The very well preserved monastery and palace complex in Bebenhausen allows visitors to stroll through the style periods of seven centuries. From the Romanesque to the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque periods to Historicism and Jugendstil. As a result, authentic late Gothic architecture can be compared with historicizing styles of the 19th century within a very small area.
The building of the monastery church falls within the era of the late Romanesque in the early 13th century. Arcades and piers are designed with a three-dimensional expressiveness, however are still largely non-sectionalized. Massive, closed sections of the upper walls still convey an impression of Romanesque church architecture today.
The Cistercian Order is considered the agent of the Gothic and provided for the spreading of this style. The oldest buildings of the enclosure area in Bebenhausen, the "Kapitelsaal" (Chapter Hall), "Parlatorium" (parlatory) and "Bruderhalle" (Hall of Brothers), were built in the early Gothic period around the middle of the 13th century. They display a large number of profiled crossbeams borne by sturdy columns. A rugged, reserved charm still clings to this early Gothic period.
A prime example of the High Gothic period is the large, eight-sectioned tracery windows in the chancel of the monastery church. It was erected toward the middle of the 14th century. The summer refectory is from the same period. Its columns are slender and graceful. They show a particular conciseness in the vertical support and have lost all heaviness. As a result, this room appears to be free, rising upward and flooded with light. With its late Gothic appearance, the cloister preserves an accurate picture of monastic life in the Late Middle Ages.
With its rich forms, the stone ridge turret erected in the early 15th century also points toward a change in architectural opinion, which at the same time symbolizes a relaxing of the strict rules of the Order.
The short church nave and aisle of the Bebenhausen monastery church originated during the Renaissance. With the introduction of the Reformation the church had become too large. In 1537 Duke Ulrich von Württemberg had it torn down up to the transept and the chancel. Three crossbeams were erected again from 1566 to 1568.
Another eloquent witness to the Renaissance can still be seen today in the well-preserved, richly colored ornamental plasterwork pulpit. The sculptor, Konrad Wagner, had brought back the latest trends from his study trip to Italy: He sculpted intertwined ornaments of plants and animals with fine arabesques in plaster.
In the 17th and 18th century the monastery church was furnished with a block pew, adorned the choirs with paintings and created a high altar.
Excellently preserved evidence of the historicizing style can primarily be found in Bebenhausen Palace. The Württemberg kings had their appartements decorated to suite the taste of the respective age. While King Karl (1864-1891) preferred the Gothic and Renaissance styles, Jugendstil elements, which already announce the modern age, can be found in the structural alterations from the time of King Wilhelm II (1891-1921).