The forest area of the park, formerly the municipal forest, also called the Mönchwald, was used from the Middle Ages to the beginning of the 18th century for the acorn fattening of cattle, especially domestic pigs. The cattle ate the fruit of the trees and at the same time compacted the soil. As a result, hardly any young trees grew back. The area changed to a hut forest due to constant browsing and nutrient deprivation.
The hunting enthusiast Duke Eberhard Ludwig had the forest fenced in in 1707 in order to build a pheasantry. This ended the use of the forest as pasture. Finally, between 1717 and 1723, the duke had the Favorite hunting lodge and summer residence built.
From 1806, King Friedrich I of Württemberg had a zoo created with game, chamois and deer. This ensured that the young trees and fruits were eaten again and that the pasture forest character with the non-existent undergrowth has been preserved to this day.
The Favoritepark nature reserve (ID: 1.003) was decreed in 1937, making it the first nature reserve in the district of Ludwigsburg and the second in what is now the administrative district of Stuttgart. The protected status has repeatedly saved the area from being reduced in size or being tunneled under by settlement pressure. In 1990 the ordinance on the nature reserve was revised to adapt it to the requirements of the time.
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