Wuerttemberg Memorial Chapel Tribute To A Young Queen

P erched atop a                    so he could build something truly  vineyard-covered hill, the      symbolic of his devotion for her.  lonely Wuerttemberg             Italian architect Giovanni         Memorial Chapel enjoys a              Salucci had been employed as the   magnificent view of the Stuttgart     court architect and was soon put   area’s wine country. Although it      to work designing an appropriate   sits in reverent silence, the         new haunt for young queen.        chapel proclaims the timeless                                            love of King Wilhelm I for his        The result of Salucci’s work was   deceased bride, Katharina. The        a neo-classic rotunda with an      two now share this secluded           airy, arching dome inspired by     resting place, together for           Rome’s Pantheon. Towering          eternity.                             Corinthian columns, stucco                                               rosettes, and marble statues all   In 1819, Wilhelm and the people       of the palest hues reflect peace   of Wuerttemberg lost their            and rest as the dome’s incoming    beloved queen at the tender age       sunlight is subdued to a gentle    of 31. This queen had given much      glow. Warmly detailed cast iron    of her own money to further the       accents the coolness of the        social development of the area,       circular room and is used for the  including a girls’ school,            doors, window frames, and a        hospitals, and an institution for     ventilated portion of the floor    charity – even during the             directly under the soaring dome.   extremely difficult years of          Since Katharina was a member of    famine. The enormous Wuerttemberg     the Russian Orthodox Church,       Hill, home to the family’s old        Wilhelm made sure that this        11th century fortress, had been a     aspect of his wife’s existence     favorite place of Katharina’s.        was also remembered with fitting   Shortly after her death, Wilhelm      icons and services. Even to this   had the ancient fortress leveled      day, Orthodox worship is           conducted in the chapel once a        originating in the crypt           year on Whit Monday. Katharina        reverberate off the hard stone     quietly sleeps below in the           walls as well as travel up         chapel’s dark crypt, surrounded       through the cast iron floor to     by a massive white sarcophagus,       bounce around the spacious dome.   where she patiently waited for        Secondary echoes from the crypt    Wilhelm to join her 45 years          also travel skyward to create      later. Their daughter, Marie,         deafening slap-echoes which live   lies nearby and remains the only      several seconds before             other soul in the tomb. Although      dissipating. This amazing sound    the crypt is simple and unadorned     effect brings an unusual energy    in décor, the cast iron floor         and life to a place enveloped in   above allows light to pour in and     death and remembrance.             paint decorative patterns on the                                         cold stones that support the          On its isolated peak on            chapel’s foundation. Since this       Wuerttemberg Hill, the memorial    iron floor/ceiling lies right         chapel leaves the visitor with a   under the dome, the royal couple      profound sense of marital love.    enjoys an everlasting view of the     Visible from even miles away, the  heavens.                             structure immortalizes one man’s                                         devotion to his wife. Romantic,    In addition to being a monument       too in the sense that the pair     of love and Italian architecture,     have this secluded spot to         the chapel is something of an         themselves forever.                acoustical phenomenon. Sounds          About the Author: Vicki Landes is the author and photographer of Europe for the Senses, a Photographic Journal. She has been soaking up Europe for the last six years and has visited 42 countries. Learn more at Europe for the Senses Published At: www.Isnare.com