Motif bench: Frederick Michael of Palatinate-Zweibrücken

Soldiers were already stationed in Schwetzingen in the 17th century. As the existing barracks buildings no longer met the requirements of a summer residence, the Gardereiter barracks were built on Schlossplatz in 1756 and the barracks of the Garderegiment zu Fuß in Kronenstraße in 1759 and 1774 respectively. The largest barracks complex, however, was the Marstall, which Count Palatine Friedrich Michael, Field Marshal of the Electoral Palatinate Army, had built around 1750 to house army horses. Acquired and extended by Elector Carl Theodor in 1759, the Marstall was used as barracks for Baden dragoon regiments from 1803 to 1918. In 1938, the tank barracks were built on Friedrichsfelder Landstraße, which was occupied by American military units from 1945 to 2013.