Station: [19] Staff Stairwell

You are now in the interior staff stairwell of the Königsbau.

This stairwell connects all the floors of the Königsbau. It served as a behind-the-scenes passageway, allowing the servants to reach all the apartments without being seen.

This staircase reveals a great deal about daily life in this house. While everything in the reception rooms was designed to make an impression, work here proceeded quietly and unobtrusively. The staff stairwell kept the Königsbau running smoothly. It created direct routes. And it separated the paths of the servants from those of the residents and guests.

The rooms of the court officials and footmen were located on the top two floors. This, too, shows how clearly the functions were divided within the building. Below, the paths to the apartments. Above, the rooms for those who served here.

So when you follow this staircase today, you’re walking along a route that was once designed purely for practical purposes. No grand entrance, no grand reception. Just a work route. That’s precisely what makes this place so fascinating. Because it doesn’t tell of festivities and splendor, but of the processes that made all of that possible in the first place.

Today, the staircase leads you to the prince’s apartment on the second floor.