them his court artists, were often also actively involved in the acquisition of works of fine and decorative art when they travelled abroad. His youngest son Ludwig, for example, collected coins and medals, which became an important building block for the incipient coin cabinet. After Christian Ludwig’s death, his eldest son and successor Friedrich II, who had been involved in art purchases as crown prince, scaled back the acquisitions to timepieces, and paintings by the court portraitists. His particular interest was architecture, and he brought his ideas to bear on the design of the buildings he commissioned. These included the Ludwigslust Court Church and Ludwigslust Palace, which replaced his father’s small hunting lodge. The Picture Gallery in Schwerin’s old schloss fell dormant, not least because the princely family now spent most of its time at Ludwigslust. Friedrich II’s son, Friedrich Franz I, acquired an extensive collection of Old Master drawings and prints from the collection of the late Elector Maximilian of Cologne, which belong to the core holdings of today’s Department of Prints, Drawings and Photographs. It was not until 1837 that the new Grand Duke Paul Friedrich decided to restore Schwerin to the status of a true princely residence. Instead of being just the administrative seat, it once again became a city where the prince and his court resided, investing it with a certain lustre and stately 10 Georg Weissmann (1706–1760) Portrait of Christian Ludwig II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 1731 Oil on canvas SSGK-MV, inv. no. 3757
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