Favorite Palace

The site of the Favorite palace is located directly on the banks of the Rhine opposite the mouth of the Main and south of the medieval fortress ring outside the gates of Mainz.

In the later construction and renovation phase (from 1725), influences from Anselm Franz von Ritter zu Groenesteyn, known as the "courtier-architect," and, through his mediation, the Parisian court architect Germain Boffrand were added to the design of the Favorite.

Additionally, this conflict significantly strained the resources of the Electorate, causing Lothar Franz von Schönborn to partially put his most important Mainz construction project on hold.

An anonymous contemporary report describes the impressive effect of the festive complex on the viewer:[3] "The ascending structure of the Favorite never appeared more magnificent than by night illumination.

When one traveled on the Rhine from Kostheim during such festivities, it seemed as if a luminous fairy-tale castle lay ahead, reflecting a brilliant image in a thousand flickers on the smooth water surface.

Moving upwards, away from the Rhine, two bosquets with cabinets (dense hedges or groves shaped by pruning, with open spaces in between) framed a lawn parterre with potted trees.

Large bosquets of horse chestnut trees and hornbeam hedges surrounded a sunken Boulingrin with a water basin, a so-called Salle de verdure.

Well-maintained grassy paths, referred to by Kleiner as "Communications-Stiegen," led upwards to further bosquet rooms and then to one of the most striking park elements of the entire complex, the "Great Promenade."

Behind a basin with particularly high fountains, a semicircular grotto was built into a retaining wall, the main feature of which was a statue of Thetis seated on a shell, drawn by dolphins.

In this initial section of the complex, the Rhine deliberately formed the transverse natural conclusion of the main visual axis created by the water elements.

The facade decoration in the form of painted false architecture in fresco technique, applied late (around 1721), utilized designs by the Italian Giovanni Francesco Marchini.

The central and largest interior space of the building was a magnificent, richly stuccoed garden hall or gallery, also adorned with Marchini's painted false architecture in the early Baroque style.

Upon completion, one of the Cavalier Houses was promptly converted into a bedroom for the Prince-elector, who reported this change to his nephew, Vice-Chancellor (German: Reichsvizekanzler) Friedrich Karl von Schönborn (1674–1746) in Vienna.

Even before this, the Elector had hosted festivities and court balls for immigrants of the French nobility, including the Count of Artois (later Charles X of France) and Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé.

More detailed descriptions, however, are found in two accounts: the relevant passage from the memoirs of Christoph Sachse, librarian from Weimar, in 1822, and a letter from an anonymous eyewitness of the festivities.

I will shortly recount to you the story of our festivities: They began praeter propter like the Corpus Christi procession, with a great gathering of fools, wise men, women, girls, and a large portion of those who have something in common with both, accompanied by the military, the entire citizenry, and school youth in white shepherd attire.

In this formation, 300 cannons and the many-tongued bells of the entire clergy eagerly awaited the most blessed arrival of Their Imperial Majesties, to loudly express their most obedient devotion...On the second [day], we had nothing to see except the court ball, where the Empress danced a great deal.

Namely, in addition to the Favorite, which was protected by its location and truly looked heavenly, they also wanted to illuminate the church towers of Hochheim along with the deanery, those of Kostheim and Kastel along with the Rhine bridge; but despite all efforts, it was not possible to achieve this, so the whole suffered a great blow.

All inns were occupied by princes who could no longer find space in the electoral palaces, and all private houses hosted guests or friends from some distant corner of Germany... From early morning, the streets were bustling with well-dressed individuals, and by noon, the clamor of carriages was loud enough to rival a capital city...At court, festivities, banquets, concerts, balls, illuminations, fireworks, glorified by the incomparable magic of our surroundings and the majestic splendor of the Rhine, followed one after another for several days without interruption...

The gardens of the Favorite, the floating bridge, the yachts on the river, and the church towers of Kostheim, Kastel, and Hochheim in the distance conjured an artificial day in the darkness of the night, presenting a sight more beautiful than anything ever seen in London or Paris.

In the vast mirror of the Rhine, the burning towers and the fireworks rising from the shore doubled themselvesAlmost exactly one year after the Fürstentag in July 1792, the Favorite palace– including the Orangery and pavilions, the ornate flowerbeds with their richly adorned figures, the water features, the garden house, and the horse chestnut avenues – were completely destroyed.

Due to the wartime leveling of the fortification's outer area, the first destructions of the Favorite occurred; among other things, the wooden cavalier pavilions were demolished, and trees were felled.

After failed surrender negotiations, the bombardment of the besieged city began on the night of 17 June 1793, an event captured in literary form by eyewitness Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in his work "The Siege of Mainz."

Already on 25 June 1793, the Elector of Mainz, Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal, wrote in a letter: The Favorite is destroyed forever, my furniture in the houses, vehicles, carriages, much linen, everything is ruined.

Here, the avenues were green, where, as the gardener told me, His Gracious Elector entertained the highest heads with all their retinues at immense tables; and the good old man can tell you all about the dismantled tableware, silverware, and dishes.

The well-preserved red sandstone statue of Hercules was found during construction work for the Hessische Ludwigsbahn in 1861 and was placed by the Siesmayer brothers in the later city park.

The small Rheinschlösschen existed primarily before the construction of Favorite began; the central building planned as the actual Lustschlösschen was converted into an orangery, which likely did not fully align with the original architectural intent.

While the planning of the Lustschloss and its grounds initially followed the French model, the Favorite exhibited some distinct features that partly shaped future trends in garden architecture.

Thus, the Rhine served as a concluding natural water channel at the lower end of the parterres, while the Main represented an indirect continuation of the axis formed by the watercourses within the estate.

The successful staging of the Favorite palace, combined with its surrounding natural landscape—especially the presence of the two rivers and the typical vineyard terraces on the slopes—was highly praised by many prominent visitors, including poets like Goethe and Schiller.