Schwetzingen was mentioned as "Suezzingen" for the first time in 766, recorded in the late twelfth-century
Codex Aureus of Lorsch, but there are already traces of settlement from the
Stone Age. Originally it consisted of two settlements, Ober- and Unterschwetzingen, that grew together in the course of the 17th and 18th century. Originally the town belonged to the diocese of
Worms, but later passed to the Counts of the
Palatinate in the 12th century. The moated castle of Schwetzingen is mentioned for the first time in 1350. It was destroyed in the
Thirty Years' War and in the following
War of the Palatinate Succession; it was rebuilt by count Johann Wilhelm and his predecessor. From 1720 it served temporarily as the residence of the
Elector Karl III Philip (1716–1742) after he moved away from
Heidelberg. Later on it served as a summer residence of the Elector of the Palatinate and their
court.
Schwetzingen Castle began as a simple aristocratic fishing retreat (much like
Versailles and
Karlsruhe which began as hunting lodges) and had an eventful architectural history, in several phases of construction, especially during the reigns of the Elector Karl III Philip and
Karl IV Theodor (1742–1799) who, as their answer to Versailles, embellished the castle gardens with some of the finest and most elaborate formal water
parterres in Germany
gardens. As it evolved, the high central Baroque block of the
Castle was extended to either side (from 1747 onwards) in matching curved ranges of glazed arcades that were punctuated by pavilions which followed the arc of the vast garden circle. They partly enclose the circle bisected by a wide gravel axis flanked by parterres which centers on a spring-fed water-basin inspired by the
bassin of Diana at Versailles, but here expressing the more appropriately water-centered Greek myth of the poet
Arion and the dolphins. On the other side at the entrance, a mulberry-tree
allée stretched from the centre of the
Castle to the city of
Heidelberg, 10 km away on the horizon, truly a remarkable feat of autocratic landscaping. The curving outbuildings of Schwetzingen inspired the smaller Rococo perfections of
Schloss Benrath, with its quarter arcs of matching
corps de logis embracing a formal sheet of water, built for Carl Theodor near
Düsseldorf, 1756–1770. In 1759 Schwetzingen received permission to host markets and was developed into a
baroque city through the 18th century. In 1803 all the territories of the Palatine electorate east of the
Rhine, including Schwetzingen were absorbed into the
Grand Duchy of Baden and the castle became a residence of the Grand Dukes of Baden. In 1833 Schwetzingen was elevated to city status by
Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden. The beginning of
industrialization in Schwetzingen in the year 1850 made the city an important seat of cigar factories and canneries. Also, the cultivation of asparagus gained importance and has remained one of Schwetzingen's claims to fame.
Population development These figures are estimates only, official census results (¹) or statistics of the resident's registration office. ¹ official census results == Politics ==