Nymphenburg Palace

Located just west of Munich, the Nymphenburg Palace was commissioned in 1664 by Elector Ferdinand Maria, to celebrate the birth of his son, Maximilian Emanuel. The elector was to make this his summer residence and would live here with his consort and the mother of his child, Henriette Adelaide of Savoy.

The architect chosen for the palace was Agostino Barelli, who designed the central section of the palace to resemble an Italian villa, much to the delight of Henriette.

However, the palace didn’t maintain its original state for long. As a matter of fact, a total of five Wittelsbach rulers had their hand in changing or adding to the palace. Max Emanuel, the young man for whom the castle was built, was the first to make additions, in the year 1700. He added galleries and pavilions, extending the sides of the Nymphenburg Palace. For this job, he chose architects Enrico Zuccali and Antonio Viscardi. Soon stables were added to the south and an orangerie to the north.

Further additions continued, especially throughout the 18th century. The facade was extended to an impressive width of 600m (1968 ft). A circle of ornate Baroque mansions, known as the Schlossrondell, was erected under Emperor Charles VII Albert. The enormous Grand Hall or Steinerner Saal, was added during the reign of Elector Max III Joseph and includes ornate Rococo elements fashioned by Johann Baptist Zimmermann and François Cuvilliés the Elder, including magnificent ceiling frescoes.

After 1741, when Germany had allied with France and Spain against Austria, Nymphenburg Palace became the summer residence of the rulers of Bavaria.

Visitors to Nymphenburg Palace can still view rooms that are decorated in their original Baroque style. Some, however, were redone in Rococo and neo-Classical style. Tours are available daily and several rooms in the palace are even available for rent for special occasions.

The stable of the palace houses a wonderful museum of ancient carriages and sleighs. Many were involved in historic events such as coronations. At the Marstallmuseum, you’ll also find uniforms and livery worn by guards and other servants and a fine collection of Nymphenburg porcelain.

The Nymphenburg palace is set in a large nicely laid out park. Originally it was a small Italianesque garden, but around the turn of the 17th century it was expanded and redesigned as a formal French garden by Charles Carbonet who had worked for André Le Nôtre (designer of the gardens at the Versailles Palace in Paris).

In the second half of the 18th century the garden was transformed in a landscape garden, but the original axis of the garden, which centers around a long canal, was retained. At the end of the 900m long canal is a cascade adorned with four large sculptures.
At the other end of the palace an even longer (2km) canal leads as a grand entranceway towards the palace.