The spacious New Palace (Neues Schloss) lies directly next to the Old Palace (Altes Schloss) in the center of Stuttgart. It was built as one of the last baroque residences for Duke Carl Eugen von Württemberg (ruled 1744-1793).
When Carl Eugen became Duke of Württemberg at the age of 16, he demanded a residence "befitting of his rank, suited to his royal dignity and the size of his royal household". During his preceding education at the Prussian court, Carl Eugen had experienced the "Friderician" splendor of the royal household and now threatened to reside in Ludwigsburg. After protracted conflicts and planning he achieved the laying of the foundation stone on 3 September 1746.
Until 1751 the architect Leopoldo Retti erected the Main Building (Corps de logis or Hauptbau) and the garden wing. After his sudden death, a Parisian architect, Philippe de La Guêpière, was commissioned with continuing building. He was an authority on modern architectural theory and its requirements for modern palace construction dominated entirely by France. By 1756 the shell of the city wing was completed, the Middle Building (Mittelbau) erected and the interior decoration in the garden wing and partially in the Main Building was finished.
However, Carl Eugen was unable to move in with his court, as in November 1762 the garden wing was completely gutted by fire.
Now the focus was shifted to completing the interior of the city wing, where Carl Eugen held his birthday festivities in 1763. After conflicts with the Württemberg Diet and the "Reichshofkammer" (highest court) in Vienna due to "addiction to wasting money", the Duke moved his residence to Ludwigsburg in 1764 and had the work on the New Palace discontinued.
Carl Eugen first returned to Stuttgart in 1775, had parts of the palace repaired and the Marble Hall (Marmorsaal) completed in 1782 on the occasion of the visit of the Russian Grand Duke Paul and his wife Maria Fjodorowna, the Duke's niece. When Carl Eugen died in 1793, several rooms had been decorated by Reinhard Ferdinand Heinrich Fischer and the shell of the garden wing was rebuilt, however the palace was not finished.