Turkish Louis
The margrave's nickname from his Ottoman campaigns, which paid for the palace.
Martin Kraft — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Martin Kraft — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Martin Kraft — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Martin Kraft — CC BY-SA 3.0
A museum of German military history inside the baroque palace at Rastatt, immediately north of Baden-Baden. The palace is the context: it was built in the early eighteenth century for Margrave Ludwig Wilhelm of Baden, known as Türkenlouis — Turkish Louis — for his campaigns against the Ottomans in Hungary and the Balkans. It was the first large French-style baroque palace on the Upper Rhine, and it was built with the money of those campaigns. The museum covers military history in the German lands from the late medieval period to the twentieth century: arms, armour, flags, uniforms and models of fortifications. Among its most important holdings are trophies from the Ottoman wars — tents, weapons and standards — a rare collection assembled by the margrave himself. The palace also holds a separate museum on freedom movements in German history, because Rastatt was a centre of the Baden revolution of 1849. Hours may be limited and the palace's sections carry their own tickets.
The margrave's nickname from his Ottoman campaigns, which paid for the palace.
Rastatt was a centre of the 1849 Baden revolution, with a separate museum here.
Very close to Baden-Baden by frequent train — a half-day.
Rastatt Palace, Rastatt
The last chapter of the 1848 revolutions in the German lands. When the attempt to unify Germany constitutionally collapsed, a republican rising in Baden held the state for months. It was crushed by Prussian military intervention, and Rastatt was its last stronghold — the fortress was besieged and surrendered in July 1849, and a number of its leaders were executed at the palace itself. The museum treats this seriously.
Baden-Baden itself — the baths, the casino, the Kurhaus and the Black Forest — comes first on a first visit. This museum is for those interested in military history or the 1848 revolutions, or staying several days in the region. Its closeness makes it easy: fifteen kilometres and half a day.
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