Kleines Palais Meiningen

The palace is a prime example of Neoclassical architecture in Meiningen. The two-story building features a gabled portico with four Ionic columns and semicircular risalits at the side ends of the building. On the upper floor, there is a domed hall modeled after Roman examples with a trapezoidal coffered ceiling, and also semicircular rooms with antique-style stucco friezes.

The palace was built from 1821 to 1823 by architect Johann Andreas Schaubach on the site of the former lower gate bastion. It subsequently served as a summer palace for Duke Bernhard II of Meiningen and, from 1825 after his marriage to Marie of Hesse-Kassel (1804–1888), as the residence of the ducal couple. After the ducal family moved to the renovated Große Palais in 1863, the Kleine Palais was used for various purposes. Even after the end of the Duchy in 1918, it remained in the possession of the Ducal House of Saxe-Meiningen until 1946. In 1923, a renovation took place under the direction of Karl Behlert to convert it into a bank building for the Thüringer Staatsbank. The Kleine Palais survived World War II undamaged. In July 1945, the Soviet occupation forces established a commandant's office for the Meiningen region here. After their departure, the building served as a kindergarten from 1967 to 1991. From 1991, the building was extensively renovated on behalf of Dresdner Bank, which used it as a bank branch from May 1993. Since 2010, the Kleine Palais has been a branch of Commerzbank, serving approximately 9500 customers. The listed building underwent another renovation in 2012.