Schleissheim Palace
Encyclopedia
The Schleissheim Palace actually comprises three palaces in a grand baroque
park in the village of Oberschleißheim
near Munich
, Bavaria
, Germany
. The palace was the summer residence of the rulers of Bavaria.
The history of Schleissheim Palace started with a renaissance
country house (1598) and hermitage founded by
William V
close to Dachau Palace
. The central gate and clock tower between both courtyards still date back to the first building period. The inner courtyard is called Maximilianshof, the outer one Wilhelmshof. Under William's son Maximilian I
the buildings were extended between 1617 and 1623 by Heinrich Schön and Hans Krumpper
to the so-called Old Palace.
The rooms were decorated by Peter Candid
. Maximilian's son and successor Ferdinand Maria
died here in 1679. After heavy destruction in the Second World War the palace with its spacious buildings was reconstructed. Most of the stucco decoration of the chapel Wilhelmskapelle has been preserved. The Old Schleissheim Palace houses today two exhibitions, one on religious culture, the other the history of Prussia
. The Grand Hall in the middle of the main building today serves as foyer for the museums.
built Lustheim Palace as a garden villa in Italian style in 1684-1688 for Maximilian II Emanuel
and his first wife, the Austrian princess Maria Antonia
.
The interior is dominated by the large banqueting hall in the middle of the building. The frescoes were done by Johann Anton Gumpp, Francesco Rosa and Johann Andreas Trubillio.
Since 1968 the palace has housed a grand collection of Meissen porcelain
, only outranged by the Porzellansammlung
in the Zwinger
, Dresden
.
The palace once formed the centre point of a semicircle of round buildings. Two pavillons still exist: To the south of Lustheim Place the Renatus Chapel was erected in 1686 by Zuccalli in a pavillon. The northern pavillon houses the decorated stable which was built for the favourite horses of Elector Max Emanuel.
New Palace between both castles in 1701-1704 as new residence, since the elector expected the imperial crown. But after Max Emanuel had lost Bavaria for some years in the War of the Spanish Succession
the construction work was interrupted. Joseph Effner
enlarged the building to one of the most impressive baroque palaces in 1719-1726. But only the main wing was completed.
Important samples of German baroque architecture are especially the Grand Hall, the Grand Gallery, the wide staircase, the Maximilian's Chapel and the four state apartments decorated by artists such as Charles Dubut, Franz Joachim Beich
, Johann Baptist Zimmermann
, Cosmas Damian Asam
and Jacopo Amigoni
. The Grand Gallery was constructed in line with a draft provided by Robert de Cotte
. The Victory Hall, the Red Cabinet and the Chapel of the Electress keep the most significant interior decorations. Most of the rooms still show their original late baroque decoration celebrating the elector's victories against the Turks
. The entirely preserved Gobelin tapestries were acquired by Max Emanuel from Flemish manufacturies when he served as Governor for the Spanish Netherlands.
Max Emanuels's son Emperor Charles VII Albert
preferred the more private atmosphere of Nymphenburg Palace
, so only one of four planned wings was completed. But Max Emanuel's grandson Maximilian III Joseph
ordered to decorate some rooms in rococo
style. In 1763 Ignaz Günther
decorated the wings of the east portal with allegorical adornments. Under King Ludwig I
finally Leo von Klenze
completed the grand stairway.
Klenze's neoclassical alterations of the façade were not restored with the renovation after the destructions in World War II.
s is today exhibited in several rooms. Among the artists are Flemish Baroque painters such as Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck
, Italians like Guido Reni
, Luca Giordano
, Guercino, Carlo Saraceni
, Marcantonio Bassetti, Alessandro Turchi
, Carlo Dolci
and Pietro da Cortona
, but also the Germans Joachim von Sandrart
, Johann Heinrich Schönfeld
and Johann Carl Loth
and the Spanish painters Alonso Cano, José Claudio Antolinez
and José de Ribera.
The grand park is one of the rare preserved baroque gardens in Germany. Its structure with canals and bosket area was arranged by Zuccalli. Dominique Girard
, a pupil of Le Notre
, constructed the grand parterre and the cascade until 1720.
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
park in the village of Oberschleißheim
Oberschleißheim
Oberschleißheim is a municipality in the district of Munich, in Bavaria, Germany. It is located 13 km north of Munich . As of 2005 it had a population of 11,467....
near Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The palace was the summer residence of the rulers of Bavaria.
Old Schleissheim Palace
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
country house (1598) and hermitage founded by
William V
William V, Duke of Bavaria
William V, Duke of Bavaria , called the Pious, was Duke of Bavaria from 1579 to 1597.- Education and early life :...
close to Dachau Palace
Dachau Palace
The Dachau Palace is a former residence of the rulers of Bavaria at Dachau, southern Germany.-History:The castle was constructed around 1100 as a castle by the cadet branch of the House of Wittelsbach. In 1182, the last Count of Dachau, Konrad III, died without issue and Duke Otto I of Bavaria...
. The central gate and clock tower between both courtyards still date back to the first building period. The inner courtyard is called Maximilianshof, the outer one Wilhelmshof. Under William's son Maximilian I
Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria
Maximilian I, Duke/Elector of Bavaria , called "the Great", was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire. His reign was marked by the Thirty Years' War ....
the buildings were extended between 1617 and 1623 by Heinrich Schön and Hans Krumpper
Hans Krumpper
Hans Krumpper was a German sculptor, plasterer, architect and intendant of the arts who served the Bavarian dukes William V...
to the so-called Old Palace.
The rooms were decorated by Peter Candid
Peter Candid
Peter Candid aka Peter de Witt or Peter de Witte was a Netherlandish Mannerist painter and architect. He moved to Florence as a child with his father, a tapestry weaver, and was trained in Italy. Candid worked with Giorgio Vasari on the Sala Regia in the Vatican and on the cupola of the Florence...
. Maximilian's son and successor Ferdinand Maria
Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria
Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and an elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 1651 to 1679.-Biography:He was born in Munich...
died here in 1679. After heavy destruction in the Second World War the palace with its spacious buildings was reconstructed. Most of the stucco decoration of the chapel Wilhelmskapelle has been preserved. The Old Schleissheim Palace houses today two exhibitions, one on religious culture, the other the history of Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
. The Grand Hall in the middle of the main building today serves as foyer for the museums.
Lustheim Palace
Then Enrico ZuccalliEnrico Zuccalli
Enrico Zuccalli, was a Swiss architect who worked for the Wittelsbach regents of Bavaria and Cologne....
built Lustheim Palace as a garden villa in Italian style in 1684-1688 for Maximilian II Emanuel
Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
Maximilian II , also known as Max Emanuel or Maximilian Emanuel, was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and an elector of the Holy Roman Empire. He was also the last Governor of the Spanish Netherlands and duke of Luxembourg...
and his first wife, the Austrian princess Maria Antonia
Maria Antonia of Austria
Maria Antonia of Austria was the eldest daughter and only surviving child of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I and his wife Margaret Theresa of Spain...
.
The interior is dominated by the large banqueting hall in the middle of the building. The frescoes were done by Johann Anton Gumpp, Francesco Rosa and Johann Andreas Trubillio.
Since 1968 the palace has housed a grand collection of Meissen porcelain
Meissen porcelain
Meissen porcelain or Meissen china is the first European hard-paste porcelain that was developed from 1708 by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus. After his death that October, Johann Friedrich Böttger, continued his work and brought porcelain to the market...
, only outranged by the Porzellansammlung
Dresden Porcelain Collection
The Dresden Porcelain Collection is part of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen of Dresden, Germany. It is located in the Zwinger Palace.-History and description:...
in the Zwinger
Zwinger
The Zwinger is a palace in Dresden, eastern Germany, built in Baroque style. It served as the orangery, exhibition gallery and festival arena of the Dresden Court....
, Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
.
The palace once formed the centre point of a semicircle of round buildings. Two pavillons still exist: To the south of Lustheim Place the Renatus Chapel was erected in 1686 by Zuccalli in a pavillon. The northern pavillon houses the decorated stable which was built for the favourite horses of Elector Max Emanuel.
New Schleissheim Palace
Zuccalli also finally erected the baroqueBaroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
New Palace between both castles in 1701-1704 as new residence, since the elector expected the imperial crown. But after Max Emanuel had lost Bavaria for some years in the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
the construction work was interrupted. Joseph Effner
Joseph Effner
Joseph Effner was a German architect and decorator.Effner was born in Dachau as a son of the court gardener Christian Öffner. Effner accompanied the elector of Bavaria Max Emanuel to Bruxelles. In 1706 Effner was retrained by Gabriel Germain Boffrand in Paris. Here he changed his family name to...
enlarged the building to one of the most impressive baroque palaces in 1719-1726. But only the main wing was completed.
Franz Joachim Beich
Franz Joachim Beich was born at Ravensburg , on October 15, 1666. He was the son of Daniel Beich, a painter of little celebrity, from whom he received his instruction in the art. He excelled in painting landscapes and battles...
, Johann Baptist Zimmermann
Johann Baptist Zimmermann
Johann Baptist Zimmermann was a German painter and a prime stucco plasterer during the Baroque.Zimmermann was born in Gaispoint, Wessobrunn. He and his brother Dominikus Zimmermann were descended from an artist family of the Wessobrunner School...
, Cosmas Damian Asam
Cosmas Damian Asam
Cosmas Damian Asam was a German painter and architect during the late Baroque period. Born in Benediktbeuern, he moved to Rome in 1711 to study at the Accademia di San Luca with Carlo Maratta. There, he could see the fresco Ascensione di Cristo by Melozzo da Forlì in Santi Apostoli Church...
and Jacopo Amigoni
Jacopo Amigoni
Jacopo Amigoni , also named Giacomo Amiconi, was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque or Rococo period, who began his career in Venice, but traveled and was prolific throughout Europe, where his sumptuous portraits were much in demand....
. The Grand Gallery was constructed in line with a draft provided by Robert de Cotte
Robert de Cotte
Robert de Cotte was a French architect-administrator, under whose design control of the royal buildings of France from 1699, the earliest notes presaging the Rococo style were introduced. First a pupil of Jules Hardouin-Mansart, he later became his brother-in-law and his collaborator...
. The Victory Hall, the Red Cabinet and the Chapel of the Electress keep the most significant interior decorations. Most of the rooms still show their original late baroque decoration celebrating the elector's victories against the Turks
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. The entirely preserved Gobelin tapestries were acquired by Max Emanuel from Flemish manufacturies when he served as Governor for the Spanish Netherlands.
Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles VII Albert a member of the Wittelsbach family, was Prince-elector of Bavaria from 1726 and Holy Roman Emperor from 24 January 1742 until his death in 1745...
preferred the more private atmosphere of Nymphenburg Palace
Nymphenburg Palace
The Nymphenburg Palace , i.e. "Nymph's Castle", is a Baroque palace in Munich, Bavaria, southern Germany. The palace was the main summer residence of the rulers of Bavaria.-History:...
, so only one of four planned wings was completed. But Max Emanuel's grandson Maximilian III Joseph
Maximilian III, Elector of Bavaria
Maximilian III Joseph was Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire and Duke of Bavaria from 1745 to 1777.-Biography:...
ordered to decorate some rooms in rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
style. In 1763 Ignaz Günther
Ignaz Günther
Ignaz Günther was a German sculptor and woodcarver working in the Bavarian rococo tradition.He was born in Altmannstein, Germany, where he received his earliest training from his father, then studied in Munich under the court sculptor Johann Baptist Straub from 1743 to 1750 and during his...
decorated the wings of the east portal with allegorical adornments. Under King Ludwig I
Ludwig I of Bavaria
Ludwig I was a German king of Bavaria from 1825 until the 1848 revolutions in the German states.-Crown prince:...
finally Leo von Klenze
Leo von Klenze
Leo von Klenze was a German neoclassicist architect, painter and writer...
completed the grand stairway.
Klenze's neoclassical alterations of the façade were not restored with the renovation after the destructions in World War II.
Gallery of baroque paintings
The Gallery of baroque paintings owned by the Bavarian State Picture CollectionBavarian State Picture Collection
The Bavarian State Picture Collections , based in Munich, oversees the collections of artworks held by the Free State of Bavaria. Works include paintings, sculpture, prints, photographs, video art and installation art...
s is today exhibited in several rooms. Among the artists are Flemish Baroque painters such as Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck
Anthony van Dyck
Sir Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England. He is most famous for his portraits of Charles I of England and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English portrait-painting for the next...
, Italians like Guido Reni
Guido Reni
Guido Reni was an Italian painter of high-Baroque style.-Biography:Born in Bologna into a family of musicians, Guido Reni was the son of Daniele Reni and Ginevra de’ Pozzi. As a child of nine, he was apprenticed under the Bolognese studio of Denis Calvaert. Soon after, he was joined in that...
, Luca Giordano
Luca Giordano
Luca Giordano was an Italian late Baroque painter and printmaker in etching. Fluent and decorative, he worked successfully in Naples and Rome, Florence and Venice, before spending a decade in Spain....
, Guercino, Carlo Saraceni
Carlo Saraceni
Carlo Saraceni was an Italian early-Baroque painter, whose reputation as a "first-class painter of the second rank" was improved with the publication of a modern monograph in 1968....
, Marcantonio Bassetti, Alessandro Turchi
Alessandro Turchi
Alessandro Turchi was an Italian painter of the early Baroque, born and active mainly in Verona, and moving late in life to Rome. He also went by the name Alessandro Veronese or the nickname L'Orbetto....
, Carlo Dolci
Carlo Dolci
Carlo Dolci was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Florence, known for highly finished religious pictures, often repeated in many versions.-Biography:...
and Pietro da Cortona
Pietro da Cortona
Pietro da Cortona, by the name of Pietro Berrettini, born Pietro Berrettini da Cortona, was the leading Italian Baroque painter of his time and also one of the key architects in the emergence of Roman Baroque architecture. He was also an important decorator...
, but also the Germans Joachim von Sandrart
Joachim von Sandrart
Joachim von Sandrart was a German Baroque art-historian and painter, active in Amsterdam during the Dutch Golden Age.-Biography:Sandrart was born in Frankfurt, but the family originated from Mons...
, Johann Heinrich Schönfeld
Johann Heinrich Schönfeld
Johann Heinrich Schönfeld was a Baroque painter of Germany.- External links :...
and Johann Carl Loth
Johann Carl Loth
Johann Carl Loth was a German Baroque painter, born in Munich but active most of his life in Venice.-Biography:He is also called Johann Karl, Karel, Carlotto, and Carlo Lotti. According to Houbraken he was one of three grand masters of art called "Karel" Johann Carl Loth (1632 – October 6, 1698)...
and the Spanish painters Alonso Cano, José Claudio Antolinez
José Claudio Antolinez
José Claudio Antolinez was a Spanish painter of the Baroque period.-Career and personality:Antolinez was born and died in Madrid. He received his early training at the studio of Francisco Rizi....
and José de Ribera.
The park
Dominique Girard (architect)
Dominique Girard was a seventeenth century French architect.He was a pupil of André Le Nôtre....
, a pupil of Le Notre
André Le Nôtre
André Le Nôtre was a French landscape architect and the principal gardener of King Louis XIV of France...
, constructed the grand parterre and the cascade until 1720.
As film location
- The Schleissheim Palace has been used as a location for several notable motion pictures:
- The 1951 film Decision Before DawnDecision Before DawnDecision Before Dawn is a 1951 American war film directed by Anatole Litvak, starring Richard Basehart, Oskar Werner, and Hans Christian Blech. It tells the story of the American Army using potentially unreliable German prisoners of war to gather intelligence in the closing days of World War II...
directed by Anatole LitvakAnatole LitvakAnatole Litvak was a Ukrainian-born filmmaker who wrote, directed, and produced films in a various countries and languages...
used interiors and exteriors of Schleissheim when the Oskar WernerOskar Werner-Early life:Born Oskar Josef Bschließmayer in Vienna, Werner spent much of his childhood in the care of his grandmother, who entertained him with stories about the Burgtheater, the Austrian state theatre, where he was accepted at the age of eighteen by Lothar Müthel. He was the youngest person ever...
medic/spy character is picked to become an aide to a panzer General. - The palace was used extensively as the French Army division headquarters in Stanley KubrickStanley KubrickStanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
's 1957 film Paths of GloryPaths of GloryPaths of Glory is a 1957 American anti-war film by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel of the same name by Humphrey Cobb. Set during World War I, the film stars Kirk Douglas as Colonel Dax, the commanding officer of French soldiers who refused to continue a suicidal attack...
. The execution of the WWI French soldiers was filmed in the grand garden of the new Palace (Gartenfassade des Neuen Schlosses) and the court martial in the Great Hall (Grosser Saal) inside the Palace. - The palace (together with other locations mostly in Bavaria) was a principal filming location for Alain ResnaisAlain ResnaisAlain Resnais is a French film director whose career has extended over more than six decades. After training as a film editor in the mid-1940s, he went on to direct a number of short films which included Nuit et Brouillard , an influential documentary about the Nazi concentration camps.He began...
' 1961 movieFilmA film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
Last Year at MarienbadLast Year at MarienbadL'Année dernière à Marienbad is a 1961 French film directed by Alain Resnais from a screenplay by Alain Robbe-Grillet....
. - Some scenes of The Three MusketeersThe Three Musketeers (2011 film)The Three Musketeers is a 2011 3D action-adventure film directed by Paul W. S. Anderson which is a reinterpretation of the novel of the same title by Alexandre Dumas, the film was released in Germany, Austria, France & Switzerland on September 1, 2011, and in the U.S...
were filmed in the palace,too.
- The 1951 film Decision Before Dawn