Schüsselesee lake

From 1797 until his death in 1816, Duke Friedrich II – first king of Württemberg as of 1806 – spent every summer in Ludwigsburg. During that time, he completely refashioned the eastern side of the palace. In the middle of the wilderness and surrounded by craggy rock walls stood an opera house constructed by Duke Carl Eugen. The opera house was linked to the palace by a "bridge walkway" – a wooden pathway which spanned the gorge. Friedrich had the opera house demolished, the land filled in and the bridge replaced by a dam.

On the site of the opera house, he created the oval-shaped Schüsselesee lake in 1801, which got its name from a bowl or basin at the centre from which water flowed.

Today, waterfowl and large fish live in and around the lake. On the shore are attractive duck houses, which resemble pavilions with their curving, pointed roofs and weathervanes.