It was designed by Giovanni Salucci for King William I of Württemberg to house the remains his second wife, Catherine Pavlovna of Russia.

The remains of William I, Catherine, and their daughter Maria Friederike Charlotte [de], are housed in the mausoleum.

In exchange for fealty to France and auxiliary Württemberger troops, Frederick was rewarded with land from smaller German states and increased rank and status.

in 1814, William, Crown Prince of Württemberg, met Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia, his cousin and a recent widow.

[4] The pair met again in Vienna and resolved to marry,[2] leading William to obtaining a speedy divorce from Princess Caroline on the basis of non-consummation.

[8] He announced a contest to determine a plan for a Neo-Gothic structure, soliciting entries from famous architects of the time such as Leo von Klenze, Joseph Thürmer, and Heinrich Hübsch.

[9][10] For reasons unknown, William I chose one of three unsolicited designs by his court architect, Giovanni Battista Salucci, for a Neoclassical mausoleum.

Per his final testament, William's body was carried out of Stuttgart after sunset and arrived at the Mausoleum just before morning on 30 June, when was laid to rest with Catherine.

[4] Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev, a Russian poet who worked in Germany and traveled to Stuttgart about in 1828, wrote the poem Rotenberg that was published in 1837.

The landing of each perron hosts a cast-iron bowl for offerings, a motif taken from tombs of European antiquity and from La Rotonda.

The nave is wrapped by eight columns and eight pilasters, topped in the Corinthian order and flanking four niches containing statues of the Four Evangelists, which support the dome.

[11] Each of the Evangelists appears in medieval fashion – dressed in Roman garb, sporting a tablet, and depicted with their symbol, with the exception of John.

The statues were commissioned by William I from Johann Heinrich von Dannecker and Bertel Thorvaldsen, and carved from Carrara marble.

The double sarcophagus was designed by Salucci and carved from Carrara marble by court sculptor Antonio Isopi, and records the names and dates of birth and death of the monarchs within.