Germany – The Residenz Munich
The Residenz Munich is a enormous palace complex, which served as the home of the Bavarian kings for over four centuries. As a visitor today, you can visit 130 rooms and marvel at the variety of decoration styles and general opulence exuded. You will see Renaissance, early Baroque, Rococo, and into Neoclassical rooms designed with no detail spared for the Royal family. I was entirely unprepared for the Museum, not expecting the sheer volume of rooms, galleries, halls, and gold leaf. But it was also amazing that a palace from the centuries ago could feel overwhelming. And if I was feeling this way, I can only imagine what the visitors felt in 1508 – 1918, when the palace was in use.
Inside The Residence Museum
After the first dozen rooms or so, it slowly began to dawn on me how much 130 rooms really is. By doing the math, if you only spent 5 minutes in each room, you would be at the Residenz Munich for over 10 hours. It is roughly 6 times the number of rooms of Nymphenburg Palace. This necessitates that you breeze through many of the rooms and linger in the style or type of room that most interests you. Luckily, there is a lot of variety for the use of the rooms, so you are not in one type of room for very long. I was most in awe of the Rococo rooms, so my favorite rooms below fit into that style.
At a Glance:
- Rating: 4 (out of 4) stars – Would go again in a heartbeat
- Intensity: Castle outfit and walking shoes
- Location: In the northeast corner of downtown Munich.
- Cost: 7 € for the Residence Museum alone, 11 € for the Residence Museum and Treasury, or 13 € for the Residence Museum, Treasury, and Cuvilliés Theatre.
- Timing: 3+ Hours
- Restrooms: sprinkled throughout the Museum
Highlights:
- Tour is not required, so you can explore at your own pace
- 130 rooms to explore with each one becoming more luxurious than the last
- A few large, spacious rooms to take your breath away
We used a Rick Steves guidebook to help us determine which rooms to focus on. You will get an audio guide for free, which was fun and helpful, but would have taken at least 5 hours to listen to all the plaques. I recommend reading up on the Residenz Munich (not just here, but thank you! :), so you know what to expect and what room you absolutely want to seek out. Although the Residence Museum follows a certain path, there are a couple times when there is an option to go left or right, and it would be easy to miss something.
My Favorite Rooms:
- Green Gallery: I loved the entire set of Rich Rooms (55 – 62), which includes the Green Gallery. The Gallery was a banquet hall for festivities. With 70 paintings arranged in tiers alternating with mirrors on top of green brocade fabric and gold stucco throughout, the room feels luxurious and joyous. Although each item has its own intricate detail, together the room feels somehow harmonious. It will come as no surprise that the architect and designer was François Cuvilliés, who also did the Cuvilliés theater. It was so easy for me to picture a crowded room filled with equally detailed dresses. I couldn’t help but want to twirl in the room! I wish I had gotten more photos.
- Miniatures Cabinet: Also part of the Rich Rooms (55 – 62), the Miniatures Cabinet is also the smallest room with a big surprise. Here you will find 129 tiny recreations of famous paintings from Dutch, French and German painters from the 16th to the 18th centuries. Each of the paintings is inlaid in intricate red and gold panelling. I could have spent a long time looking at the teeny tiny details of each painting. This cabinet was completely destroyed in World War II, but painstakingly recreated.
- Ancestral Gallery: The final room of the Residence Museum tour will not disappoint, unless, you are sick of Rococo stucco. The Ancestral Gallery (Rooms 4 and 5) is a long hall with paintings of over 100 members of the Wittelsbach family depicted. But the paintings are not hung on the wall will-nilly. They are set with gilt paneling details that climb up the walls to the ceiling. Adjacent to the Ancestral Gallery is the Porcelain Cabinet, which the most extravagant display of porcelain I have ever seen.
Other Notable Rooms That Piqued My Interest:
- Rich Chapel: This little chapel (Room 89) served as the private place of worship for Maximilian I and his wife. There is so much to see in this small room that my eyes didn’t know where to look first. Colorful marble covers the walls (not all of it real marble!) and gilt relief, a collection of precious relics, small panels set into the marble paneling, and a detailed altar.
- The Reliquaries: Speaking of relics, which are the bodily remains or objects closely associated with saints, there is a an entire room of them near the Court Chapel Gallery and Rich Chapel. In 1577 the pope gave Duke Wilhelm V the required permission to acquire relics. In the 19th century the reliquaries were still regarded as the most valuable treasure in the Residence. Items in the Reliqary were fascinating in that you could easily make out the different body parts, but also the care and detail given to the container or covering of each item was incredibly impressive gold, metal, and silver work.
- Royal Apartments: I found the Royal Apartments (Rooms 72-127) to be interesting in their Neoclassical design. King Ludwig I’s love of Italy and the Renaissance determined the design of the room. I could see this classical throw-back the columns inlaid in the walls and triangular capitals over the doors. The neoclassical design makes the throne room so impressive, powerful, and royal. It was also interesting to see where this royal couple actually lived and interacted with guests.
- Antiquarium: During the Renaissance, the Antiquarium (Room 7) was built to hold antique sculpture. This is one of the first rooms you encounter in the Palace and is a great way to kick off your exploration.
The Treasury and Cuvilliés Theatre
We ran out of time before we could make it to the Treasury or Cuvilliés Theatre. The Treasury is a display of jewels, goldsmith’s work, enamels, crystal objects and ivories. Originally in the Ancestral Gallery, the Treasury moved to the ground floor of the palace and spans across 10 rooms. It is 7 € to visit the Treasury alone, 11 € for the Residence Museum and Treasury, or 13 € for the Residence Museum, Treasury, and Cuvilliés Theatre.
The Cuvilliés Theatre was a court theater designed by François Cuvilliés and stands as a major work of Bavarian Rococo. It has a twisting story involving removing parts during World War II for safety. The original wood carvings and tier fittings that survived decorate a redesigned theatre in new building. It was recreated in a new building with original wood carvings and tier fittings. Although the war destroyed some things, like a ceiling painting, the theatre still looks to be incredibly impressive. It is 3.50 € to visit the Theatre alone or 13 € for the Residence Museum, Treasury, and Cuvilliés Theatre.
Getting to The Residenz Munich
Located in the center of the city, the Residenz Munich is best reached by public transportation. The closest S-Bahn stop is”Marienplatz” , closest U-Bahn stop is “Marienplatz” or “Odeonsplatz”, bus stop is “Odeonsplatz”, or tram stop is “Nationaltheater”. There is no parking at the Residenz, but there is underground parking at the National Theatre for a charge.
Overall thoughts: The Residenz Munich
The Residenz Munich felt especially royal. When I think of palaces and castles, I think of having a bunch of rooms, each wing for a different purpose, and high ceilings with chandeliers. At the Residenz, it exceeded those expectations spectacularly. I can hardly think of a room without a chandelier, except for the rooms from the Renaissance era. I would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in visiting a luxuruous royal palace. Not a penny spared by the Wittelsbach dynasty. If this sounds too overwhelming, here are my other Germany castle/palace posts:
What other German or non-German palaces do you recommend visiting? I have a hard time saying anything negative about visiting castles and palaces because they are so much fun! Comment below to tell me more palaces I should visit!
Happy Travels,
Hanna
