Day Trip to Bayreuth

7/24/14

Today my lovely neighbor Sabrina, her children TyBrea, Micaiah, their friend Marcos, Keenan and I wanted to go explore a new place but wanted to find somewhere close so we headed to Bayreuth.  It's only 34 minutes away so that was a nice little distance plus, it has two palaces, a castle ruins and much more!

We went around 10:00am and had to find parking, which is always a challenge but even more so when your GPS tells you to drive somewhere only to find out it's a no driving or no parking zone!  Finally, we found parking and walked to the New Palace.  We purchased the all day pass which gives you access to the New Palace, Old Hermitage, Margrave's Opera House, and Sanspareil Rock Garden/Oriental Building/Palace Zwernitz (Castle Ruins).

The New Palace was the Margravine (Princess) Wilhelmine's way of bringing a little bit of her beloved Berlin to this little town that she found herself in after marriage.  When she married Margrave (Prince) Frederick of Bayreuth, she had to move from Berlin to Bayreuth, which she was very unhappy about.  Her only consolation was that she truly loved him, which was very unusual in those times.  Usually marriage was political and rarely about love.  The Margrave gave Wilhelimine the Old Hermitage for her birthday.  The Old Hermitage was an old palace that was modeled after a hermitage rather than an opulent palace.  Wilhelimine was able to renovate it to her liking, and later was able to create the New Palace.  

Margravine Wilhelmine, the favorite sister of Frederick the Great, without a doubt one of the most important female figures of the 18th century.  Unlike, say the Empress Elizabeth or Maria Theresia, Wilhelmine did not make her success on the field of politics, but in the realm of the spirit and the arts.  Wilhelmine was the representative of an era in transition, the Age of Enlightenment.

Up to this point, this has been my favorite palace.  It was not as opulent as some that I've seen, or as large but it was the prettiest and the walls and ceilings are absolutely amazing.  I feel I should have lived in this palace... :)  Just up my alley!

New Palace

Side view of the New Palace

First room on our tour

I love that Wilhelmine used color!

Look at the detail on these walls!

My favorite room!

TyBrea pretending to sit on one of the chairs

Even the furniture is perfect for each room...

Me & Sabrina

The groto made of pebbles and shells

Going up to the second floor

The banquet hall

View from the banquet hall

Wilhelmine at 2 years old

We took the only tour available to us.  It was completely in German but we didn't need to know the language to appreciate how beautiful this palace was!  I can't wait to go back as soon as possible and do it again actually!

Next, we go back to our car and drove 10 minutes to the Old Hermitage.  At least they had parking!  We started walking to the Hermitage through the maze and gardens.

Sabrina and TyBrea

New Hermitage

I loved the gold horses on the top!

Pretty Ms. Sabrina

The back of the New Hermitage

The back of the New Hermitage

The Old Hermitage

The entrance to the Old Hermitage

Yep, those are faces in the wall

The grotto

The inner courtyard of the Old Hermitage

Marble Hall

The Corner Cabinet

The Large Cabinet

The Chinese Cabinet

The Mirror Room

The Ceiling in the Margrave's Antechamber

The Margrave's Bedroom

The Music Room

The Margravine's Antechamber

The Margravine's Audience Room

The Margravine's Bedroom with Silk Wall Coverings

The Studio with Wilhemine's Painting

The Writing Room

The Kitchen

A Lemon Flower

The entire trip cost 12 euro for the entrance tickets and 5 euro for lunch!  Pretty darn good for a day's exploration.