Munich: The Grandeur of Nymphenburg Palace

The idyllic fresco on the ceiling in the Grand Hall

It was raining this morning when we woke up... but the precipitation let up by the time we left the hotel to catch a tour bus to Schloss Nymphenburg. It was built as a gift from Bavarian Elector Ferdinand Maria of the Wittelsbachs to his wife, Henriette Adelaide of Savoy, who finally gave birth to an heir to the throne, Maximillian II Emanuel, in 1662.

Construction began two years later, employing Italian architect Agostino Barelli. Henriette Adelaide of Savoy was an Italian-born princess, and called her Baroque home, "Borgo delle ninte", or "Castle of the Nymphs", hence Nymphenburg.

Maria Leopoldine of Austria-Este

After Elector Maximillian Emanuel grew up, he expanded the country home to create a summer residence, expanding to its left and right to accommodate the entire court during the summer months. Today the additions create a giant curve around the man-made pond and canal.

There is a long driveway to the palace and then for just 6 euros you can check out some rooms inside the palace. It isn't on the same scale as say the Palace of Versailles, but still grand nonetheless.

The first room we entered was the Great Hall, which is in the centre of the palace with a lavish Rococo style. There's a fresco on the ceiling featuring an idyllic scenery and suspended are stunning chandeliers that are covered in crystal beads.

On the walls are portraits of many people, some with interesting backstories. One is Maria Leopoldine of Austria-Este. She had the misfortune of marrying at age 18 to the 70-year-old Elector Karl Theodor.

Her main role was the produce her husband an heir, but she refused to obey, and after Karl Theodor died in 1799, she managed to negotiate the succession to another line of the Wittlesbach family, than a competing Habsburg imperial house.

The Chinese-themed walls and lacquer cabinet

As a result she became very popular which helped Mari Leopoldine become an estate owner, successful property agent and a stock market speculator. She was a very independent woman in the 18th and early 19th century.

Meanwhile the rooms are furnished with beautiful pieces, like a table that has designs of realistic-looking birds, flowers, fruits and insects that are inset with precious stones in marble. Another room has a Chinese theme, the walls looking like floor-to-ceiling screens, while the room also features a beautiful lacquer table with gold Chinoiserie design.

There's one room that has 36 portraits of women that King Ludwig I of Bavaria deemed beautiful women. They weren't all aristocrats or royalty -- there's even a daughter of a shoemaker in one of the portraits painted by Joseph Stieler. Interesting to note is that the king had something for brunettes...

This "collection of the most beautiful" was made open to the public. They were shown in two salons in the Festsaalbau of the Munich Residence, and only after the war in 1945 were the portraits moved to Nymphenburg.

From his youth, King Ludwig I was fascinated by female beauty. He was also a generous art patron, transforming Munich into the art centre of Germany.

A beautiful table of flowers, birds, insects and fruits

One of the bedrooms we get to visit is Queen Caroline's, which still has the original furnishings for visitors to see, complete with mahogany furniture.

In 1842, then Crown Prince Maximillian II and his wife Marie of Prussia took up residence in Nymphenburg Palace. Three years later, she gave birth to the heir to the throne in this bedroom. The son was named Ludwig in honour of his grandfather, Ludwig I.

However this son, Ludwig II ascended the throne at the age of 18, but he had a difficult relationship with his parents and he had is own psychological issues. Partly because he was so indulged and reminded of his royal status, Ludwig II became eccentric, shunning big social events and preferred to be secluded, and became very interested in the works of Richard Wagner.

The bedroom where the future King Ludwig II was born

Ludwig II also spent a lot of his money constructing castles, the most famous of which is Neuschwanstein, located about an hour a way by train from Munich. Apparently Walt Disney modeled his famous fairytale castle on Neuschwanstein.

In the end it was determined Ludwig II suffered from paranoia and was deemed incapable of being king; in the end he died a mysterious death, found dead in shallow water with one of his psychiatrists in 1886...

After wandering through the palace apartments, we took a long stroll to try to find the Chinese-inspired pagoda. We did find it, a Baroque-style small building, and inside is Chinoiserie style wallpaper and furniture. However, the security guard said that our ticket did not include admission to this pagoda so we had to leave.

The palace should really have staff on standby in these extra places to accept additional admission fees -- it is already a 20-minute walk to get to the pagoda from the palace -- why can't we just pay extra on the spot?

A look at the palace from the garden at the back

Nevertheless, we had a good time visiting the palace, as well as seeing all the birds, in particular the swans and ducks that occupy the grounds. They make good natural lawnmowers, which means we had to avoid the green-coloured poo...