- Allgäu Cheese Route
- Baden Asparagus Route
- Baden Wine Route
- Beer and Castle Route
- Bergstrasse Route
- Bertha Benz Memorial Route
- Black Forest Panoramic Route
- Black Forest Spa Route
- The Castle Road
- ENERGY Route of Lusatian Industrial Heritage
- European Route of Brick Gothic
- European Route of Historical Theatres
- Garden Art Route between the Rhine and Meuse rivers
- German Alpine Road
- German Avenues Route
- German Ceramics Route
- German Clock Route
- German Fairy Tale Route
- German Fen Route
- German Ferries Route
- German Football Route
- German Gemstone Route
- German Half-Timbered Houses Route
- The German Language Route
- German Limes Route
- German Motorbike Route
- German Toy Road
- German Volcanoes Route
- German Wine Route
- The Glass Route
- Hamaland Route
- Heinrich Schickhardt European Cultural Route
- Hohenstaufen Route
- The Hohenzollern Route
- The House of Orange Route
- International Dollart Route
- Legendary Rhine-Romantic Route
- Lower Saxony Asparagus Route
- Lower Saxony Milk Route
- Lower Saxony Mills Route
- Moselle Slate Route
- Neckar-Alb-Aare Roman Route
- The Nibelung-Siegfried Route
- Northern Black Forest Monasteries Route
- Old Salt Road
- Pit Stop Route
- The Porcelain Route
- The Princes of Reuss Route
- The Queen Louise of Prussia Route
- Romanesque Route
- Romantic Road
- Green Route – Route Verte
- Route of Democracy
- Route of Industrial Heritage
- Route of Megalithic Culture
- Saale-Unstrut Wine Route
- Saar-Palatinate Baroque Route
- The Saxon Steam Railway Route
- Saxon Wine Route
- Saxon-Bohemian Silver Mines Route
- Schleswig-Holstein Cheese Route
- Sisi's Road
- Sky Paths
- Swabian Alb Route
- Swabian Spa Route
- Swedish Heritage Route
- The Route of Emperors and Kings
- Thuringia Route of Human Rights and Democracy
- The Transromanica European Cultural Route
- Upper Swabian Baroque Route
- VIA REGIA – the Cultural Route
- Via Claudia Augusta
- Via Sacra
- The Viez Road
- The Vorpommern Village Road Route
- Westphalian Mills Route
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- H
- I
- J
- K
- L
- M
- N
- O
- P
- Q
- R
- S
- T
- U
- V
- W
- X
- Y
- Z
Saar-Palatinate Baroque Route – Baroque and garden delights
The approximately 100 km long Saar-Palatinate Baroque Route, which includes the former ducal towns of Saarbrücken, Blieskastel, Zweibrücken and Ottweiler, takes you on a journey through the lands of former kings, princes, dukes and counts and the Baroque style from 1650 to 1800. The magnificent 18th century residential palaces and marvellous artworks found along this route can truly be considered masterpieces.
…
You will be astonished at the Baroque treasures waiting to be discovered along this themed route near the French border. Saar Palatinate is a district in the south-eastern corner of Germany with four former ducal towns: the neat Baroque town of Ottweiler, princely Zweibrücken, Blieskastel in Bliesgau, which was the former residence of the Dukes of Palatinate-Zweibrücken and Count von der Leyen, and Saarbrücken. These, together with vestiges from the region's three, closely entwined dynasties – the Dukes of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, Count von der Leyen – form the main stopping points on the route.
A Baroque tour between Saar and the Palatinate
The Baroque era is generally associated with celebrities and artists such as Johann Sebastian Bach, Andreas Gryphius, the Baroque architect Friedrich Joachim Stengel, the painter and plasterer Johann Baptist Zimmermann, magnificent buildings, stylish gardens, elaborate ceiling paintings and dainty furniture. It is also an age that has left its mark on the Saarland and the surrounding area.
Baroque in all its forms
In Europe the Baroque was an age of splendid palaces and innovative garden design. This was also the case in the Saarland and in the south-west of Rhineland-Palatinate. Many secular and spiritual leaders modelled their gardens after the French style to create their own miniature versions of the Palace of Versailles. The terraces of the grounds at Saarbrücken Castle originally stretched right to the banks of the Saar river. The gardens of the Baroque era were usually lined with box trees and accented with ornamental flowerbeds which surrounded a central focus point such as a fountain or statue.
Sublime art, sumptuous forms and delicate lines
In some locations, the range of large Baroque architectural pieces is no longer as rich or as varied as it once was, which has unfortunately led to some substantial gaps along the route. A visit to these once spectacular sites is nonetheless worthwhile as their history and stories of the events that once took place there are so interesting and varied. Whether guided by "historical figures" such as countesses, maids, the Baroque architect Stengel, or travelled at your own pace, the Saar-Palatinate Baroque Route takes you on a journey through the wonders of Baroque architecture and gardens, jewels, secluded places and the culinary delights of the period.
Saar-Palatinate Baroque Route
Length: approximately 100 km
Theme: Baroque, countryside, culture
Highlights:
Blieskastel: historical old quarter, museums, the Gollenstein megalithic standing stone
Homburg-Jägersburg: Gustavsburg Palace
Hornbach: abbey, abbey gardens
Ottweiler: Baroque old quarter, museums, the Widow's Palace (Witwenpalais)
Saarbrücken: palace, the Stengel tour, St. John's Basilica (Basilika St. Johann)
St. Ingbert: St. Engelbert's Church
Sulzbach/Saar: historical salt houses (Salzhäuser)
Zweibrücken: castle, rose garden