The Palace of Bruchsal | German Palace | A castle in Baden-Württemberg | Interior in Baroque and Rococo periods.

The Palace - Castle of Bruchsal

Bruchsal Palace  

A Castle-Palace in Baden-Württemberg 

 Interior in Baroque and Rococo periods.

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In this blog article we will visit the Bruchsal Castle - Palace in in Baden-Württemberg, a special big castle with an interior decoration in Baroque and Rococo periods.  

The city of Bruchsal is located in the west of Germany, in the area of in Baden-Württemberg; you will practically cross it when you're on your holiday’s trip, driving out of Belgium,the Netherlands or Luxemburg on your way to southern Germany, Austria and Italy, Bruchsal is located at the E52 near Karlsruhe.

It is really worthwhile to stop there for a moment; the city has much to offer in terms of history and the Castle of Bruchsal with its baroque interior worth a visit.
The castle houses the German music box museum. A short break during your busy highway-trip, where you can enjoy culture and have something to eat in the Castle restaurant. Highly recommended.

The Castle - Palace of Bruchsal

The Palace of Bruchsal | The entrance

Bruchsal Castle.

Bruchsal Castle was founded in 1720 as a residence for the prince-bishops of Speyer. Four of them have Bruchsal Castle built during the 18th Century, inhabited and the final was 80 years at the center of their absolute dominion and power.

Under the supervision of Cardinal Damian Hugo von Schönborn a complex of 50 buildings were built; the main building with two wings from Loss Burger sandstone is the absolute eye-catcher.

Colorful, fur and festive, that's the first impression you get when entering the 'cour d'honneur, the courtyard wedged between the three main buildings of the castle complex. The buildings are richly decorated, painted and fitted with gilded stucco. The two roof ends of the main building are very beautifully made and decorated with impressive dragons forged in metal.

Oval staircase, Balthasar Neumann

The famous Baroque architect Balthasar Neumann (1687-1753), was one of the architects who gave shape to the castle, along with many craftsmen and artists in stucco specialist who previously had worked with him in the construction of the 'Residenz "in Würzburg.
Around 1728 Balthazar Neumann designed his famous oval staircase in Baroque style for his client. A staircase unique in its kind. Two oval staircases run up on each side facing each other. 
The stairway ends impressively under a huge painted dome.

The Palace of Bruchsal |  The Prince Hall

Interior in Baroque and Rococo periods.

In the middle room with adjacent two ballrooms, the Prince Hall and the Marble Hall. 
Upon completion of the work in 1750 Schönborn's successor, Cardinal Franz Christoph von Hutten, gave the rooms a German Rococo style decoration. This work was completed in 1760.

The wall and ceiling paintings obviously have a Christian theme and all this combined with the gilded stucco and scagliola has become a very tasteful work.

 Interior in Baroque and Rococo periods.

The Palace of Bruchsal | Gilded Rococo Ornaments

The Marble Hall, Palace of Bruchsal

In the aftermath of the Second World War the castle interior was almost completely destroyed. Fortunately, the structural part of the stairwell survived the bombing of March 1, 1945. Fortunately, archives and a detailed archived photo preserved from the 19th and 20th centuries were used for the reconstruction of the castle, as original as possible. 
After visiting the palace’s corps de logis (main part of the building), we recommend you pay a visit to the German Museum of Mechanical Musical Instruments and the Bruchsal City Museum.

Translation Lis Alvardo

Bruchsal Castle Opening hours:

Tue to Sun. 10:00 to 17:00

Entrance fee: adults 5 Euro

Website:
http://www.schloss-bruchsal.de

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A Baroque style palace in the historic center of BAMBERG (Bavaria) | The New Residence in Bamberg | 17th and 18th century interiors

The town of Bamberg, picture taken from inside the New Residence

A Baroque style palace in the historic center of Bamberg 

New Residence Bamberg

17^th and 18^th century interiors

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In this blog entry we visit the New Residence, a Baroque style palace in the historic center of Bamberg. Staterooms with beautiful 17th and 18th century interiors

Bamberg

Bamberg is a town in the north of the federal state of Bavaria (Germany). This Franconian town is home to roughly 71.000 inhabitants and extends over seven hills, each crowned with a magnificent church.

Bamberg’s geography is shaped by the river Regnitz, and is located close to its confluence with the river Main.

The city of Bamberg boasts the largest preserved historic center of Germany and for this reason it is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site.

One of the old town’s most famous landmarks is undoubtedly the Bamberg Cathedral, a late Romanesque style building, where Henry II (Heinrich II), the last Ottonian emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, was buried. In the year 1007 he founded the Diocese of Bamberg, which is currently known as the Archdiocese of Bamberg.

More than fifty breathtaking castles, fortresses, palaces and residences can be found in Bavaria. In this blog item I want to introduce you to the New Residence, a Baroque style palace in the historic center of Bamberg.

A Baroque style palace in the historic center of BAMBERG | The New Residence

New Residence Bamberg

The New Residence Bamberg is a monumental building which consists of four enormous wings, all constructed in sandstone. This building complex is located at the famous Cathedral Square (Domplatz) in Bamberg. It was the former residence of the prince-bishops of Bamberg. The building’s exterior clearly reveals that it was constructed in two distinct phases; namely the Renaissance style, between 1604 and 1612, and the Baroque style.

Between 1697 and 1703, during the reign of prince-bishop Lothar Franz von Schönborn, a number of large Baroque style wings were attached to the existing edifice.

There are over fourty state rooms, such as the Marble Hall, the Hall of Mirrors (decorated with stucco by Antonio Bossi) and the Imperial Hall.

The impressive Imperial Hall is located on the second floor and is adorned with magnificent wall and ceiling murals executed by Melchior Steidl. 

These are marvelous designs including medallions representing Roman emperors and a central ceiling mural, which represent the four known continents at the time. 

17th and 18th century interiors | Bamberg Residence

Furthermore, the ceiling mural contains an artistic rendition of the “Sciences”, represented by Putti, and 16 life size portraits of emperors. The ceiling mural is conceived as a trompe l’oeil. However, not only the ceiling is a lust for the eye, but also the wooden floors are of extraordinary quality, containing large geometrical shapes and motives made up out of several species of wood, including nut wood and pear wood. It is a motley collection of shapes, shades and colors. It was the first time that I saw such beautiful and rich parquet floors.

Until 1802 the New Residence served as the seat of the prince-bishops of Bamberg, who in those days both possessed the spiritual power as well as the temporal or worldly power. The splendor and brilliance of this palace’s interior make you relive the heydays of the prince-bishops rule.

From 1803 onwards this Baroque style palace was used as a royal residence.

Visit

Nowadays this building serves several functions, including of course the museum which allows you to visit the 17^th century Baroque style state rooms. This entry ticket will also allow you to visit several parts of the palace housing a large collection of paintings, owned by the federal state of Bavaria (Bayerischen Staatsgemäldesammlungen). All the more reason to visit the New Residence in Bamberg!

Lucas Cranach, Lucretia  (1538)

Visiting the Baroque style state rooms is only possible in small groups. A guide will give detailed explanations and the tour takes around 1.5 hours. Taking photographs is allowed (without flash). 

Here is a brief taster of some of rooms.
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A carved supraporte | Bamberg Residence

The Imperial Hall: the ceiling mural is conceived as a trompe l’oeil

The New Residence | Our guide explaining the Imperial Hall

The New Residence in Bamberg | The Imperial Hall

17th and 18th century interiors | Bamberg Residence

17th and 18th century interiors | Bamberg Residence

 The Rose Garden (The New Residenz)

The Rose garden

When exiting the New Residence you’ll walk through a monumental gate which leads to a large courtyard, adjacent to which the Rose garden can be found.

This exceptionally beautiful 18^th century rose garden is home to over 60 different species of roses (approximately 4500 bushes in total), which are nicely divided into several beds, skirted by box-tree hedges. Narrow garden paths and a collection of sandstone sculptures (Rococo style) will lead you to the 18^th century tea pavilion near the edge of the rose garden. The buildings comprising the New Residence were built on a hill site, allowing a magnificent panoramic view of the historic centre of Bamberg and the Michelsberg Abbey (Kloster Michaelsberg) near the edge of the rose garden.

Bamberg, view from the Rose garden towards the Michelsberg Abbey

New Residence Bamberg

Opening hours:

April - September: 09:00 - 18:00

October - March: 10:00 - 16:00

Schloss- und Gartenverwaltung Bamberg

Domplatz 8

96049 Bamberg

Ticket price (2014): 4.5 Euro

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