April 11, 2012
Day two of our whirlwind tour of Munich's palaces was spent at Schloss Nymphenburg, a short tram ride to the western side of town. It was a rainy day as Michael, Christy, and I set out from the apartment in Haidhausen, but there was only one umbrella among us. It was also cold, colder than we had anticipated. Winter has not left Munich yet.
We were a fairly pathetic sight, I imagine, the three of us gripping each other under the umbrella in order to avoid the rain, but we managed as best we could. Sometimes, it is details such as this that lodge in your mind and sharpen your recollections. Michael had been running a fever for the first two days of his visit, so he was simply glad to finally be seeing the sights.
This was my second visit to Nymphenburg. I was here two years ago when I came to Munich with Mark for the very first time, also in April. We toured the palace and the grounds, but I hadn't had a chance to see the porcelain collection. Today, I thought it would be nice for Mike and Christy to tour the palace together while I went off to see the porcelain. So that is what we did.
Schloss Nymphenburg was commissioned by Elector Ferdinand Maria and his wife, Electress Henriette Adelaide to celebrate the birth of their son. They had been married when they were both just fourteen years old and in 1654, at the age of eighteen, Ferdinand was crowned as Elector of Bavaria. Their son, Maximillian II Emmanuel, was born in 1662 and so, the palace was planned as a summer residence. Ferdinand also built a a church for his wife, Theatinerkirche St. Kajetan, which is one of the most stunning structures in Munich, I think.
Okay, time for pictures, I think.
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| Steinerner Saal Stone Hall |
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| The view looking east from the front window of Seinerner Saal |
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I would normally give you a little history before including the next photos, but for now, I will just show you the pictures. I will try later to come back with some history. The first photo will give you an idea of the exquisite beauty that was created in the factory at Nymphenburg. Please click on the picture to expand it and see the incredible detail.
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| This is the Chinese Tower that still stands today in the English Garden |
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| Another structure in the English Garden. |
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| Schloss Nymphenburg rendered on china for the royal family. |
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| This is a very large painting that shows a horse race being held out front of Nymphenburg. Perhaps you can see the flotilla of boats that brought the royal household from the palace, along the canal, to the horse race happening in the foreground. |
Part of Nymphenburg's porcelain collection includes paintings rendered on porcelain that were copied from actual paintings. The painting, "The Virgin Appearing to Saint Bernard," by Pietro Perugino for the Santa Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi in Florence, was later purchased by King Ludwig of Bavaria and brought to Munich.
A decision was made to copy many valuable paintings onto porcelain so that they would last "forever." The next photo is a copy of Perugino's painting. I cannot recall under which ruler this decision was made, but it was most likely Ludwig. You can see the original painting at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich.
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| Die Vision des Hl. Bernhard ( The Virgin Appearing to Saint Bernard) nach Pietro Perugino gemalt von Otto Wustlich, 1859 |
This blog has been great fun for Mark and me. We have very much enjoyed sharing our adventures with you. We hope you have equally enjoyed looking over our shoulders as we fill you in on the details.
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