Blondel authored a book on pleasure palaces.
The courtly ceremony and the sovereign’s representational duties played a considerable role at the residence. The pleasure palace, on the other hand, offered a certain degree of freedom. It was where a sovereign could withdraw, away from his official residence. The courtly ceremony was relaxed and often only a select circle of guests were invited. A royal pleasure palace was not consistently occupied, but rather, was visited as destination outside the official residence. In the summer, small celebrations, dinners, concerts and hunts were hosted there.
Pleasure palaces in southwest Germany: Favorite Palace in Rastatt, Solitude Palace near Stuttgart, and Favorite Palace in Ludwigsburg.
Plan for Favorite Palace by royal architect Johann Michael Ludwig Rohrer.
Favorite Palace was built between 1710 and 1730 by Johann Michael Ludwig Rohrer. Margravine Sibylla Augusta von Baden-Baden headed this project. Collaborating closely with her royal architect, she incorporated many of her own ideas. The palace consisted of more than just a garden hall for celebrations and apartments in the bel étage for her and her son, it was also important to the margravine that space, such as the hall of mirrors, be provided where she could display her precious collections.
