The Nymphenburg Palace (, Palace of the Nymphs) is a Baroque palace situated in Munich's western district Neuhausen-Nymphenburg, in Bavaria, southern Germany. The Nymphenburg served as the main summer residence for the former rulers of Bavaria of the House of Wittelsbach. Combined with the adjacent Nymphenburg Palace Park it constitutes one of the premier royal palaces of Europe. Its frontal width of (north–south axis) even surpasses Versailles.

History

Building history

300px|thumb|Nymphenburg Palace, around 1760, as painted by [[Bernardo Bellotto]]

The palace was commissioned by the 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. During its construction Barelli was again replaced (1674) by Enrico Zuccalli. The concept for the mythological decorative programme was supplied by the scholar Emanuele Tesauro of Turin; the ceiling paintings were by Antonio Triva and Antonio Zanchi. It then quickly replaced the nearby Blutenburg Castle as major hunting lodge of the court and competed to Schleissheim Palace.

Starting in 1701, Maximilian 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 were 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 build the court stables (1719). For the sake of balance, the orangery building was added to the north which was only completed in 1758. Finally, Nymphenburg Palace was completed with a grand circle (the Schlossrondell) of Baroque mansions (the so-called Kavaliershäuschen – cavalier's lodges), erected under Maximilian Emanuel's son Holy Roman Emperor Charles VII Albert in the palace's driveway. His son Prince-Elector Maximilian III founded the Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory in 1747, to this day housed in one of these cavalier's lodges. Its fashionable Rococo products by porcelain sculptors Franz Anton Bustelli and Dominik Auliczek made the name Nymphenburg widely known.

thumb|Birthroom of King [[Ludwig II of Bavaria]]

In 1795, Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria 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 style decoration directly under the roof instead.

thumb|[[Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria with his son Ludwig, his grandson Rupprecht and his great-grandson Luitpold in the park of Nymphenburg Palace, about 1910]]

Residence

With the Treaty of Nymphenburg signed in July 1741, Charles Albert allied with France and Spain against Austria. Two of his 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 at 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.

Palace

The palace, together with its park, is now one of the most famous sights in 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.

300px|thumb|Nymphenburg, ca 1730

300px|thumb|Aerial image of the Nymphenburg Palace

Central pavilion

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.

thumb|Steinerner Saal (Marble Hall)

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.

In the adjoining Outer South Wing of the castle is a restaurant with beer garden.

Northern pavilions and wings

The Inner Northern Pavilion, the later so-called Crown Prince Building, is generally inaccessible. Here was Max Emanuel's appartement de parade and its representative rooms are today used by the Wittelsbach Compensation Fund. The upper floors serve as living quarters for the respective head of the House of Wittelsbach. The Outer Northern Pavilion houses the chapel, whose ceiling painting by Joseph Adam von Mölk 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, an elongated building which served during the period of its origin for the Cue sports and the Jeu de Passe, a ball game inspired by Pall-mall, which was invented by Max Emanuel himself and was played indoors and outdoors. Today the Duke of Bavaria's administration is located here. 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.

Garden pavilions

thumb|upright|Badenburg, Royal bathing house

thumb|upright|[[Amalienburg, Royal hunting lodge]]

Within the park, a number of pavilions - palaces en miniature - were built:

  • The Pagodenburg (1716–1719) – an octagonal, two-story pavilion with Delft tile decoration downstairs and Chinoiserie upstairs. It was built by Joseph Effner as "maison de plaisance" and tea house.
  • The Badenburg (1719–1721) – a Baroque pavilion also by Joseph Effner. It served for the private bathing and contains several rooms including a grand banqueting hall with a festive ornament decor by Charles Dubut and a very large tiled bath with a pool. The dressing room is decorated with various Chinese printed wallpapers. In the Monkey Cabinet the Elector performed his toilette. It was the first major building in Europe for centuries that was exclusively for the purpose of enjoying a comfortable bathroom.
  • The Magdalenenklause – a faux ruin for retreat and meditation, erected between 1725 and 1728. The building with its prayer room is considered as an early representative of the hermitage and the ruins of architecture in Germany; it was to serve Max Emanuel as a place of contemplation - a memento mori, whose completion the elector however did not longer witness.
  • The Amalienburg – a Rococo hunting lodge constructed in 1734–1739 by François de Cuvilliés for Charles Albert and his wife, Maria Amalia of Austria, including a hall of mirrors (designed by Johann Baptist Zimmermann and Joachim Dietrich) and a kennel room for the hunting dogs. The building with its decoration is a definite masterpiece at the climax of European rococo.
  • The Apollotemple – a neoclassical monopteros temple by Leo von Klenze, erected in 1862–1865.

The architecture of the garden pavilions was influential for other architecture in Germany. So the Wittelsbach Falkenlust Palace was built in the style of the Amalienburg while the Pagodenburg served as prototype for the building of the same name in Rastatt.

Tourism

thumb|right|Marstallmuseum Nymphenburg

thumb|Front Facade of the Court Stables within Nymphenburg Palace (2014)

300px|thumb|The grand parterre

The main building alone has more than 300,000 visitors per year. Nymphenburg Palace has as many visitors as the Munich Residence and more than Schleissheim Palace, though the castles of King Ludwig II, especially Neuschwanstein, are more frequented.

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.

Miscellaneous

Between 1936 and 1939 open air events called "Nacht der Amazonen" (Night of the Amazons) were performed. These shows in the park comprised 2000 players with international stars, bare-breasted girls and included also members of the SS Cavalry under Hermann Fegelein.

The palace and its park were some of the main filming locations of Alain Resnais's 1961 movie Last Year at Marienbad. 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.

Images

<gallery mode="packed" heights="120px">

File:Fountain munich.JPG|Fountain at Nymphenburg Palace.

Image:Schloss Nymphenburg.jpg|Main approach

Image:Schloss Nymphenburg2.jpg|Front view

Image:Schloss Nymphenburg3.jpg|Back view

File:Nymphenburger Schloss at sunset.JPG|Back view at sunset

Image:Josef Wenglein Nymphenburg.jpg|View from the lakeside, painting by Josef Wenglein, 1883

Image:Monopteros, Nymphenburg.jpg|Monopteros

Image:Monopteros3, Nymphenburg.jpg|View toward Monopteros

Image:Badenburg, Nymphenburg.jpg|Badenburg, royal bathing house

Image:M-Badenburg-Bad01.JPG|Badenburg, royal bathing house

Image:Amalienburg 025.JPG|Kitchen of the Amalienburg

Image:Pagodenburg Nymphenburg-1.jpg|Pagodenburg, royal teahouse

File:Pagodenburg Nymphenburg Palace Munich lars20070.jpg|Pagodenburg, Nymphenburg Palace, Munich 2013

Image:Marstallmuseum Nymphenburg-1.jpg|Court Stables

Image:Nymphenburg Magdalenenklause - nach Lebschee, 1830.jpg|Magdalenenklause, royal hermitage, after Carl August Lebschée

File:Nymphenburg Palace, Munich, Germany.jpg|Nymphenburg Palace, Munich, Germany

File:Nymphenburg-Statue-1.jpg|Juno by Dominik Auliczek

File:Nymphenburg-Statue-3c.jpg|Pluto Dominik Auliczek

File:Nymphenburg-Statue-2.jpg|Jupiter Dominik Auliczek

File:Nymphenburg-Statue-4.jpg|Proserpina Dominik Auliczek

</gallery>

See also

  • List of Baroque residences
  • Nymphenburg Palace Park
  • Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory
  • 18th-century Western domes

References

Bibliography

  • Nymphenburg Palace official website
  • Nymphenburg Palace
  • 360° Panorama Nymphenburg Palace
  • Review of the palace
  • Nymphenburg Palace – video