ResidenzWechsel. Zwei Museen, eine Ausstellung

We have all been aware of the consequences of moving the capital since the German government moved its seat from Bonn to Berlin. The effects of a historic relocation are traced in the Braunschweig Palace Museum. In the middle of the 18th century, the Dukes of Brunswick moved from Wolfenbüttel back to the principality's largest city - Brunswick.

In contrast to Wolfenbüttel, Brunswick had been one of the largest trading cities in Germany since the late Middle Ages. With the opening of the opera house in 1690 and the establishment of the Collegium Carolinum in 1745, the ducal house had attractive facilities that benefited the court and the population.

The move to the new Brunswick Residential Palace in the mid-18th century marked the end of a long process of permanently consolidating the regained sovereignty over Brunswick.

The exhibition, the second part of which focuses on Wolfenbüttel and can be seen in the Museum Schloss Wolfenbüttel from 28.11.2024 - 31.03.2025, shows how the Grauer Hof Palace in Braunschweig came into being, what impulses came about in connection with the relocation of the residence and what traces of this period are still visible in the cityscape today.

Not only the developments in the city of Braunschweig, but also the "Herrschaftliche Weg" with palaces, gardens and woodlands between Wolfenbüttel and Braunschweig as a sign of the close connection between the two places is presented. And something else becomes apparent: with the change of residence in the 18th century, the festive culture of absolutism also changed towards the Enlightenment.