Nymphenburg Palace in Munich: Info about the palace and park

Visit Nymphenburg Palace: What you shouldn't miss

What there is to see in and around Nymphenburg Palace is easily enough for more than just one day:

• You should definitely take a look inside the palace, as it is considered the most impressive remain of the royal splendour that dominated Munich over centuries
• The various museums located in the area are also worth a visit - from natural history to porcelain, there is a lot to see and learn
• Not to be missed: Admiring the huge fountains and and the symmetrical park grounds from the grand staircase
• In the summer months, you can even take a gondola ride on the canal flowing through the palace grounds
• If you have more time, you can also discover a lot in the park surrounding the palace: romantic little castles and palaces, canals, bridges and much more. The park is the second largest in Munich after the English Garden.

About the palace park of Nymphenburg with the castles

The palace park has a Baroque main axis, canals, water basins and formal garden parterres. In the western part there is an English landscape garden. Long avenues and sight lines create impressive perspectives.

There are park castles and palaces in the park: The magnificent hunting lodge Amalienburg with its hall of mirrors, the festive Badenburg on the Great Lake and the exotic Pagodenburg in the northern part of the park. The Magdalenenklause, a hermitage designed as a ruin, and the Apollo Temple - a monopteros with ten columns on Lake Badenburg - are also noteworthy.

History and architecture of Nymphenburg palace: from gift to landmark

• Elector Ferdinand Maria must have been overjoyed at the birth of his heir to the throne, Max Emanuel. For this reason alone he commissioned Nymphenburg Palace in 1664 as a gift to his wife Adelheid of Savoy.
• The original design of a handsome Baroque palace was by Agostino Barelli.  Later the building was modified in the style of rococo and classicism.
• During the reign of Elector Max Emanuel (1680 to 1726), the palace was remodeled and acquired its present dimensions. This included the Baroque redesign and expansion of the garden to its present size.
• Max Emanuel's son, Elector Karl Albrecht (r. 1726 to 1745), commissioned the traffic circle in front of the main wing. It was considered an architectural sensation in its day. 
• Elector Max III Joseph (r. 1745 to 1777) gave the ballroom its present pompous decoration.
• Elector Karl Theodor (r. 1777 to 1799) opened the Nymphenburg Palace Park to the people.
• Under King Max I Joseph (r. 1799 to 1825), part of the rooms received a noble, classicist décor.