Ludwigsburg Palace is a 452-room palace complex of 18 buildings in Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the largest palatial estate in the country and has been called the "Versailles of Swabia". Eberhard Louis, Duke of Württemberg, began construction of the palace in 1704. The son of his successor, Charles Eugene, completed it and refurbished parts in the Rococo style, especially its theatre. Charles Eugene abandoned the palace in 1775, and it began a decline until the future Duke, and then King, Frederick moved in in 1795. As King, Frederick, and his Queen, Charlotte, renovated the entirety of the palace in the Neoclassical style. The palace was opened to the public in 1918. It underwent periods of restoration, including for its tricentenary in 2004. It has hosted the Ludwigsburg Festival annually since 1947. The palace is surrounded by gardens named Blooming Baroque (Blühendes Barock), laid out in 1954 as they might have appeared in 1800.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwigsburg_Palace
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1863:
American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant led his Army of the Tennessee across the Big Black River in preparation for the Siege of Vicksburg. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Vicksburg
1936:
In a crime that shocked Japan, Sada Abe strangled her lover Kichizo Ishida, cut off his genitals, and carried them around with her for several days until her arrest. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sada_Abe
1965:
Eli Cohen, a spy who is credited with gathering significant intelligence for Israel in the Six-Day War against Syria, was publicly hanged after having been captured four months earlier. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eli_Cohen
2009:
The Sri Lanka Army killed Velupillai Prabhakaran, the leader and founder of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, to bring an end to the 26-year Sri Lankan Civil War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velupillai_Prabhakaran
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
schlubby: (chiefly US, informal) Clumsy, oafish, or socially awkward; unattractive or unkempt. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/schlubby
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Every man would like to be God, if it were possible; some few find it difficult to admit the impossibility. --Bertrand Russell https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bertrand_Russell