In the midst of an extensive park with wooded areas planted in 1707 for a pheasantry, lies the small baroque pleasure and hunting palace Favorite. It was erected 1717-1723 according to the plans of the Court Architect Donato Guiseppe Frisoni. Duke Eberhard Ludwig, the builder of the residential palace in Ludwigsburg, had the richly forested park surrounded with a high wooden fence and set up a pheasant breeding farm.
Favorite Palace was not intended for longer stays, but instead served as an eye-catching point designed as the northern end of Ludwigsburg's main axis. The palace was also used for hunting, as a summer villa and provided a superb view from the Beletage. In 1748 Favorite Palace also served as the background for a magnificent fireworks display at the wedding of Duke Carl Eugen and Elisabeth Friederike von Brandenburg-Bayreuth. Carl Eugen moved the pheasant breeding farm in 1750 and had white stags settled in the park.
Duke Friedrich II, from 1806 the first Württemberg King, had the park turned into a zoo with fallow dear, chamois and stags soon after his accession to the throne. The architect Nikolaus von Thouret redesigned the interior of the small palace in the classicistic style. Following a thorough restoration, Favorite Palace has been open to the public since 1983 and is appointed with valuable furnishings. The rooms can be viewed as part of guided tours.
