Munich - Nymphenburg Palace

The alpine garden, at the Munich Botanic Gardens, boasts specimens from some of the highest mountains in the world. Laid out according to geographical origin and altitude, it is at its loveliest in the summer months (corresponding to the mountain spring) when the blue gentian, orange hawkweed and dwarf alpine poppy are in bloom.

The fern gorge is another of the Gardens' gems, at its best in spring when the new growth begins to shoot amidst the sandstone boulders.

More than 200 different varieties of rhododendron flourish in the lime-free soil of their grove (flowering end of May to June).

The rose garden is yet another highlight, and not only on account of its wealth of color and pervasive scents. - The protected species section ("Geschützte Pflanzen") adjacent to the rhododendron grove emphasises just how urgent conservation has become.

There is also an interesting section devoted to the more important varieties of plant exploited for human needs. These include various strains of cereals, fruit-wood, fiber-producing and medicinal plants and spices.

As well as flowering stone-plants, agaves, aloes and dragon trees the 5,000sq.m/54,000sq.ft of hothouses include a magnificent orchid house - a panoply of exotic shapes and glorious colors. South-east Asian pitcher-plants, which trap and digest insects, make a further fascinating display.

Other major features include the Grosses Tropenhaus (Large Tropical House) with its screw-palms, bananas palms and bamboo plants growing alongside such widely cultivated tropical species as coffee, cocoa, rice, sugar cane and mahogany.

In summer "Victoria amazonica", queen of water-plants, is to be seen flowering in the Victoria House.

Yet more hothouses contain cacti, arum lilies, pineapple plants and various ferns (including palms and stag's horn ferns).

The two-storied Badenburg, built by Joseph Effner in 1719-21 as a bathing pavilion for the Elector Max Emanuel, was partially remodeled in the 19th C. in the Neo-Classical style by Leo von Klenze. Restoration work carried out in 1952-53 has successfully erased almost all signs of bomb damage. The ground plan is determined by the oval reception room, which has rich stucco ornamentation (fruit and shells) and a ceiling painting by J. Amigoni, "Apollo in the Chariot of the Sun". The most notable feature of the vestibule (which also served as a games room) is its Chinese wallpaper, with a pattern of birds, flowers and butterflies. The bathing room reaches down to the basement, the bath being faced with Dutch tiles and the walls of the gallery decorated with prefabricated stucco-marble. The bedroom also has Chinese wallpaper, this time with life-size figures.

Features of particular interest in the Blutenburg Castle: altarpieces by Jan Polack (ca. 1490); paintings on the High Altar (Christ as Judge and Baptism of Christ, to right; Coronation of Virgin, to left); wooden figures of the Twelve Apostles and the famous Blutenburg Madonna (beside the tabernacle) by the unidentified Master of the Blutenburg Madonna; stained glass (16 scenes, from Annunciation to Passion; Wittelsbach coats of arms) by Martin the Glazier.

The central pavilion was a gift from the Elector Ferdinand Maria to his wife Adelaide of Savoy, celebrating the birth of an heir, Max Emanuel. The cube-shaped palace in the style of an Italian villa was constructed between 1664 and 1674 by Agostino Barelli. In 1702-04 Max Emanuel commissioned Enrico Zuccali and Antonio Viscardi to build the galleries and the two side pavilions. The main block acquired its present appearance in about 1715 when Josef Effner added pilasters, arched windows and a number of busts. From 1728 he continued work under the Elector Karl Albrecht, adding the outer wings and the Rondell, beyond which a town was envisaged, to be known as "Carlstadt". Schloss Nymphenburg survived the last war undamaged apart from a direct hit on the palace chapel in the north wing. The houses on the north side of the Rondell were also burned out.

The most notable features of the interior are:

Central block

The ballroom, the Steinerner Saal (1; Stone Hall), extending up through three stories; lavishly decorated - ceiling painting by Johann Baptist and Frans Zimmermann, "Nymphs paying homage to the Goddess Flora" (1756-57), a masterpiece of Bavarian Roccoco, and stucco-work by Feichtmayr. Venue for concerts during the "Nymphenburger Sommerspiele" festival in July.

North wing

Ante-room (2) with coffered ceiling (1675) and Regency décor. - Gobelin Room (3); Brussels tapestries made in 1720. - Bedroom (4), the Elector Max Emanuel's "Kleine Schönheitengalerie" ("Little Gallery of Beauties"; portraits of nine ladies who shared his exile in Paris, depicted as goddesses). - Turner's Room (5); painting of the Elector Max III Joseph at the lathe. - Max Emanuel's "Grosse Schönheitsgalerie" or "Large Gallery of Beauties" (6); five portraits of ladies from the Court of Ludwig XIV, painted by P. Gobert in 1710. - Heraldic Room (7); knotted carpets bearing the combined arms of Kurpfalz and Pfalz-Sulzbach, completed in Mannheim in 1756. - Karl Theodor Room (8); portraits of the Elector (1781) by A. Hickel and Electress (1797) by J. Hauber. - Gallery (9) with views (vedute) of Bavarian Schlösser by F. J. Beich (1722-23).

South wing

Ante-room (10) with white and gold paneling. - Ante-room (11); wall-coverings of red damask, superb 17th c. Italian table. - Bedroom (12); green velvet and silver bed canopy (1730). - Small Lacquer Room (13) with 17th c. Chinese coromandel lacquered panels on the walls. - Gallery (14); more views (vedute) of Bavarian Schlösser by F. J. Beich, also N. Stuber and J. Stephan (1750-60). - Old Dining Hall (15), furnished around 1807 in the Neo-Classical manner. The Old Dining Hall has assumed the mantle of King Ludwig's "Schönheitsgalerie", in place of the former banqueting hall in the Residenz (destroyed). The best known of the 36 portraits of beautiful women, from all strata of Munich society, commissioned from Joseph Stieler by the King, are those of Helene Sedlmayer, a shoemaker's daughter and later mother of nine children, and the dancer Lola Montez, the King's favorite, daughter of a Scottish officer and a Creole women. - Burr-wood Room (16), furnished in 1810, with portraits of Ludwig I and his wife (1844). - Small Room (17), painted in around 1770. - Little Gallery (18); Still Life by Jan Fyt. - Blue Salon (19), with furniture of 1810. - Bedroom (20); the room in which Ludwig II was born; mahogany furniture, again from 1810.

Palace chapel

The palace chapel is located in the second of the two pavilions on the north side, known as the "Kapellenstock". Designed by Viscardi it was built in 1713 and is provided with its own entrance.

Occupying two storys the rectangular chapel has a rounded choir niche and oratories for the use of members of the Court built into the upper part of the west wall.

The ceiling is adorned with a wonderfully expressive painting (1759) by J. Mölck illustrating the life of Mary Magdalene.

At the altar can be seen the combined arms of Bavaria and Poland, the homeland of Max Emanuel's second wife.

Throughout the year Schloss Blutenburg provides a venue for a series of highly regarded master concerts.

A modern fountain in copper by G. J. Kroiss adorns the castle courtyard.

In keeping with the custom of the time the Magdalenenklause (Magdalene Hermitage, 1725-28) was designed as a place of prayer and meditation for the aged Elector Max Emanuel, who died however before it was completed. The architect was Joseph Effner. The single-storied building with two apses and two round bay windows has artificially contrived cracks in the walls and crumbling plasterwork to simulate a ruin. The chapel, occupying about half the building, was decorated with a mosaic made from imitation coral.

The ceiling paintings by N. G. Stubers are thought to portray the penitent Mary Magdalene. The crucifix etc. are carved from a narwal tusk. The cells - three of which have heating in the form of stoves with colored tiles - are paneled in stained oak.

Saletti

The Saletti, an octagonal pavilion, was built for the Prince Elector Ludwig in 1799.

Temple of Apollo

The Temple of Apollo (Monopteros) was erected in 1865 to the design of Leo von Klenze. It contains a stela recording the dates of the various remodeling of the park.

Hamlet

The Dörfchen ("Hameau"/hamlet), a favorite motif in Baroque gardens, consists of a group of little houses. The machinery in the pump-room, still in operation, is a masterpiece of early technology.

Pan and the He-goat

The statue of Pan and the He-goat was executed by Peter Lamine in 1815.

Marble cascade

The cascade, designed by Joseph Effner, is constructed from nagelfluh (rock composed of slender pebbles) faced with marble. The reclining figures symbolizing the Rivers Danube and Isar are by Volpini (1717). Other figures: Minerva, Hercules (1720, by Volpini); Flora, Æolus (1725, by Dubut); Mars, Minerva, Thetis (1775, by R. A. Boos); Neptune (ca. 1730, by G. de Groff).

The Nymphenburg porcelain factory, at the north end of the Schlossrondell, was founded in 1747 and installed here in the palace in 1761. The Roccoco creations of its first designer, Franz Anton Bustelli (1754-63), brought it a high reputation, which it has continued to enjoy by maintaining the old traditions.

The Nymphenburg Summer Festival is a three-week event that runs from mid-June to early July and includes a series of twelve symphonic, choral and chamber concerts. The repertoire ranges from Buxtehude to Brahms and is performed by internationally-acclaimed musicians. The performances all take place in the Nymphenburg Palace.

The Pagodenburg, an elegant two-storied tea pavilion roughly cruciform in plan, was built by Joseph Effner (1716-19). It was mainly used as a place for resting after pall-mall, a ball game played on a horseshoe-shaped "mall" in the Pagodenburger Tal (valley) to the north.

The exterior is decorated with stucco masks (Bacchus, Flora, Neptune, Ceres), the interior in the then popular chinoiserie. On the ground floor is the "Saletti", with a ceiling painting by G. Gumpp and walls faced with Dutch tiles. There are three rooms on the upper floor: the Chinese Salon and Chinese Cabinet have paneling lacquered in black and red, and silk wallpaper; the Rest Room is decorated in white, gold and green.