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The Prinz-Max-Palais was once the retirement home of a major entrepreneur, later the residence of the Baden aristocracy, the home of the last Reich Chancellor, the seat of the Federal Constitutional Court, and a university building—today it is a city museum.
As magnificent as it is, the building was originally built for a commoner. In 1882, the major entrepreneur August Schmieder (1824–1897) commissioned the renowned architect Josef Durm to build him a magnificent **retirement home** in the style of Italian palace architecture. The lavish decorative figures, including atlantean herms, niche figures, and allegories on the roof ridge, were created by sculptor Adolf Heer. Maxims by **Josef Viktor von Scheffel** on marble plaques convey the meaning of the allegories.
Also accessible are **the gardens with decorative fountains**, cast-iron fencing and gates, and a display wall on the west side of the garden, designed with numerous historicist elements, which is a unique example of this type of architecture in Karlsruhe. On the occasion of his marriage to Maria von Cumberland, Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg, **Prince Max von Baden acquired the palace in 1899 as a residence for his family**, so that it soon bore his name. After the collapse of the monarchy in 1918, the last chancellor of the empire left his residence and left it to various institutions and companies to use as business premises. As a result, nothing of the original interior decoration has been preserved. The Prinz-Max-Palais was severely damaged during World War II. It was subsequently restored and the interior layout was changed. From 1951 to 1969, it was home to the Federal Constitutional Court until the new buildings on Schlossplatz were completed. In 1978, the city council decided to convert it into a cultural center, which opened in 1981.
Today, the building is home to the **City Museum**, the **Museum of Literature on the Upper Rhine**, the **Literary Society**, and the **Children's and Youth Library**.
**Tip** **The city museum has a model of the city showing Karlsruhe around 1834. This is equipped with a computer animation entitled "Die Weinbrennerstadt" (The Wine Burners' City), which explains 30 stations in words and pictures.**
Source: DZT Knowledge Graph
