Würzburg Residence

History

The Würzburg Residence is the result of one of the most ambitious building projects of the European Baroque. When the powerful Prince-Bishop Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn assumed office in 1719, he commissioned the young architect Balthasar Neumann to design a palace that would express the dignity and ambition of the Prince-Bishopric of Würzburg in stone. The foundation stone was laid in 1720; within just a few years a building had taken shape that captivated leading architects from Vienna, Paris and Milan. Neumann sought the advice of Robert de Cotte and Germain Boffrand, yet shaped their suggestions into an independent, distinctly Franconian synthesis.

After the death of Johann Philipp, his brother Friedrich Carl von Schönborn continued the work with unwavering commitment. Under the last great patron, Prince-Bishop Carl Philipp von Greiffenclau, the interior rooms were decorated between 1749 and 1753 with frescoes by the Venetian painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo — works that are still regarded today as the pinnacle of Western ceiling painting. With the secularisation of 1803 the era of the prince-bishops came to an end; the Residence passed into the ownership of the Bavarian Crown and was thereafter used as a royal palace and state guest house.

Architecture & Setting

With the Würzburg Residence, Balthasar Neumann created a three-winged complex of sweeping grandeur whose main façade extends for more than 160 metres. The heart of the interior is the monumental staircase hall: a single, self-supporting, three-aisled space spanned by a barrel vault which — as Tiepolo himself and later engineers have attested — withstood even the bombing raid of 1945. The ceiling painting, at around 677 square metres the world’s largest contiguous fresco, assembles allegorical representations of the four continents then known around a portrait of the architect Neumann himself.

The staircase hall is followed by the White Hall, a restrained masterwork by the stuccoist Antonio Bossi, deliberately conceived as a moment of respite before the splendour of the Imperial Hall. The Imperial Hall, the ceremonial centre of the Residence, displays Tiepolo’s frescoes depicting the history of the Prince-Bishopric of Würzburg with incomparable luminosity. To the south and north lie the Mirror Cabinet, the Green Room, and the audience and bedchambers — rooms whose composed character marks the transition to the Rococo.

The Residence stands directly in the heart of Würzburg’s old town, only a few minutes’ walk from the main railway station. The spacious court garden on the southern side offers relaxation beneath old lime trees and in front of Baroque bosquets after the museum visit. Behind the palace, the Marienberg Fortress rises in the distance, making a combination of both sights in a single day perfectly feasible.

Visiting & Tips

The entrance to the Residence is at the Residenzplatz, the imposing cour d’honneur. Audio guides are available in several languages and are strongly recommended, as the sequence of rooms is difficult to decipher without commentary. Those who wish to experience the staircase hall in the most favourable light should visit on a sunny morning: the light then falls through the tall windows directly onto Tiepolo’s fresco, bringing the colours to full intensity.

For wine enthusiasts, a visit to the Residence’s wine cellar makes a fitting conclusion: the Bavarian Palace Administration operates here one of the largest monastic wine cellars in Germany. Franconia is one of the country’s most northerly wine-growing regions, and the Würzburger Silvaner is among the best-known German white wines. In the adjacent wine shop, the wines can be tasted and purchased on the spot.

The Bavarian Palace Administration regularly offers special guided tours, concerts in the Imperial Hall and events in the court garden. The Mozartfest Würzburg, one of Germany’s oldest music festivals, traditionally takes place in the magnificent rooms of the Residence and is a cultural event of European standing. Tickets should be reserved well in advance.