Nymphenburg Castle is a baroque palace which is located in the western parts of Munich. The palace had always held the position of prominence in the hearts of the royal families of Bavaria. The palace buildings and the surrounding areas underwent massive reconstructions and redesigning over the years since its conception. Nearly five generations of the Wittelsbach family who reigned over the region were involved in expanding their favourite palace.
On an annual basis the main building by itself receives a footfall of approximately 300,000 visitors. Nymphenburg Castle is situated right ahead of the Munich Residence and Schleissheim Palace. The palace and the park were also the locations where in 1961 Alain Resnais shot his film titled as: Last Year at Marienbad. Also, the 1972 film based on the life and death of King Ludwig II, titled as Ludwig by the Italian director Luchino Visconti was also shot here at Nymphenburg. Today the palace serves as the headquarters of the Bavarian Administration of State-Owned Palaces, Gardens and Lakes.
History of Nymphenburg Castle
The Nymphenburg Palace was conceived as the summer residence for Max Emanuel who was born in the year 1662 in the family of the Elector of Bavaria Ferdinand Maria and his wife, Henriette Adelaide of Savoy. The birth of Max Emanuel was a matter of celebration in the royal house hold because the couple had their first child nearly ten years after their marriage. Furthermore, the site of the palace was also thus chosen quite carefully. A particular piece of land which was located towards the edge of the court land which was on the west of the city and the Residenz was meticulously carved out and thus chosen. The site was surrounded by beautiful scenes of the countryside. With that done the construction process began in the year 1664 and the architect Agostino Barelli, an Italian was contracted for the said work. Agostino Barelli was quite well renowned in his time. He was well appreciated for his design and work of the Munich Theatine Church.
The initial design of the Nymphenburg Palace was meant to comprise of a mighty cubic pavilion which was also flanked by the church in the court and several other buildings. There were also walls, and geometrically designed gardens. The palace reached its near completion by 1679. However, the current incarnation of the Nymphenburg Palace was made possible by the redefining processes which were undertaken by Max Emanuel between 1690 and 1726. The redesigning part was contracted to the architect Henrico Zuccalli. He introduced the two off-set pavilions on each of the existing structures in the north and the south. The commencement of the construction of the galleries began in the year 1701. These galleries were meant to provide a link between the central edifice and the pavilions.
With the arrival of the Spanish War of Succession between 1704 and 1715 the construction work stopped as Max Emanuel’s attention was diverted and he thus was under obligation to spend much of his time outside Bavaria. Post the war in 1715 Max Emanuel returned home accompanying many of the skilled artists and craftsmen form France. With their help Max Emanuel suggested the enlargement of his palaces at Dachau, Fürstenried, Nymphenburg and Schleißheim. The design of these palatial buildings was influenced by the contemporary French trends and the latest in fashion.
Among the artists who accompanied Max Emanuel were first, Joseph Effner the architect and Dominique Girard who was a garden artist. These two individuals held quite a matter of prominence in the region in terms of scholarship and their skill, they were also responsible for much of the planning and the extension projects at Nymphenburg. There were many local painters who also received commissions of considerable importance. Among the many provisions made – the central pavilion, the royal apartments, the annexes and the residences of the court officials along with the crescent were the ones which held prominence.
The first Elector of Bavaria, Karl Albercht who reigned between 1726 and 1745 was known to have resided in the the Nymphenburg Palace. When Karl Albercht became Emperor Charles VII, he again came back to stay here at the palace. He is also responsible for much of the expansion projects that were undertaken. One of the many additions was the palaces crescent. The palace and its crescent together were intended to synthesise and form the Carlstadt or Charles Town. The other addition which was considered to be rather more precious by the King is the Amalienburg which is located in Nymphenburg’s park. François Cuvillés the Elder an architect from Paris brought the peak of expression to the court of Munich. It was due to his skilful design that the Amalienburg is now stated among the most prominent creations in the whole of Europe belonging to the period.
Much of the opulence in decoration was added to the Nymphenburg Palace during the reign of Elector Maxmillian III Joseph. The Rococo in the Munich court are a result of the confluence of the skills of Johann Baptist Zimmermann and François Cuvilliés the Elder. Along with these Max III Joseph was also responsible for the painting of the Palace Chapels ceiling along with the current placement of the Porcelain Manufactory at its current location.
Statues were also added to the park at this time along with the remodelling of the Grand Parterre. Here is where the imposing statues of the gods of Mount Olympus are located. A subtle mould of entrance that is the exterior flight of steps were added to the main building and the Great Hall around this time.
When Karl Theodor ruled Bavaria and the Palatinate from 1777 to 1799, he made a few changes to the title at Nymphenburg. Along with this he also widened the galleries which then resulted in the creation of new rooms. These rooms were furnished using the best of the materials of the day. In 1792 he opened the gates of the palace park for the public.
During the early parts of the 19th century Bavaria transformed as a Kingdom. It was at this time that the palace of Nymphenburg attained crucial importance. At this time the Elector Maximilian IV Joseph, who, as Maximilian I Joseph became the first ruler of Bavaria and ruled between 1806 and 1825. He released diktats under which major redesigning and remodelling of the rooms were conducted and noble Neoclassical furnishings were used in this process to decorate these rooms. Friedrich Ludwig Sckell, the designers of royal gardens was responsible for the metamorphosis of the old geometrically designed French garden and turned them into landscape gardens of English styles. The palace always remained the favourite residence among the members of the royal family.
More about the palace
Nymphenburg Castle and its sumptuously sprawling gardens are located at a distance of 5 kilometres in the northwest of the Altstadt. The palatial monument was meant to be the villa for the Electress Adelaide of Savoy when its construction began in 1664. In the due course of time with the various degrees of expansions by the royal family the building turned into what it is today. Today you can still find a certain Franz Duke of Bavaria who was once the head of the royal Wittelsbach family, he in-fact lives in an apartment in the palace complex.
If you happen to visit Nymphenburg Castle you will be able to observe that the building encompasses a large sized villa. Here there are wings on either side which comprise of creaking parquet floors along with rather overwhelmingly sumptuous period rooms. At the beginning of the tour you will in many ways witness the grand Schönheitengalerie. They are designed in the form of apartments and were meant for Queen Caroline. In the galleries you will also find 38 portraits of the most attractive women of their time which were handpicked by King Ludwig I himself. He was in utter admiration of those beautiful women. Amongst those portraits the most famous one is that of Helene Sedlmayr. Helene Sedlmayr was the daughter of a shoe maker. She is depicted adorning lavish clothes which apparently were given to her by the King at the time of sitting for the portrait. Also, there is the portrait of Lola Montez who was known to be one of Ludwig I’s lovers. She was considered to be quite the beauty and was well known for her notorious activates. Lady Jane Ellenborough, who was quite the popular gossip-column celebrity of the 19th century along with Lady Jane Erskin, a well-known English beauty can be seen sharing the wall in their portraits.
When you reach the bedroom of the Queen you will find that the room still is occupied by the sleigh bed on which King Ludwig II was born along with the bedroom of the King whose ceiling is adorned with three-dimensional frescos.
In the main building itself make sure that you checkout the Marstallmuseum. Here in the Marstallmuseum you will find in display the many royal coaches and riding gears which were used by the royal family members. The fairy tale–like rococo sleigh which belonged to King Ludwig II – retrofitted in an ingenious manner with oil lamps also can be found here. This gear was used by the King and his guests while they were on their many nocturnal outings.
The most fascinating part of the tour lays on the floor right above the Marstallmuseum. Here you will find the largest collection of porcelain in the world. The porcelains here were made by the most renowned Nymphenburger Manufaktur or as otherwise known as – Sammlung Bäuml. The room houses porcelains here were stocked right from the inception of the company in 1747 till about the year 1930.
There is a sprawling park carrying an intriguing design located behind the Nymphenburg Castle. Münchners along with visitors and tourists love the park here. You can find people taking a lazy afternoon stroll or on their early morning jogging routine and also those who sit here taking in the awe-inspiring scenic imageries. The designer of the park adopted English styles and added accenting water features which includes a large lake, a cascade along with a canal which by the way is quite a popular spot where people come in and feed the swans. In winters when the lake freezes it becomes a wonderful spot for ice skating and ice curling.
When you are in this park do not forget to check out the Amalienburg. Amalienburg, apart from being the chief folly of the park it is also what can be termed as a hunting lodge. This construction is quite literally dripping in crystals and gilt decoration. Also remember to visit the Spiegelsaal which is a hall of mirrors. There is also the Pagodenburg which is a two storeyed boiling designed as per the Chinese treehouse tradition of the 18th century. Ceramic tiles have swathed the Pagodenburg. These tiles can be seen depicting floral ornamentation along with certain figures and landscapes. You can relax in the Badenburg which is a sauna and bathing house. The Badenburg today also continues to use the originally installed heating system. In the end you will also find a mock hermitage in faux-ruined style, it is called the Magdalenenklause.