his death. Later, one of Amalie's daughters moved in with her family.
Furniture from the early 19th century stands in the Amalie's Apartment.
When Margravine Amalie von Baden made Bruchsal Palace her dower house in 1806, a new style moved in with her. Amalie took over the northern state apartment and the bordering private rooms from the last Prince-Bishop of Speyer. Instead of the tapestries, which had become outdated, the margravine had the walls covered with silk and furnished the rooms with furniture in the Empire style.
