The Munich Residence
The Munich Residence is the former royal palace of the Bavarian monarchs of the House of Wittelsbach in the center of the city of Munich.
The Munich Residence originated as a small moated castle, built in 1385, and was gradually expanded by the Wittelsbach rulers who used it until 1918 as their residence and seat of government.
The castle built in 1385 in the north-eastern corner of the city as it was then, the so-called Neuveste, formed the original core of the present Residence. From here the rulers extended their palace to create a large complex grouped around several courtyards.
Highlights are the Antiquarium (Hall of Antiquities), the largest secular Renaissance hall north of the Alps, the early 17th-century rooms, including the Reiche Kapelle (Ornate Chapel), the Steinzimmer (Stone Rooms) and the Trierzimmer (Trier Rooms), the magnificent Rococo Rooms (Ancestral Gallery and Ornate Rooms by François Cuvilliés the Elder) and the neoclassical Königsbau (King's Tract) created by Leo von Klenze.
Also on display are special collections such as silver, ecclesiastical vestments and porcelain from Europe and East Asia.
The tour of the Munich Residence comprises the remarkable Nottbohm Collection of European Miniatures, an extensive collection of fine miniatures dating from the late sixteenth century to the mid-nineteenth.
Elector Max IV Joseph (r. from 1799) /
King Ludwig II (r. 1864-1886)
King Ludwig III (r. 1913-1918)
Technical modernization, especially in the Royal Palace (electric lighting, central heating, plumbing, lift)
After the monarchy came to an end in 1918, the Residence lost its function as a seat of government and was turned into a museum of interior design, which opened its doors in 1920. The Second World War had catastrophic consequences for the Residence: in March and April 1944 much of the upper storey and numerous vaulted ground-floor rooms were gutted. Most of the moveable inventory had however been taken out beforehand and stored in a safe place. A Residence building office was set up as early as May 1945 to prepare for the subsequent reconstruction of this building complex in view of its great historical and cultural value. The reconstruction took several decades. This was the responsibility of the Residence construction management, which was answerable to the Bavarian Department of State-owned Palaces, Gardens and Lakes, and worked closely with the Department’s art historians and the newly founded restoration workshops.
King Ludwig I had it built from 1826 to 1837 to designs by his court architect, Leo von Klenze. Largely destroyed in the Second World War, it was not re-opened to the public until the year 2003. Surviving parts of the original building were restored and missing sections carefully replaced. The interior was then refurbished in a simple modern style as a venue for concerts and other events.
The idea for the Court Church of All Saints went back to a visit Ludwig paid to Palermo in 1823, when he was Crown Prince. After attending Midnight Mass in the palace chapel there, which is built in a mixture of Norman and Byzantine styles, he was allegedly so moved that he exclaimed: "That's the kind of court chapel I want!" To comply with Ludwig's wishes, Klenze took St Mark's in Venice as his model because he saw this as a quintessentially Byzantine building, but interpreted his model in terms of classical antiquity.
Frescoes on a gold ground originally decorated the vaulting and the apses. The floor of the church once consisted of coloured marble and the walls were clad with plaster imitation marble. You can see remains of this imitation marble on the entrance wall. Columns of red marble support the galleries. Ludwig I could reach the galleries directly from the Residence to attend Mass. The populace entered the church via the portal in the east façade, which Klenze designed in a combination of Romanesque and Gothic styles.
This Roman Catholic court church acquired special significance through being the first ecclesiastical building to be erected in Bavaria since the confiscation of church property in 1803. It was therefore no accident that the new church was dedicated to All Saints.
Treasury
Among the treasures are priceless objects made of rock crystal,
gems and ivory, as well as religious art, orders and insignia,
tableware and toilet sets designed by Nuremberg and Augsburg goldsmiths
and exotic craft work.
The Munich Residence is the former royal palace of the Bavarian monarchs of the House of Wittelsbach in the center of the city of Munich.
The Munich Residence originated as a small moated castle, built in 1385, and was gradually expanded by the Wittelsbach rulers who used it until 1918 as their residence and seat of government.
The castle built in 1385 in the north-eastern corner of the city as it was then, the so-called Neuveste, formed the original core of the present Residence. From here the rulers extended their palace to create a large complex grouped around several courtyards.
Highlights are the Antiquarium (Hall of Antiquities), the largest secular Renaissance hall north of the Alps, the early 17th-century rooms, including the Reiche Kapelle (Ornate Chapel), the Steinzimmer (Stone Rooms) and the Trierzimmer (Trier Rooms), the magnificent Rococo Rooms (Ancestral Gallery and Ornate Rooms by François Cuvilliés the Elder) and the neoclassical Königsbau (King's Tract) created by Leo von Klenze.
The tour of the Munich Residence comprises the remarkable Nottbohm Collection of European Miniatures, an extensive collection of fine miniatures dating from the late sixteenth century to the mid-nineteenth.
Duke Stephan III the Magnificent (r. 1375-1392) to Duke Wilhelm IV (r. 1508-1550)
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Building of the Neuveste, 1385
- Gradual extension continuing into the 16th century
(sections under the Apothecary Courtyard and the east wing of the
Festival Hall Building have been preserved and can be visited on the
occasion of special Residence events)
Duke Albrecht V (r. 1550-1579)
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Building of the Antiquarium from 1568 to 1571 from designs by Jacopo Strada and Simon Zwitzel to display the ducal collection of ancient sculptures
Duke Wilhelm V (r. 1579-1597)
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The Antiquarium is more lavishly decorated between 1584 and 1600 under the direction of Friedrich Sustris.
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Grotto Courtyard buildings, 1581-1586
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Construction of the Black Hall c. 1590
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Crown Prince Building and Dowager’s Building, 1580-1581 and 1591/94 on Residenzstraße (not preserved)
Duke / Elector Maximilian I (r. 1598-1651, from 1623 as elector)
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Summer apartment on the present Residenzstraße, extension of the Court Ladies’ Building with the Old Hercules Hall between the Imperial the Chapel Courtyards (c. 1600)
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Court Chapel, 1601-1603, with the choir added in 1630
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Rich Chapel (consecrated in 1607)
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West façade on the present Residenzstraße; Imperial Courtyard buildings with Imperial Staircase, Imperial Hall, Four White Horses Hall, Stone Rooms and Treves Rooms, 1612-1616 (interior by Hans Krumpper and Peter Candid)
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Rebuilding of the Fountain Courtyard, connection of the new buildings to what remained of the Neuveste by corridors, 1613-1615
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A new Court Garden is laid out north of the Residence from 1613.
Duke / Elector Maximilian I (r. 1598-1651, from 1623 as elector)
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Summer apartment on the present Residenzstraße, extension of the Court Ladies’ Building with the Old Hercules Hall between the Imperial the Chapel Courtyards (c. 1600)
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Court Chapel, 1601-1603, with the choir added in 1630
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Rich Chapel (consecrated in 1607)
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West façade on the present Residenzstraße; Imperial Courtyard buildings with Imperial Staircase, Imperial Hall, Four White Horses Hall, Stone Rooms and Treves Rooms, 1612-1616 (interior by Hans Krumpper and Peter Candid)
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Rebuilding of the Fountain Courtyard, connection of the new buildings to what remained of the Neuveste by corridors, 1613-1615
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A new Court Garden is laid out north of the Residence from 1613.
Elector Ferdinand Maria (r. 1651-1679)
Golden Hall building and apartment of the electress (Papal Rooms) on the present Residenzstraße, 1666-1667
Elector Maximilian II Emanuel (r. 1679-1726)
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Building and furnishing of the Alexander and Summer Rooms on the Grotto Courtyard in 1680-1685 by Henrico Zuccalli (not preserved)
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Renovation of the Stone Rooms and Four White Horses Hall after they had been damaged by a fire in 1674, 1690-1700
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Building of St Cecilia’s Chapel by Henrico Zuccalli, 1693-1704
Elector Karl Albrecht (r. 1726-1745, from 1742 as Roman Emperor Karl VII)
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Ancestral Gallery and Treasure Cabinet (now the Porcelain Cabinet) designed by Joseph Effner and François Cuvilliés the Elder, 1726-1730
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From 1730 to 1737 François Cuvilliés the Elder also builds and furnishes a new state apartment, the Rich Rooms, on the Grotto Courtyard, as well as the Green Gallery belonging to this suite, which is erected on the site of the former south Residence Garden.
Elector Max III Joseph (r. 1745-1777)
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Renovation of the Electoral Rooms above the Antiquarium 1746-1748 by Johann Baptist Gunetzrhainer, renovation by François Cuvilliés the Elder, 1760-1763
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Building of the Old Residence Theatre (Cuvilliés Theatre) as the court opera house, originally in the south part of the Residence, by François Cuvilliés the Elder, 1751-1755
Elector Karl Theodor (r. 1777-1799)
From 1789 the English Garden is laid out as a public garden by Friedrich Ludwig von Sckell.
Elector Max IV Joseph (r. from 1799) / King Max I Joseph (r. 1806-1825)
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The Imperial and Four White Horses Halls are remodelled by Charles-Pierre Puille and Andreas Gärtner to create the Court Garden Rooms, 1799-1816.
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Council of State Chambers along the Residenzstraße, 1810
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Remodelling of the Old Hercules Hall (now Max Joseph Hall) by Andreas Gärtner, 1814-1816
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Decoration of the Charlotte Rooms on the Fountain Courtyard, 1814
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Building of the Court Riding School on Marstallplatz by Leo von Klenze, 1817-1822
King Ludwig I (r. 1825-1848)
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Building of the Royal Palace with the royal apartments and the Nibelungen Halls by Leo von Klenze, 1826-1835
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Erection of the Court Church of All Saints by Leo von Klenze, 1826-1835
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The remaining part of the Neuveste above ground is demolished and replaced with the Festival Hall Building with the Apothecary wing by Leo von Klenze, 1835-1842
King Ludwig II (r. 1864-1886)
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Creation of a residential apartment in the north-western pavilion on Odeonsplatz by Franz Seitz, 1866-1869
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Building of a conservatory over the Imperial Hall building by Eduard Riedel and August von Voit, 1868-1869
Prince Regent Luitpold (r. 1886-1912
King Ludwig III (r. 1913-1918)
Technical modernization, especially in the Royal Palace (electric lighting, central heating, plumbing, lift)
After the monarchy came to an end in 1918, the Residence lost its function as a seat of government and was turned into a museum of interior design, which opened its doors in 1920. The Second World War had catastrophic consequences for the Residence: in March and April 1944 much of the upper storey and numerous vaulted ground-floor rooms were gutted. Most of the moveable inventory had however been taken out beforehand and stored in a safe place. A Residence building office was set up as early as May 1945 to prepare for the subsequent reconstruction of this building complex in view of its great historical and cultural value. The reconstruction took several decades. This was the responsibility of the Residence construction management, which was answerable to the Bavarian Department of State-owned Palaces, Gardens and Lakes, and worked closely with the Department’s art historians and the newly founded restoration workshops.
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1953: Opening of the Hercules Hall as a concert hall in
place of the Throne Room of Ludwig I in the former Festival Hall
Building.
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1958: Reopening of the Cuvilliés Theatre on the Fountain
Courtyard, reopening of the first section of the Residence Museum and
the Treasury
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1966-1979: Reopening of further sections of the Residence Museum
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1980: Reconstruction of the apartments in the Royal Palace
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1985: Reconstruction of the Imperial Hall building
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2001: Reconstruction of the Miniatures Cabinet in the Rich Rooms
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2002: Opening of the Royal Palace Courtyard and redesigning of the entrance area to the Residence Museum
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2003: Reopening of the Court Church of All Saints
King Ludwig I had it built from 1826 to 1837 to designs by his court architect, Leo von Klenze. Largely destroyed in the Second World War, it was not re-opened to the public until the year 2003. Surviving parts of the original building were restored and missing sections carefully replaced. The interior was then refurbished in a simple modern style as a venue for concerts and other events.
The idea for the Court Church of All Saints went back to a visit Ludwig paid to Palermo in 1823, when he was Crown Prince. After attending Midnight Mass in the palace chapel there, which is built in a mixture of Norman and Byzantine styles, he was allegedly so moved that he exclaimed: "That's the kind of court chapel I want!" To comply with Ludwig's wishes, Klenze took St Mark's in Venice as his model because he saw this as a quintessentially Byzantine building, but interpreted his model in terms of classical antiquity.
Frescoes on a gold ground originally decorated the vaulting and the apses. The floor of the church once consisted of coloured marble and the walls were clad with plaster imitation marble. You can see remains of this imitation marble on the entrance wall. Columns of red marble support the galleries. Ludwig I could reach the galleries directly from the Residence to attend Mass. The populace entered the church via the portal in the east façade, which Klenze designed in a combination of Romanesque and Gothic styles.
This Roman Catholic court church acquired special significance through being the first ecclesiastical building to be erected in Bavaria since the confiscation of church property in 1803. It was therefore no accident that the new church was dedicated to All Saints.
Treasury
The Wittelsbachs' Treasury, founded in 1565 by Duke Albrecht V, is one of the most important of its kind in Europe.
Duke Albrecht V made a provision in his
will that all valuable pieces he had collected should be given a special
place and could never, ever be sold. That was the beginning of what
today can be admired in the treasury.
His successors continued to add
and the treasury was first opened to the public in 1897. It is 10 rooms
of absolutely amazing pieces including items from the time of
Charlemagne and religious pieces from the amazing churches and
monasteries in the region.
The collection covers the late Graeco-Roman period and
the Middle Ages, with exhibits such as the Ciborium of King Arnulf
(around 890) and the Cross of Queen Gisela (after 1006), the late Gothic
and Renaissance periods, with the statuette of St George (photo), created between 1586 and 1597, and the baroque and neoclassical eras.
