Blutenburg Castle is an old ducal country seat in the west of Munich, Germany, on the banks of river Würm.

The castle was built between two arms of the River Würm for Duke Albert III, Duke of Bavaria in 1438–39 as a hunting-lodge, replacing an older castle burned down in war. The origin of this castle is a moated castle of the 13th Century. The core of this castle was a residential tower, the remains of which were uncovered in 1981. The fortress was first mentioned in writing only in 1432.

Albert's son, Duke Sigismund of Bavaria, ordered extensions of the castle beginning in 1488; he died here in 1501. The main building became derelict during the Thirty Years War, but was rebuilt in 1680–81. The castle is still surrounded by a ring wall with three towers and a gate tower. The defensive character of the castle, however, was with the reconstruction in 17th Century significantly reduced. The plant was already at that time no longer defensible.

Sigismund of Bavaria also ordered the construction of the palace chapel, a splendid masterpiece of late Gothic style which still has preserved its stained-glass windows, along with the altars with three paintings created in 1491 by Jan Polack. The cycle of the statues of the apostles on the side walls was built around 1490/95. The executive master is controversial, which is why the statues are assigned to the "Master of the Blutenburg apostles." The apostles can not always be clearly identified as the attributes were partially reversed or lost. Appendant to these figures the "Man of Sorrows" and the distinguished "Mother of God" (Blutenburger Madonna) were erected in the choir on crest consoles that match those of the apostles.

Since 1983 the International Youth Library (Internationale Jugendbibliothek) has been housed in Blutenburg Castle. The Blutenburg concerts are well known.

In 2013 at the Blutenburg Castle there was erected the Sculpture of Agnes Bernauer with Albert III, Duke of Bavaria by Joseph Michael Neustifter. The memorial was funded by Ursula und Fritz Heimbüchler.

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The Amalienburg is an elaborate hunting lodge in the grounds of Nymphenburg Palace, Munich, in southern Germany. It was constructed in 1734–1739 by François de Cuvilliés, in Rococo style, for the later Holy Roman Emperor Charles VII and his wife, Maria Amalia of Austria.

Most of the ground floor is given over to the round Hall of Mirrors in the center of the building, which mirrored walls reflect the external nature. It was designed by Johann Baptist Zimmermann and Joachim Dietrich (1690–1753). It creates an ethereal atmosphere in the Bavarian national colors of silver and blue.

In the south of the hall, the door leads to the electoral Rest room and the Blue Cabinet, with access to the privy chamber. The Blue Cabinet was the bedroom of the Electress and the pavilion also accommodates a kennel room for the hunting dogs.

North from the Hall of Mirrors is the entrance to the Pheasant room and the Hunting room. The Pheasant Room is bordering the kitchen. The kitchen is decorated with precious tiles from Delft which when being laid were mixed up by workers in the wrong order. The blue and white tiles in a Chinese style show flowers and birds. The Castrol stove (1735) built for the kitchen is a masonry construction with several fireholes covered by perforated iron plates. It is also known as a stew stove and was the first design that completely enclosed the fire.

In the central niche of the eastern facade is a stucco sculpture by Johann Baptist Zimmermann, representing a scene with the hunting goddess Diana. The presentation introduces the image program in all facilities of the building. The attic was derived from 1737, also manufactured to a design by Zimmermann, with decorative vases which disappeared at an unknown date. In 1992, they were recreated and designed by Hans Geiger: four adorn the entrance facade, twelve the garden side of the Amalienburg.

A platform with ornate lattice, which is fitted to the building in the center of the roof, served as a raised hide for pheasant hunting: the birds were driven to the Amalienburg from the former pheasant (now menagerie) building. Since the castle could be supplied by the kitchen of Nymphenburg Palace, the Amalienburg lacks private farm buildings in contrast to the two other park pavilions.



Amalienburg

The Nymphenburg Palace (German: Schloss Nymphenburg), i. e., "Castle of the Nymph (or Nymphs)", is a Baroque palace in Munich, Bavaria, southern Germany. The palace is the main summer residence of the former rulers of Bavaria of the House of Wittelsbach.

The palace was commissioned by the prince-electoral couple Ferdinand Maria and Henriette Adelaide of Savoy to the designs of the Italian architect Agostino Barelli in 1664 after the birth of their son Maximilian II Emanuel. The central pavilion was completed in 1675. As a building material it utilised limestone from Kelheim. The castle was gradually expanded and transformed over the years.

Starting in 1701, Max Emanuel, the heir to Bavaria, a sovereign electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, undertook a systematic extension of the palace. Two pavilions were added each in the south and north of Barelli's palace by Enrico Zucalli and Giovanni Antonio Viscardi and connected with the centre pavilion by two gallery wings. In 1716 Joseph Effner redesigned the facade of the centre pavilion in French Baroque style with pilasters. Later, the south section of the palace was further extended to form the court stables (1719). For the sake of balance, the orangery building was added to the north and only completed in 1758. Finally, a grand circle (the Schlossrondell) with Baroque mansions (the so-called Kavaliershäuschen – cavalier's lodges) was erected under Max Emanuel's son Holy Roman Emperor Charles VII Albert.

In 1795 the Elector Charles Theodore ordered the widening of the galleries on the park side. In 1826 under King Ludwig I of Bavaria his architect Leo von Klenze removed the gables of the main pavilion with the Electoral coat of arms and created an attic decoration directly under the roof instead.

With the Treaty of Nymphenburg signed in July 1741, Charles Albert allied with France and Spain against Austria. Two of the latter's children were born here: Maria Antonia (future Electress of Saxony) in 1724 and Maria Anna Josepha (future Margravine of Baden-Baden) in 1734. Charles Albert lived during his time in Munich as Holy Roman Emperor in Nymphenburg Palace and died there in 1745. In 1747 Elector Max III. Joseph founded the Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory. In 1792 Elector Charles Theodor opened the park for the public.

For a long time the palace was the favourite summer residence of the rulers of Bavaria. King Max I Joseph died there in 1825 and his great-grandson King Ludwig II was born there in 1845. In 1863 the only meeting between Ludwig and Otto von Bismarck was held in Nymphenburg, although they remained connected in a lifelong friendship.

Today Nymphenburg is open to the public but also continues to be a home and chancery for the head of the house of Wittelsbach, currently Franz, Duke of Bavaria. To Jacobites, who trace the line of legitimate British monarchy down through the legal heirs of James II of England, the head of the house of Wittelsbach is the legitimate heir of the Stuart claims to the thrones of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland; this claim is not being actively pursued.

The palace, together with its park, is now one of the most famous sights of Munich. The baroque facades comprise an overall width of about 700 metres. Some rooms still show their original baroque decoration while others were later redesigned in rococo or neoclassical style.

The Steinerner Saal (Stone Hall) in the central pavilion, with ceiling frescoes by Johann Baptist Zimmermann and F. Zimmermann and decorations by François de Cuvilliés, is an impressive sight. Acting as a grand hall, it occupies over three floors of the central pavilion of the palace. The central ceiling fresco is Helios in his chariot, accompanied by other gods.

North of the Stone Hall, there is the wood-panelled antechamber, the audience chamber decorated with Brussels tapestries and the former bedroom with the so-called Little Beauty Gallery with the ladies of Versailles, all rooms were remodelled under Maximilian II Emanuel in the style of the Régence but retain their original Baroque ceilings. Here are on display portraits of the elector and his wife Theresa Kunegunda Sobieska. The bedroom closes the park side, next to it is the Drechsel Cabinet (turnery cabinet) of Maximilian III Joseph, designed by François de Cuvilliés. Three rooms further to the north were created under Charles Theodore with the widening of the gallery wing. In the first room there are now more portraits of ladies from the Great Gallery of Beauties of Max Emanuel, the second one is decorated with a pile rug with the coats of arms of Bavaria and the Palatinate (known as "coat of arms room"), while the third room contains portraits of Charles Theodore and both his consorts Elisabeth Auguste and Maria Leopoldine.

South of the Stone Hall are inversely to the northern rooms of the main building, the hall with the portrait of Charles Albert, the audience room with the portrait of the founding couple Ferdinand Maria and his consort Henriette Adelaide and the Former Bedroom with portraits of Max Emanuel and his consort Theresa Kunegunda. Here too, the original Baroque ceilings have survived. The walls of the so-called lacquer cabinet that adjoins the bedroom are almost completely covered with Chinese panels showing scenes from a Chinese novel. The stucco was done by Franz Xaver Feuchtmayer the Younger. Behind the south gallery are the Writing Cabinet and Antechamber of Elector Charles Theodore, which were created with the widening of the gallery wings.

In both the North and South Galleries next to the Central Pavilion are vedutes of Bavarian castles. These galleries connect the central pavilion with the southern and northern pavilions.

The Inner southern Pavilion housed the apartments of the Electress during the period of its origin. The former small dining room of the Inner Southern Pavilion today houses the famous attraction Gallery of Beauties of King Ludwig I of Bavaria. On behalf of the king the court painter Joseph Karl Stieler has portrayed 36 "beautiful" women from all social classes of Munich, the best known of these are the shoemaker's daughter Helene Sedlmayr and Ludwig's longstanding infamous mistress, Lola Montez. Nearby, the Queen's bedroom one can see where, on 25 August 1845, King Ludwig II of Bavaria was born. Its mahogany furniture was made in 1815 in Munich, unlike the mahogany furniture for Queen Caroline’s audience room which was made in Paris, as was the furniture in the Queen's Study. The Outer Southern Pavilion is generally inaccessible. It served as a kitchen building at Max Emanuel's time and was then reconstructed like the inner pavilion in neo-classical times. Further south, the third pavilion was built as a comedihaus and then served from 1750 as a new kitchen house. The southern corridor built in 1747 connects this building with the stables in the south wing.

In the former royal stables in the South Wing is the Carriage Museum (Marstallmuseum), with one of the greatest coach collections in Europe. They also played a part in historical events - the Paris Coronation Coach for example was used for the coronation of Emperor Charles VII in 1742. Among the main attractions of the museum are the magnificent carriages and sleighs of King Ludwig II.

The first floor of the former court stables houses a collection of Nymphenburg porcelain, the factory which, also located in the palace complex, was founded by Maximilian III Joseph. Its handcrafted products are of legendary kind and quality, nowadays said to be comparable only to Augarten and Sèvres.

The Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory itself is located in one of the houses of the northern roundabouts and can be visited only by written appointment. In the adjoining Outer South Wing of the castle is a restaurant with beer garden.

The Inner Northern Pavilion is generally inaccessible, here was Max Emanuel's "appartement de parade". The Outer Northern Pavilion houses the chapel, whose ceiling painting deals with the life of St. Mary Magdalene. It was already begun in 1702 by Antonio Viscardi from the design by Enrico Zuccalli. Further north is the third pavilion, the Gardemeublebau from 1723, which served for the Cue sports and the Jeu de Passe during the period of its origin. It is connected to the north wing by the northern corridor of 1739.

Since 1990 the Museum of Man and Nature has been housed in the North Wing. The Hubertus Hall upstairs served for concerts. Today the Hubertus Hall, the Orangery Hall, and the Johannis Hall in the North Wing as well as the Iron House in the park can be booked for parties, concerts, conferences and other functions. From 1835 the Mary Ward Elementary School was in the adjoining Outer North Wing of the castle. Founded by Mary Ward, it paved the way for a better education for girls. Mary Ward came after travelling from Rome to Munich in 1627 and was sponsored by Elector Maximilian I. King Ludwig I finally invited the girls' school to the Nymphenburg Palace in 1835.

The 200-hectare (490-acre) park, once an Italian garden (1671), which was enlarged and rearranged in French style by Dominique Girard, a pupil of Le Notre, was finally redone in the English manner during the early 19th century by Friedrich Ludwig von Sckell, on behalf of prince-elector Charles Theodore. Von Sckell was also the creator of the English Garden in Munich. He preserved the main elements of the Baroque garden (such as the "Grand Parterre"). The park is bisected by the long western canal along the principal axis which leads from the palace to the marble cascade (decorated with stone figures of Greek and Roman gods) in the west. The iron greenhouse north of the Grand Parterre was completed in 1807, the adjacent geranium house in 1816.

The garden parterre is still a visible feature of the French garden. As part of the transformation of the entire castle grounds by Sckell it was simplified, but retained its original size. The "Grand Cascade" was built by Joseph Effner in 1717. He was referring to a concept of François Roëttiers. The water falls in the middle of a two-part water staircase, the first stage being half round to the west, the second, deeper, is formed to the east. The cascade consists of symmetry which continues through the centre channel. The right side of the cataract was covered with pink marble in 1770. Originally a supporting architecture was to be provided, which was never executed. Instead, from 1775 to 1785, sculptures were added. Many were the work of Dominik Auliczek and Roman Anton Boos, who later added twelve decorative marble vases with mythological themes.

The fountains in front of the palace and in the garden parterre continue to be operated by the water powered Pumping Stations built between 1803 and 1808.

The Northern Cabinet Garden is small garden that borders directly the garden side of the north wing of the main palace. It is also called Kaisergarten, because it is in the immediate vicinity of the rooms where Charles Albert lived during his time in Munich as Emperor Charles VII. It has its counterpart in the Southern Cabinet Garden where François de Cuvilliés built an octagonal bird house in 1757.

Two lakes are situated on both sides of the canal. The "Dörfchen" was created under Maximilian III Joseph as Petit hameau. The "Salettl" (1799), a cottage with its little garden nearby close to the former menagerie served as attraction for the children of Maximilian IV Joseph.

The garden wall (1730–1735) preserves several Ha-ha effects. A passage close to the old arboretum in the north of the Grand Parterre leads to the large Botanical Garden of Munich.

The canals of Nymphenburg are part of the northern Munich channel system, a system of waterways that connected also to the complex of Schleissheim Palace. The endpoint of the eastern canal leading from the city to the palace forms the Cour d'honneur, the centre was designed by Effner as a water parterre with a fountain, cascade and branching canals on both sides. The driveway ("Auffahrtsallee") from the city on both sides of the eastern canal is framed by a semicircle of smaller baroque buildings ("Kavalierhäuser") at the Cour d'honneur. The eastern endpoint of the canal is the Hubertusbrunnen (1903, a fountain building by Adolf von Hildebrand).

The main building alone has more than 300,000 visitors per year. Nymphenburg Palace is running dead even with the Munich Residence and lies ahead of Schleissheim Palace, but clearly behind the castles of King Ludwig II, especially Neuschwanstein.

Museums:

Schlossmuseum (Royal apartments: Central pavilion, North and South Galleries, Inner Southern Pavilion, Garden pavilions)
Marstallmuseum (Carriage Museum: South wing)
Porzellanmuseum München (Nymphenburg porcelain museum: South wing)
Museum of Man and Nature (North wing)
Erwin von Kreibig-Museum (South Schlossrondell)
Schloss Nymphenburg is accessible by Munich public transport's tram number 17. This line passes through the city centre, including Stachus and the main train station.

The palace and its park were some of the main filming locations of Alain Resnais's 1961 movie Last Year at Marienbad. Also Ludwig, a 1972 film directed by Italian director Luchino Visconti about the life and death of King Ludwig II, was partly filmed in Nymphenburg. The Dressage Facility for the equestrian events of the 1972 Summer Olympics was created in the Nymphenburg park.

The palace serves also as headquarters of the Bavarian Administration of State-Owned Palaces, Gardens and Lakes.

Nymphenburg Palace

Fürstenried Palace is a Baroque palace in the southwest of Munich, Germany.

It was built by Joseph Effner for Elector Maximilian II Emanuel in 1715–17 as a hunting lodge. It was the extension and modification of an already existing noble mansion. Two pavilions are added each in the south and north of the main building. A few years later (1726) a fire damaged the Fürstenried Palace. The following year, at the birth of the future Maximilian III Joseph, Fürstenried went as puerperal gift to the Princess Maria Amalia of Austria, the wife of the son of Maximilian Emanuel, Elector Charles Albert. From 1778 to 1796 Fürstenried Palace was the residence of the former Electress Maria Anna, the widow of Maximilian III. In September 1796, Munich was surrounded by the French Republican Army that fought against the Austro-Imperial forces. Here, the Fuerstenried castle was plundered.

During the German war in 1866 and the Franco-German war 1870/71 the castle was used as a military hospital. The palace served as domicile for King Otto of Bavaria from 1883 onwards until his death in 1916. The King lived in an elegantly furnished apartment on the ground floor, while his servants lived on the first floor. After the First World War, the castle served as a military hospital again. Since 1925 the Catholic Retreat Hostel for spiritual exercises has been housed in Fürstenried Palace. Only the surrounding wall friezes of the Blue Cabinet on the second floor of the main building have been preserved from the interiors. Pope Benedict XVI has said that, prior to his ordination as a deacon in the fall of 1950, he pondered his vocation to the priesthood "as I walked in the beautiful park of Fürstenried ... ."

Already in the 18th century high-quality vegetables and dessert fruit was produced in the fruit and vegetable garden of the palace. The court gardener excelled in the arts, in addition to the everyday to also use rare fruit and vegetables such as asparagus, artichokes, quinces and peaches. The then-popular beans and peas were grown in cold frames almost all year round. This tradition was resumed in King Otto's time. The baroque garden behind the castle was then reconstructed by Carl von Effner, according to the plans of his ancestor Joseph Effner. Carl von Effner's great merit is to preserve the 110 lime trees in the park and many more along the two double-row alleys flanking the line of sight towards Munich.

Fürstenried Palace

The Residenz in central Munich is the former royal palace of the Wittelsbach monarchs of Bavaria. The Residenz is the largest city palace in Germany and is today open to visitors for its architecture, room decorations, and displays from the former royal collections.

The complex of buildings contains ten courtyards and displays 130 rooms. The three main parts are the Königsbau (near the Max-Joseph-Platz), the Alte Residenz (Old Residenz; towards the Residenzstraße) and the Festsaalbau (towards the Hofgarten). A wing of the Festsaalbau contains the Cuvilliés Theatre since the reconstruction of the Residenz after World War II. It also houses the Herkulessaal (Hercules Hall), the primary concert venue for the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. The Byzantine Court Church of All Saints (Allerheiligen-Hofkirche) at the east side is facing the Marstall, the building for the former Court Riding School and the royal stables.

History and architecture

The first buildings at this site were erected in the year 1385 and were financed by the township of Munich as a sanction for a failed uprising against Stephen III (1375–1413) and his younger brothers. The Silver Tower (Silberturm), as the strongest bastion, was significantly situated next to the inner walls protecting the castle against the city. This sturdy new castle (Neuveste – new fortress), surrounded by wide moats and located at the very north eastern corner of the new double ring of town walls, replaced the difficult to defend Alter Hof (the Old Court) located in the middle of the town as residence of the Wittelsbach rulers. For the Dukes of the often divided country had felt the need to keep some distance from the frequently rebellious city dwellers at the one hand and for some defence against their warlike relatives at the other. As a result, they sought to build themselves a shelter impregnable and easy to leave (directly towards the glacis, without having to enter city lanes) at the same time. Around 1470, under Albert IV (1465–1508), the fortress walls and the gate in the north were built, followed by the construction of two turrets.

The gothic foundation walls and the basement vaults of the old castle including the round pillars of the so-called ballroom cellar (Ballsaalkeller) are today the oldest surviving parts of the palace. The Residenz's development over the centuries didn't only take place out of its main centre, the Neuveste, but in addition grew out of several single parts and extensions, the first of which used to be the Antiquarium. Finally, after more than four centuries of development, the giant palace had practically replaced a whole former city quarter with barracks, a monastery, houses and gardens. It assembles the styles of the late Renaissance, as well as of Baroque, Rococo and Neo-Classicism.

The Alte Residenz

With the order of William IV (1508–1550) to expand the Neuveste with the so-called Rundstubenbau and to set up the first Court Garden, began the history of the Munich Residenz as a representative palace. To the history cycle of this garden pavilion belonged once also the Battle of Issus of Albrecht Altdorfer.

Under Albert V (1550–1579) Wilhelm Egkl built next to a banqueting hall of the Neuveste (St. George Hall) an art chamber in the building of the former ducal stables, many collections in Munich originate from there. Since there was not enough space for the extensive collection of sculptures, the building for the Antiquarium was created 1568–1571. It had to be built outside the castle, as there was no place in the Neuveste.

William V (1579–1597) ordered the construction of the Witwenstock (Widow Wing) for the dowager Duchess Anna and in 1581–1586 the four wings of the Grottenhof. Friedrich Sustris was the architect. Around 1590 the construction of the Black Hall was begun to the southeast on the Antiquarium. Under direction of Sustris the Erbprinzentrakt (Prince Wing), north of the Witwenstock was added.

Maximilian I (1597–1651) commissioned what is now called the Maximilian Residenz (Maximilianische Residenz ), the west wing of the palace. Until the 19th century, it was the only publicly visible facade and it still is preserved. The portals are guarded by two lions and a statue of the Virgin Mary as patroness of Bavaria in a wall niche between the portals on the west side of the residence complex. Maximilian had rebuilt and connected the existing buildings. In addition, Maximilian I had from 1612 large parts of the south and west wings of the Neuveste with the Silver Tower demolished. Between 1611 and 1619, the wing at the large Emperor's Courtyard (Kaiserhof) was created to the north of the complex. It documents the high political claims of Maximilian.

Its large dimensions satisfied Maximilian's successors up to 18th century, who contented themselves with interior upgrading and smaller extensions such as the wing for the Grüne Galerie (1730) and the Residenz Theatre (1751).

Courtyards

Ten courtyards can be found inside the large complex: The Grotto Courtyard (Grottenhof) with the Perseus Fountain was built between 1581–1586 under William V (1579–1597) by Friedrich Sustris as the leading architect, and takes its name from the grotto on the western façade of the Antiquarium.

The octagonal Brunnenhof (Fountain Courtyard) served as a place for tournaments before the large Wittelsbach Fountain was erected in the middle of the courtyard in 1610. The buildings around the Kaiserhof (Emperor's Courtyard) with the Residenz Tower as clock tower, were erected from 1612 to 1618, in the reign of Maximilian I. Both courtyards are decorated with optical illusions on the facade, the same as the facade of the Alte Residenz.

The Königsbauhof (King's Building Courtyard) replaced a garden. At its eastern side the rococo facade of the Grüne Galerie (Green Gallery) is situated, designed by François Cuvilliés the Elder in of 1731–33.

Other courtyards are the Kapellenhof (Chapel Courtyard), the large Apothekenhof (Apothecary Courtyard) behind the Festsaalbau, the Puderhöfchen (Small Powder Courtyard), the Küchenhof (Kitchen Courtyard), the Kabinettsgarten (Cabinet Garden), and then finally the Zierhöfchen (Decorative Courtyard or Comité Courtyard).

The Königsbau

Today's building is from the time of King Ludwig I of Bavaria (1825–1848), who instructed his architect Leo von Klenze to extend the palace. Between 1825 and 1835 the King's building (Königsbau) was constructed to the south in the style of the Florentine Palazzo Pitti. The building is 30 meters high.

In the Königsbau are numerous suites of rooms, including the State Apartment of Ludwig I on the first floor and the Nibelungen Halls on the ground floor. Today also the Treasury are situated in the ground floor of the Königsbau. The royal living rooms are still preserved, they served primarily for the representation and could be visited by appointment already at that time. The actual private apartments of the royal couple on the back of Königsbau have not survived due to its destruction in World War II. On the second floor were the so-called Festgemächer, which were intended for minor court festivities. The spatial sequence was divided into lounge, reception salon, dance hall, flowers hall and private rooms for the king. These rooms are still preserved but in a highly simplified form and are now home to the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts. From 2016 to 2018 the Yellow Staircase of Klenze will be restored. Once it was the main entrance to the royal apartments in the Königsbau.

The Maximilian-Joseph Denkmal (King Maximilian-Joseph Memorial) at Max-Joseph-Platz (Maximilian-Joseph Square) stands in front of the Königsbau. It was created as a memorial for King Maximilian Joseph (1799–1825) by Christian Daniel Rauch and carried out by Johann Baptist Stiglmaier. It was only unveiled in 1835 as the king had rejected being depicted seated.

The Festsaalbau

The neo-classical 250 metre long Banqueting Hall Wing (Festsaalbau) in the north section of the Residenz was added between 1832 and 1842 by Klenze under instructions from King Ludwig I. Here were located the Large Throne Room and the royal reception halls. One of the primary concert venues for the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra is the Herkulessaal (Hercules Hall), which has replaced the destroyed Large Throne Room. The Festsaalbau today houses also the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities and the Cuvilliés Theatre (Old Residenz Theatre).

The Winter Garden was commissioned by King Ludwig II of Bavaria (1864–1886) around 1870. After the king’s death, the Winter Garden on the roof of the Festsaalbau of the Residenz Palace was dismantled in 1897. The reason for this was due to water leaking from the ornamental lake through the ceiling of the rooms below. Photographs and sketches still record this incredible creation which included a grotto, a Moorish kiosk, an Indian royal tent, an artificially illuminated rainbow and intermittent moonlight.



Münchner Residenz

Munich Residenz

The Alter Hof (Old Court) in the center of Munich is the former imperial residence of Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor and consists of five wings: Burgstock, Zwingerstock, Lorenzistock, Pfisterstock and Brunnenstock. Like most of the old town, it was rebuilt after being destroyed in World War II.

Archeological excavations have shown that a castle already existed there in the 12th century. After the first partition of Bavaria in 1255 the Alte Hof became the residence of Louis II, Duke of Bavaria in the then very northeastern part of the city. The castle was the first permanent imperial residence in the Holy Roman Empire under his son Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor. The St. Lorenz Chapel at the north side, which was demolished in the 19th century, once housed the regalia of the House of Wittelsbach.

After some uprisings the castle became too unsafe and in the course of an extension of the town, together with the construction of a new, double-ring wall, the Wittelsbach dukes once again chose the very northeastern corner as the construction site for a ducal keep. Consequently, as it was newly erected, the castle was called "Neuveste", new fortress. Over the course of centuries the building at this site would eventually develop into what is nowadays the Residenz. When Duke Sigismund lived in the Alter Hof at the end of the fifteenth century and made further structural alterations, including painting in the courtyard with lozenge-shaped decoration, the actual residence was already the Neuveste. In the first half of the 16th century Duke William IV, finally transferred the residence permanently to the Neuveste. Thus, from the 16th century onwards the old castle was only seat of several governmental departments including the stewardship.

In 1591-92, the Pfisterstock was built with decorative gables typical of the Renaissance; it was attributed to Wilhelm Egkl. In the first half of the 17th century, a building for the brewhouse and the brewhouse office, which had been known as the Brunnenstock since the end of the 18th century, was built. This was then replaced by Georg Friedrich Ziebland in 1831/32 by a new building on the old foundations for the Steering Commission. At the beginning of the 19th century St.Lorenz chapel was broken off. The tower was also removed but later rebuilt. Instead of the church, the neoclassical Lorenzistock was built along the Hofgraben street in 1816-19.

The late Gothic westwings (the Burgstock with its tower and its decorated bay window and the Zwingerstock), which were altered under Duke Sigismund have been preserved. After destructions in World War II the castle was reconstructed. Portions of it (Lorenzistock, Pfisterstock and Brunnenstock) were redeveloped in post modernist style to serve as offices and luxury apartments in 2005/2006, very much to public dismay. The old vaulted cellar dating back to around 1300, the oldest in Munich, with an exhibition on the history of the Kaiserburg can be visited in the Old Court.

The castle also houses a "tourist information centre for Bavarian castles".

Into the Bavarian National Museum were moved the donation plate from 1324, a relief depicting the Emperor Louis and his second wife Margaret of Holland, with the enthroned Mother of God with the child in the center, which was formerly on the north side of the nave, as well as a fresco for an ancestral hall, dating back to 1460, depicting the ancestors of the Wittelsbach dukes with their coat of arms.

An arch in the north connects the castle with a renaissance building which originally served for the ducal stables and the art collections of Albert V, Duke of Bavaria. It was constructed by court architect Wilhelm Egkl in 1563. Later it served as mint. The inner courtyard has kept its renaissance arcades while the west facade was redesigned in neoclassical style in 1809. Finally the north facade facing got its neogothic decoration when the Maximilianstrasse was built to fit it with the concept of this royal avenue.

Alter Hof

The Dachau Palace is a former residence of the rulers of Bavaria at Dachau, southern Germany.

The castle was constructed around 1100 as a castle by the cadet branch of the House of Wittelsbach. In 1182, the last Count of Dachau, Konrad III, died without issue and Duke Otto I of Bavaria took possession of it shortly thereafter. The original castle was demolished between 1398 and 1403. In 1467 Sigismund, Duke of Bavaria resigned and then kept only Bavaria-Dachau as his domain until his death in 1501.

William IV of Bavaria and his son Albert V ordered the construction of a Renaissance style four-wing palace with a court garden on the site of the old castle. The new building was designed by Heinrich Schöttl; construction began in 1546 and was completed in 1577. It later became the favoured residence of the rulers of Bavaria. Also the history of Schleissheim Palace started with a renaissance country house (1598) and hermitage founded by William V close to Dachau Palace.

In 1715, Maximilian II Emanuel commissioned a redesign in Baroque style by Joseph Effner. Only the south-west wing is extant; King Maximilian I ordered the other 3 wings to be demolished in the early 19th century. They had suffered extensive damage at the hands of Napoleonic troo

The Palace is managed by the Bavarian Administration of State-owned Palaces, an administrative department of the Free State of Bavaria. It is open to visitors and the Banqueting Hall can be booked for special events. It is also used as a venue for classical concerts.

The main sight of the palace is the banqueting hall with its coffered Renaissance ceiling, designed and created between 1564 and 1566 by Hans Wisreutter, which was restored to the palace in 1977. The view from the top of the Schlossberg overlooks Munich and extends to the Bavarian Alps.

The court garden was created from the 1572 in order to enjoy the remarkable view from the Schlossberg, several pavilions were built, of which three are still preserved. Comparable with the vineyard and famous Sanssouci Palace, were the "hanging gardens" of the Schlossberg: terraces with precious espalier fruits. For the upper part of the parterres a still existing balcony of lime trees was created. Joseph Effner re-designed together with his brother Johann Christoph Effner also the garden in Baroque style in 1717. As a representative of an enlightened absolutism, Elector Max III. Joseph ordered already in 1765 to develop an English landscape garden. Today, the lower part of the garden has been abandoned and is awaiting resurrection.

Dachau Palace

Das Schloss Geiselbullach ist ein Schloss in Geiselbullach in der Gemeinde Olching (Landkreis Fürstenfeldbruck) in Bayern. Es dient heute als Gutshof und ist in Privatbesitz.

Geschichte

Bayerns Kurfürst Max Emanuel überließ seinem Hofkammerrat Johann Adam Geisler 1724 ein großes Areal in der Flur am „Buelach“ (gemeint ist vermutlich ein Buchenwald) in der Nähe der Amper zur Bewirtschaftung und verlieh ihm zudem das Adelsprädikat von Geiselbullach. Geisler erbaute dort ein Schloss mit eingefriedetem Park, eine große Kapelle zu Ehren des Hl. Johannes Nepomuk sowie Häuser für abhängige „Gütler“ und Handwerker. Häufig wechselnden Nachfolgern fehlte wohl das Geschick für die Wirtschaftsführung des Gutes. Erst der aus Udine stammende Kaufmann Alois Sabbadini scheint das nötige wirtschaftliche Gespür besessen zu haben. Unter seiner Zeit entstand 1816 der Turm zu der Kapelle, die ein früherer Schlossbesitzer, der Hofmaler Johann Adam von Schöpf, in feinstem Rokoko ausgemalt hatte. 1891 kaufte Adolf Scheller das Schloss, das 1894 ausbrannte. 1895 erfolgte die Errichtung des heutigen Schlosses. 1918 erwarb die aus Ungarn stammende Familie Raadts das Schloßgut. Ernst Raadts machte daraus einen Musterbetrieb. 1947 wurde er im Übrigen Landrat des Landkreises Fürstenfeldbruck. Besitzer des Schlosses ist seit 1964 die Familie Stürzer, die das Anwesen aufwendig restauriert hat. Die ehemalige Schlosskapelle St. Johann Nepomuk gehört inzwischen der Stadt Olching und wurde 2017 renoviert.

Schloss Geiselbullach

Das Schloss Esting ist ein Schloss in Esting in der Stadtgemeinde Olching im Landkreis Fürstenfeldbruck in Bayern.

Geschichte

Im 12. Jahrhundert werden die Herren „de Ehstingen“ erwähnt und besaßen Esting wohl bis in das 14. Jahrhundert. Schloss Esting wird 1568 als „nobilis domus“ bei Apian erwähnt und war im 16. Jahrhundert im Besitz der Familie von Preysing. Im 17. Jahrhundert erfolgte vermutlich die Erneuerung des Torhauses, um 1698/1700 die Erneuerung des Schlosses durch den Kaufmann Johannes Senser, des Pächters des staatlichen Tabakmonopols. Kurz darauf kam es 1704 zur Zerstörung des Schlosses im Spanischen Erbfolgekrieg durch die Truppen des Herzogs von Marlborough. Bis 1764 erfolgte der Wiederaufbau. Im 18./19. Jahrhundert wurde der Schlossbezirk ummauert. Um 1919 erfolgte ein gotisierender Ausbau.



Schloss Esting

The Schleißheim Palace (German: Schloss Schleißheim) comprises three individual palaces in a grand Baroque park in the village of Oberschleißheim, a suburb of Munich, Bavaria, Germany. The palace was a summer residence of the Bavarian rulers of the House of Wittelsbach.

The palaces

Old Schleissheim Palace

The history of Schleißheim Palace started with a Renaissance country house (1598) and hermitage founded by William V close to Dachau Palace. The central gate and clock tower between both courtyards both date back to the first building period. The inner courtyard is called Maximilianshof, the outer one Wilhelmshof. Under William's son Maximilian I the buildings were extended between 1617 and 1623 by Heinrich Schön and Hans Krumpper to form the so-called Old Palace. This plan is typologically similar to the castle of Laufzorn in Oberhaching begun by Maximilian's brother Albert the year before. There, too, a free staircase leads up to the first floor, which is used as a mansion. The building, which was designed in the style of Andrea Palladio in the late Renaissance, was completed in 1623.

The rooms were decorated by Peter Candid. Maximilian's son and successor Ferdinand Maria died here in 1679. After heavy destruction in the Second World War the palace with its spacious buildings was reconstructed. Most of the stucco decoration of the chapel Wilhelmskapelle has been preserved. The Old Schleißheim Palace houses today two exhibitions, one on religious culture, the other the history of Prussia. The Grand Hall in the middle of the main building today serves as foyer for the museums.

Lustheim Palace

Then Enrico Zuccalli built Lustheim Palace as a garden villa in Italian style in 1684–1688 for Maximilian II Emanuel and his first wife, the Austrian princess Maria Antonia.

Lustheim lies on a circular island and forms as a point de vue the conclusion of the baroque court garden. The floor plan of manor reminiscent of a stylized H, to the central main building will be followed by two wing-like avant-corps. The brick built and plastered building has two storeys, the middle section is dominated by a belvedere, which provides a wide view of the surrounding countryside. The center of the palace is the great hall in the middle section, which is flanked laterally by the apartments of the Elector and Electress. Upstairs rooms were simple for the servants, the basement contained the kitchen and utility rooms.

The interior is dominated by the large banqueting hall in the middle of the building. The frescoes were done by Johann Anton Gumpp, Francesco Rosa and Johann Andreas Trubillio.

Since 1968 the palace has housed a grand collection of Meissen porcelain, only outranged by the Dresden Porcelain Collection in the Zwinger, Dresden.

The palace once formed the centre point of a semicircle of round buildings. Two pavillons still exist: To the south of Lustheim Place the Renatus Chapel was erected in 1686 by Zuccalli in the southern pavillon. The northern pavillon houses the decorated stable which was built for the favourite horses of Elector Max Emanuel.

New Schleißheim Palace

Zuccalli also finally erected the Baroque New Palace between the two palaces in 1701–1704 as the new residence, since the elector expected the imperial crown. But after Max Emanuel had lost Bavaria for some years in the War of the Spanish Succession, the construction work was interrupted. Joseph Effner enlarged the building to one of the most impressive Baroque palaces in 1719–1726. But only the main wing was completed.

The New Palace is a wide-bearing construction of more than 300 meters in length. The main building, the corps de logis, is divided by 37 garden-sided window bays, eleven axes fall on the middle section with the grand staircase, the ballroom and the gallery. The middle section is structured with pilasters. The main wing is connected by arcades with two pavilions in the south and in the north, the southern pavilion should serve as a guest house, the northern one keeps the pumping station for the trick fountains of the park. The central building of the castle has three storeys. The top floor of the central building is set back garden side, so there is a large terrace. This terrace is the result of a change in the draft, after parts of the garden facade were still collapsed during construction due to an insufficient foundation.

Important examples of German baroque architecture are especially the Grand Hall, the Grand Gallery, the wide staircase, the Maximilian's Chapel and the four state apartments decorated by artists such as Charles Dubut, Franz Joachim Beich, Johann Baptist Zimmermann, Cosmas Damian Asam and Jacopo Amigoni. The Grand Gallery was constructed in line with a draft provided by Robert de Cotte. The Victory Hall, the Red Cabinet and the Chapel of the Electress keep the most significant interior decorations. The Grand Staircase of Zuccalli is particularly significant in terms of architecture: The stairs and pedestals lie within a high, wide hall, an idea which Balthasar Neumann later took up in the design of the palace of Augustusburg in Brühl and the Residence Palace in Würzburg. The dome fresco by Cosmas Damian Asam depicts Venus in the blacksmiths of the volcano, where the weapons are made for her son Aeneas, who is wearing the facial features of Elector Max Emanuel. Most of the rooms still show their original late baroque decoration celebrating the elector's victories against the Turks. The entirely preserved Gobelin tapestries were acquired by Max Emanuel from Flemish manufacturies when he served as Governor for the Spanish Netherlands.

Max Emanuels's son Emperor Charles VII Albert preferred the more private atmosphere of Nymphenburg Palace, so only one of four planned wings was completed.

But Max Emanuel's grandson Maximilian III Joseph ordered to decorate some rooms in Rococo style. In 1763 Ignaz Günther decorated the wings of the east portal with allegorical adornments. Under King Ludwig I finally Leo von Klenze completed the Great Staircase.

Klenze's neoclassical alterations of the façade were not restored with the renovation after the destructions in World War II.

Gallery of Baroque paintings

The Gallery of baroque paintings owned by the Bavarian State Picture Collections is today exhibited in several rooms. Among the artists are Flemish Baroque painters such as Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck, Italians like Guido Reni, Luca Giordano, Guercino, Carlo Saraceni, Marcantonio Bassetti, Alessandro Turchi, Carlo Dolci and Pietro da Cortona, but also the Germans Joachim von Sandrart, Johann Heinrich Schönfeld and Johann Carl Loth and the Spanish painters Alonso Cano, José Antolínez and José de Ribera.

The French paintings of the 17th and 18th centuries exhibited in the palace are for the most part historically closely related to Elector Max Emanuel and his family. For example, some pictures of Pierre-Denis Martin show his French and Polish relatives, his sister was married to the Grand Dauphin, he himself was in a second marriage engaged with a daughter of the Polish king Jan Sobieski. A huge historiography of Joseph Vivien deals with the reunion of the Elector with his family in 1715. Rooms with battle paintings are celebrating the Elector.

The former Gardesaal, converted from 1762 to a new dining room, shows the portraits of all the Electorates of Bavaria between 1597 and 1777. On the north wall are a portraits of Maximilian I by Nikolaus Prugger, a portrait of Ferdinand Marias in standing position by George Desmarées and a depiction of Max II Emanuel on horseback as a commander by Martin Maingaud, on the south wall shows equestrian portraits of Charles Albert and Max III. Joseph by Desmarées. The canvas paintings, which are embedded in the walls, are older and had been retrofitted to today's frame size.

In 1852, over 1000 paintings that had been in storage at the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen in Schleißheim, Augsburg and Nuremberg were sold at a public auction with the permission of the Bavarian royal house. The proceedings were used to fund modern acquisitions for the Wittelsbach portrait gallery.