This summer residence for the Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel was a major work by Munich’s court architect François Cuvilliés. With its wealth of well-preserved interiors, it is a prime artistic accomplishment of German rococo. The three wings built for Governor and future Landgrave Wilhelm VIII, a connoisseur of the arts, between 1743 and 1761 has been decorated inside to designs by the Berlin sculptor Johann August Nahl. The residence thus combines the rococo of Bavaria with that of Friderician Prussia. Many outstanding objects have been preserved in the stately apartments, including a desk and clock by David Roentgen, about 50 paintings by Johann Heinrich Tischbein the Elder, the ”peacock feather” chest (named after its mother-of-pearl pattern), and porcelain from Meissen (Dresden), Berlin, Fulda and Höchst.

Together, the park and palace formed an overall design which took its cue from its principal axes. Plans for the park were only implemented in part. The ornately adorned southern axis with its canal, pool and Chinese houses was completed in 1756. The central axis was partly constructed in 1760 as a watery stairway.

Around 1800 the grounds were transformed into a landscape garden by court gardeners Karl and Wilhelm Hentze for Landgrave Wilhelm IX, from 1803 Elector Wilhelm I (1785–1821).