200 years ago Secularization changed the German Southwest. Following the Napoleonic wars, the buildings, landholdings and property of the monasteries and bishoprics passed into state ownership. The repercussions are felt up until today, as new uses had to be found repeatedly for most of the empty buildings. The New Palace (Neues Schloss) in Meersburg was also affected by the closure of religious institutions and the takeover of church property.
With Secularization the reign of the prince bishops at the New Palace in Meersburg ended when troops from Baden took possession of it in October 1802. The official tribute to Margrave Karl Friedrich von Baden took place on 29 September 1803 in Meersburg: It symbolically completed the passing of the Meersburg residential palace to the electoral dynasty of Baden.
After church services in the Meersburg Court Chapel (Hofkapelle) had been abolished in 1807, the church silver was brought to the Department of Finance (Finanzdepartement) in Karlsruhe. The New Palace was still completely furnished and ready for possible visits by the House of Baden until 1817. However, the Grand Duke increasingly had furnishings and tapestries brought to other palaces in Baden, and primarily to Mannheim. The priests' seminary opened in 1735 was also moved to Freiburg in 1828. In May 1833 an auction announcement for the New Palace appeared in the newspaper "Augsburger Zeitung" - however no buyer was found. After different uses the state of Baden-Württemberg purchased in 1955 the New Palace
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