May 2022
The Nymphenburg Palace and Park served as the main summer residence for the former rulers of Bavaria of the House of Wittelsbach.
The front or entry of the Nymphenburg palace
Commissioned by the electoral couple Ferdinand Maria and Henriette Adelaide of Savoy, it was designed by Italian architect Agostino Barelli in 1664 following the birth of the electoral couple’s son Maximilian II Emanuel. The central pavilion was completed in 1675 and the palace has been added onto and transformed over many years.
The prince-electors, or electors for short, were the members of the electoral college that elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
Looking back at the Nymphenburg Castle from the gardens
The facades are baroque as are many of the interior rooms, while others are done in either rococo or neoclassical styles.
In the main room of the castle is this stunning plaster work and painted ceiling
Plaster Work in the castle
A very content lion peeks out from the plaster work in the cove molding
I loved the billygoat playing the woodwind
A little whimsey on one of the multitude of chandeliers
The ceiling in the main room of the castle
A lantern on the porch with lions feet
Inside the park are several pavilions or what I took to calling outcastles. They are spectacular in their own right, and frankly more intriguing than the palace itself.
They are:
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.
One of the delightful wall paintings in the Pogodenburg
A ceiling in the Pogodenburg
The Badenburg (1719–1721) is a Baroque pavilion also by Joseph Effner. It served for the private bathing with its very large tiled bath, or what most today would consider a pool. The dressing room is decorated with various Chinese printed wallpapers.
The bath at Badenburg
Chinese Wallpaper at the Badenburg
Chinese Wallpaper at the Badenburg
Whimsical women/griffons over the door in the plaster work at the Badenburg
The Magdalenenklause is a faux ruin meant for retreat and meditation, erected between 1725 and 1728. The highlight for me was the grotto, but the rest was a stark series of rooms covered in dour ecclesiastical black and white drawings meant to truly make you want to do penance, even if you hadn’t committed any sin.
The grotto / chapel at Magdalenenklause
The grotto at the Magdalenenklause
The Amalienburg, is a seriously over the top Rococo hunting lodge constructed in 1734–1739 by François de Cuvilliés for Charles Albert and his wife, Maria Amalia of Austria. The most spectacular portion being the hall of mirrors designed by Johann Baptist Zimmermann and Joachim Dietrich.
The Amalienburg
The Amalienburg
The Amalienburg
Tiles in the kitchen of the The Amalienburg
Paintings in the kitchen of the The Amalienburg
The Apollotemple is a neoclassical monopteros by Leo von Klenze, erected in 1862–1865.
The Apollotemple
The day had turned 85 degrees, an unexpectedly hot day, so a trip out to a garden with 2 lakes, many streams and lots of trees was the perfect decision.
Pan presiding over one of the many water features in the park
There are several museums on the site, including one dedicated to sleighs and carriages. The carriages were so obscene in their luxury I preferred this sweet simple sleigh
The ducks, swans and other avian life were rife, enough that one would assume they were in a bird sanctuary
Spring time and baby geese
A diving swan
Munich is a spectacular town for architecture, art and history, but every once in a while one needs a break from the city, especially when the weather turns unseasonably hot. The Nymphenburg Palace and Park is the perfect escape.