During the fire at Heidecksburg Palace in 1753 the former princely living rooms were spared in great parts, but until 1918 they were refurnished several times according to the latest fashion. The baroque gallery, representatively decorated with portraits of the counts of Schwarzburg, is the access to ten rooms offering a tour through completely different epochs. Starting with a room of the 16th century with a heavy wood-beamed ceiling one can find rooms in the style of early Baroque, Classicism, Biedermeier up to Neorococo of the late 19th century. The last princely couple lived in these rooms until 1918.
Interior design of three centuries
The dressing room was furnished in the last third of the 19th century. Its longitudinal wall is dominated by an integrated wardrobe made of Swedish birch. The adjoining tapestry room served the last princely couple as a sleeping room. Passing the lady’s writing room with its stucco adorned groin vault you get into the golden salon dating back to 1892. The room decorated with golden wallpapers distinguishes from the other rooms by plenty of fantastic shapes deriving from the Rococo art. A small door leads to the Delmenhorst chamber, presumably the parlour of the family of the count of Barby who stayed at Heidecksburg palace in Rudolstadt during the time of their exile. In 1636 a magnificent stucco ceiling that depicts mythological hunting scenes in the style of Mannerism was installed in this room. The Classical cupid room and the Oldenburg gallery with its famous paintings depicting the lion’s fight of Oldenburg in 1963 finally lead to the hall of mirrors. It was built in 1700 and is the only room of the south wing that could be preserved in its original state. The impression of the room is dominated by paintings in the form of lacquer wallpapers with Chinese motives, consoles with East-Asian porcelain and big wall mirrors.