Blutenburg Castle
Pluedenburg (Blütenburg/Blossom Castle) was built on the banks of the Würm by Duke Albert II in 1438-39 as a hunting-lodge, replacing an older castle burned down in war. Its original defenses
included a ring wall, towers and a moat. After being destroyed during the Thirty Years War it was again rebuilt in 1680-81 as a plain rectangular structure.
The castle now houses the International Youth Library, a collection of literature for children and young people in 110 languages, totaling some 400,000 volumes.
The castle chapel (1488), dedicated to St Sigismund, is a unique jewel of Late Gothic architecture, both the building and its furnishings being preserved in their original form. The fragments of frescoes on the exterior walls give some idea of what the external painting (now lost) of Munich's Late Gothic churches was like.
Concerts
Throughout the year Schloss Blutenburg provides a venue for a series of highly regarded master concerts.
Courtyard
A modern fountain in copper by G. J. Kroiss adorns the castle courtyard.
Blutenburg Madonna
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.
Botanic Gardens
The present Munich Botanic Gardens, covering an area of more than 20ha/49 acres on the north side of Nymphenburg Park, was laid out between 1909 and 1914, the previous gardens near the Karlsplatz
having suffered increasingly from environmental damage. The range of plants - some 15,000 in all, about half growing out of doors - and exceptional landscaping ensure the Munich Botanic Gardens a place among the very finest in Europe.
The Botanic Gardens also have an important role to play in the University's teaching and research activities. Between the cafe and the ornamental court (seasonally replanted) are sections devoted to ecological and genetic research. Here botanists study the ability of plants to adapt to changes in the environment and investigate the laws governing heredity.
Adjoining to the west is a large arboretum with a very extensive selection of deciduous and coniferous trees.
Other special areas are devoted to the flora of moorlands, steppes and dunes. The heather garden is especially impressive in late spring/early summer when the broom is in flower, also in late summer when the erica (Calluna vulgaris) is in bloom.
Delightful too is the large pond with its typical water-plants and reed fringe.
Alpine Garden
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).
Deer Meadow
Originally a tract of common woodland 35ha/86 acres in extent, the Hirschgarten, occupying a low terrace formed during the Würm Ice Age, now provides a welcome 27ha/67 acre swathe of greenery
between Nymphenburg Park and the Donnersberg Bridge immediately north of the main railroad line. Magnificent oaks, beeches and chestnuts among which several pairs of kestrels and tawny owls breed, give this protected area a parklike feel. Signs of withering afflicting some of the great trees reflects the density of urban development in the area and changes in ground-water levels.
The Hirschgarten was designated a deer-park in 1791 on the orders of the Elector Karl Theodor, whose own seat was at Mannheim. At that time several dozen larger game animals, including fallow deer and ibex, grazed the enclosed woodland, and the people of Munich much enjoyed going to see them. In 1890 a fairground of sorts opened near by, capable of accommodating up to 8,000 visitors at a time.
Today the Hirschgarten is a delightful oasis in west Munich, a place for relaxing out of doors and enjoying an al fresco meal. A childrens' playground, barbecues, Bavarian curling, open-air chess and tobogganning are among its attractions.
Krone Circus
Munich is the home of the world-famous Zirkus Krone, permanently based here since 1919. Bombed out during a blitz in 1944, a new building in the shape of a big top with seating for more than 2,500
was completed in 1962. Brilliant artistry and outstanding animal acts are guaranteed throughout the circus season (December to March), the annual "Stars in der Manege" (Stars in the Ring; beginning of December) and the first performance of the winter program (Christmas Day) being exceptional.
From April to October when the circus takes to the road, pop concerts, sports meetings and political events are staged.
In front of the Zirkus Krone building stands a bronze statue commemorating Charlie (actually José Andreo) Rivel (1896-1983), the clown who was loved the world over.
Museum of Mankind and Nature
The Museum Mensch und Natur was opened in the north wing of Schloss Nymphenburg in the summer of 1990, immediately proving a major attraction to the public. It is a branch of the Bavarian State
Science Collection (Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen), replacing an exhibition housed from 1809 to 1944 in the Alte Akademie der Wissenschaften in Neuhauser Strasse.
The new exhibition makes inspired use of the most up to date techniques of museum presentation to bring the discoveries of modern science to an audience largely reared on a diet of television.
Covering an area of 2,500sq.m/27,000sq.ft, the exhibition focuses on such topics as the history of the earth, the evolution of life, human biology, the structure and function of the human nervous system and brain, and various environmental issues.
Room 1
Restless Planet Earth: planetary system, formation and inner make-up of the Earth, Earth four billion years ago (large diorama), earthquakes and volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drift, minerals and rocks, geological "study trips" from Heligoland to the Alps; video displays.
Room 2
The colorful world of minerals: how minerals are formed, crystalline structures and chemistry, gemstones, quartzes, minerals from around the world.
Room 3
The story of life: the beginnings and evolution of life on Earth (fossils, illustrations; 12 dioramas with reconstructions of animals and plants from various epochs in the Earth's history).
Room 4
Nutrition and population growth: how mankind has obtained food, population growth, hunger and the Third World, geo-agrarian aspects, keeping domestic animals, plant cultivation, formation and working of the soil, soil erosion, destruction of nature, irrigation problems, use of fertilizers and plant pesticides, video presentations dealing with contemporary issues.
Room 5
Species variety: species classification and counting, the relation of the different species to one another, variety within a species.
Room 6
Learning about nature through games: a host of interesting facts about the plant and animal world revealed through interactive games (also computer games), audio-visual programs and display cases.
Room 7
Man: biological and cultural evolution, Homo sapiens, Man - the ruler of the Earth, human organs (glass woman), embryo development.
Room 8
Nerves and brain: the structure, function and diseases of the human nervous system (interactive working models, experiments, audio-visual program).
Room 9
Lecture hall, cafeteria.
Nymphenburg Palace
This vast Baroque palace on Munich's western outskirts was originally the summer residence of the Wittelsbach Electors. The impressive range of white and gray buildings, more than 600m/2,000ft from
wing to wing, with yellow ornamentation and red tiled roofs, was enlarged in symmetrical fashion in several phases.
The central mansion was the first part to be built, later linked to pavilions either side by low galleries above open arcades. Adjoining outer pavilions were then added, connected by wings to the large Kavaliersbau and Marstall (stables) built around a courtyard to the south and the old orangery to the north.
These extensions continue to the east in the form of the Rondell, a semi-circular range of 10 yellow and whitewashed officials' houses, joined by walls, which close off the park in a charming manner. The entire ensemble is arranged on an east-west axis defined by the Nymphenburg Canal which, tumbling down a splendid marble cascade, enters the park to the west. Initially following a dead-straight course, the canal divides to pass around the main palace buildings, the two branches meeting again in a fountain-adorned pool in front of the principal facade. From there, straight as a die, it continues eastward, flanked by two avenues, the Auffahrtsalleen.
Central Pavilion
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.
Marstallmuseum
The Marstallmuseum, one of the most important museums of its kind in the world, rivaled only by similar collections in Vienna and Lisbon, was set up in the former Court Stables (Marstall) in the
south wing of Nymphenburg Palace in 1950. Vividly evoking the glittering life of the Munich Court, the exhibits include state coaches and sleighs which belonged to the Bavarian electors and kings, also harness, saddles and other accouterments. A particularly notable item, sumptuously decorated, is the coronation coach of the Elector Karl Albrecht (later the Emperor Charles VII). Richly carved, and equipped with harness for a team of eight, it represents a masterpiece of Parisian coachbuilding (ca. 1735).
Similarly eye-catching are some splendid coaches from the time of Ludwig I and a magnificent state coach belonging to Ludwig II.
Nymphenburg Porcelain Factory
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.
Porcelain Museum
Housed in the south wing of the Nymphenburg Palace is the Porcelain Museum, opened in 1986. This provides a unique and virtually continuous record of the superlative artistry and workmanship of the
Nymphenburg porcelain factory, which commenced operations here in 1761. The Bäuml Collection, on loan to the museum, is exceptionally impressive.
Nymphenburg Park
The magnificent walled Nymphenburg Park extends westwards from the Nymphenburg Palace for some 1,400m/1,530yd, being about 2,100m/2,300yd across from north to south. Begun in 1671 as a small
Italian garden, it was enlarged greatly during the 18th C. and redesigned in the French manner. Between 1804 and 1823 it was landscaped in the English style by F. L. von Sckell, who cleverly preserved the main features of the original Baroque layout, the large parterre and the canal.
The Grosses Parterre on the garden side of the palace is ornamented with vases and figures of Greek gods (1769) in white Sterzing marble and, in the center, a great fountain with a jet 10m/33ft high. The view to the west culminates after some 900m/985yd in the marble cascade at the end of the precisely centered canal. To the north the park opens directly onto Munich's Botanische Garten. The palace hothouses on the north side of the Grosses Parterre were the most advanced of their time, the palm house boasting the first hot-water heating system installed in Germany. The maze with its Heckentheater (Hedge Theater) is another feature of the park which should not be missed.
Magdalenenklause
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).
Amalienburg
This single-storied hunting lodge was built by François Cuvilliés in 1734-39 for Maria Amalia, wife of Karl Albrecht. Regarded as the finest example of Court Roccoco in Germany, it was beautifully
restored to its former splendor in 1956-58. Note in particular on the exterior the charming sculpture (group) of the huntress Diana and the busts of satyrs. The interior decoration was the work of J. B. Zimmermann and J. Dietrich together with a number of craftsmen, probably Dutch. Unique in design and coloring is the circular Spiegelsaal (Hall of Mirrors), decorated with hunting symbols in silver on a blue ground. In the Ruhezimmer (Rest Room), which is decorated in silver and yellow, are portraits of Karl Albrecht and his wife in riding costume (from the workshop of Georges Desmarées). The Jagdzimmer (Hunting Room), also in silver and yellow, has hunting scenes by G. Horemans and pictures of animals by F. Hamilton. Also worth seeing are the Hundekammer (Dogs' Room), decorated with paintings on hunting themes and furnished with gun-presses with beds for the hunting-dogs, and the Küche (Kitchen), faced entirely with blue and white and colored Dutch tiles.
Badenburg
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.
Pagodenburg
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.
Nymphenburg Summer Festival
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.
St Wolfgang in Pipping
The Pippinger Kircherl, officially the Church of St Wolfgang in Pipping, is a rare example of a Late Gothic village church which has survived without modification. Unusually for the Munich area, in
which almost all the Gothic churches were remodeled in the Baroque style, the interior of this church, built by Duke Sigismund in 1478-80, escaped the modernizing zeal of the 16th and 17th C. The tower was rebuilt in 1794 with a steeple after being destroyed by lightning.
The wall-paintings in the chancel (Passion, Death of the Virgin, Prophets, Wise and Foolish Virgins) and the paintings of the Four Fathers of the Church on the stone pulpit were probably the work of Jan Polack (1479). The stained glass dates from 1478-79, the three carved altars (figure of St Wolfgang on high altar) from 1490.
Print this page
Add to Favorites
