The oldest son of Count Eberhard IV and Henriette von Mömpelgard was already engaged at the age of seven to Mechthild, daughter of Palgrave Ludwig III, who was just a few months older at the time. On 21 October 1436 the wedding took place in Stuttgart. At 14 he ascended the throne of the Count. After the Earldom of Württemberg had been divided between Ludwig and his younger brother Ulrich in 1442, Ludwig chose Urach as his residence. His great cultural achievements include the expansion of the residential city. Above all the beginning of construction of the "Neues Schloss" (New Palace) in Urach, the expansion of the zoological gardens and the founding of the Carthusian monastery Güterstein are among Ludwig's accomplishments. He pursued a politics of unification with sovereigns, knights and towns, and enjoyed a high standing with both the Emperor and among the Hapsburgs and Palatinates. Following his early death from the plague, Ludwig was buried in 1450 at the Carthusian monastery Güterstein.
Mechthild grew up at her parents' court in Heidelberg in a culturally very open environment. After her sumptuous wedding with Ludwig von Württemberg, with whom she apparently led a harmonious marriage, she lived in Urach. Her children, of whom only two sons and two daughters survived their childhood years, were also born there. Following Ludwig's early death, Mechthild had to endure conflicts lasting several years with her brother-in-law Ulrich and her brother, Palgrave Friedrich, due to the guardianship of her two sons. She initially retired to her widow's seat in Böblingen. Then, in 1452, she married Arch Duke Albrecht VI, the younger brother of Emperor Friedrich III, from whom she mostly lived separated in Rottenburg from 1456. She held a spiritually and culturally lively court and supported not only monasteries, churches and a monastery reform, but also the founding of the University of Tübingen by her son Eberhard. Mechthild was at first buried in the Carthusian Güterstein, however her mortal remains were moved to the "Stiftskirche" (Collegiate Church) in Tübingen after the monastery was closed during the Reformation.
Count Eberhard V im Bart came to rule in 1459 via the Urach half of the dominion of Württemberg. When he died at the age of fifty, he left behind a dukedom consolidated and strengthened under his rule. Eberhard had no legitimate successor, and had the son of his cousin Heinrich, the later Duke Ulrich, educated in Stuttgart. In 1482 Eberhard achieved the reunification of the state. Under the Hapsburg influence he achieved this, the determination of his successor and the raising of the earldom to a dukedom. Under Eberhard the central administration of Württemberg, the judicial system and the state defenses were expanded. He founded the University of Tübingen in 1477 and believed the duties of the sovereign lay in the commitment to the welfare of the state, and therefore shaped the later "state" tasks. Eberhard was born at Urach Palace and lived at times in the Old Palace (Altes Schloß) in Stuttgart.
The daughter of Ludovico II, Margrave of Mantua and Barbara, Margravine of Brandenburg married Count Eberhard V von Württemberg in April 1474 in Mantua. A grand wedding celebration took place in Urach Palace in July. Both sides had dynastic and political advantages from this relationship. Her only daughter, Barbara, died after a few months and the Countess and later Duchess did not feel very comfortable at the modest Württemberg court. She never carried out her plan to return to her family. Barbara Gonzaga was buried in Kirchheim, her mortal remains were lost when the chancel was torn down in 1537.
Ulrich von Württemberg had an unhappy childhood. His mother died after his birth, and his mentally ill father was imprisoned at Hohenurach in 1490. His guardians, who pursued different political interests, were careless with the boy's upbringing and education. As an adult Ulrich was distinguished by his lack of consideration for and mistrust of the people around him. His private and political life was a turbulent one. For example, he lost his Duchy for many years when the Swabian Confederation (Schwäbische Bund) relinquished it to Karl V. The only refuge left to Ulrich was Mömpelgard and Hohentwiel, to which he withdrew and brought into his possession once and for all. With the introduction of the Reformation, Ulrich established decisive criteria for education and training. Duke Ulrich von Württemberg died in 1550 and lies buried in the Collegiate Church (Stiftskirche) in Tübingen. He lived at times in the Old Palace in Stuttgart and made his court there into one of the most magnificent of its age. He liked to use Urach as a hunting palace.
In 1515 Sabina von Bayern, Duchess of Württemberg, gave birth to Christoph, the Württemberg successor to the throne, and fled to her brothers (the Bavarian Dukes Wilhelm and Ludwig) under the threats of her husband, leaving her two children behind. While Duke Ulrich had lost his duchy, Sabina took up residence with her daughter Anna at Urach Palace, which she left in 1534 after the Ulrich's return. She was first able to return to Württemberg after her son Christoph came to power in 1551. She had her widow's seat in Nürtingen, where she maintained her own small court, which developed to a local center of Protestantism in Württemberg.
The son Duchess Sabine left behind, who treated his father with great mistrust his entire life, was raised in Innsbruck at the court of Ferdinand I. He was involved in dynastic conflicts for many years. Duke Christoph imposed the Lutheran orientation of the Württemberg church once and for all, established thirteen monastery schools for training theologians and assumed the role of the political leader of German Protestantism. His court in the Old Palace was that of a Renaissance sovereign, who placed great value on courtly representation and self-portrayal. Duke Christoph's achievements in government laid the basis for Württemberg's body politic for over two hundred years. Like his father Duke Ulrich, he used Urach for hunting.
The son of Duke Friedrich I von Württemberg provided important economic support for Urach with the founding of the "Webervorstadt" (Weavers' Quarter). He had "Goldener Saal" (Golden Hall) in Urach Palace remodeled to one of the most beautiful Renaissance halls. The magnificent oven and the elaborate portals still bear his name and the name of his wife Barbara Sophie today. He had married the daughter of Elector Joachim Friedrichs von Brandenburg in 1609 in Stuttgart. Johann Friedrich pursued a policy of loyalty to the Reich and of reform, and attempted in this way to prevent the threatening religious war. He was forced to devoted himself frequently to foreign policy during his entire reign, however also directed his attention at the internal administration of his country. Due to its position as more of a neutral mediator between Catholics and Protestants, Württemberg was on its own in a precarious situation without allies between the two sides at the time of his death.
In 1744 Carl Eugen, born in Brussels as the son of Eberhard Ludwig's nephew Carl Alexander, took up his rule. At first he lived in the "Altes Schloss" (Old Palace) in Stuttgart. To keep him there, he was promised that a New Palace (Neues Schloß) would be built on a grand scale. Following conflicts with the Württemberg provincial diet, Carl Eugen moved to the Ludwigsburg residential palace. "There was no other court like that of Württemberg at the time" judged the widely-traveled Baron Wimpfen in 1763. Carl Eugen had pleasure palaces (Monrepos, Solitude, Hohenheim etc.) built at incredible expense, organized hunts and had grand celebrations, operas and fireworks displays put on. The cost of this royal household ruined the public finances. At that time the entire state had fewer inhabitants than Stuttgart today. The duke liked to stay at Urach to hunt. He had the "Palmensaal" (Hall of Palms) converted to an apartment with a "Gardesaal" (Guard Hall) and had the "Weißer Saal" (White Hall) furnished.