Bayerische Staatskanzlei is an administrative building in Munich for the Bavarian state, adjacent to the Munich Hofgarten.
Where the current Staatskanzlei building is located, there used to be “Hofgartenkaserne“, or the Hofgarten military barracks.
The barrack’s were taken out of use in 1893, after which new plans emerged for the location.
These plans included new premises for the Bavarian Army Museum, which had been founded some time earlier, in 1879 (by Ludwig II).
New buildings for the museum were completed in 1905, from the plans by architect Louis Mellinger, and the Army Museum operated out of these premises up to 1969.
PHOTO: Staatskanzlei includes a central building from 1905 (a design by Louis Mellinger), and more modern wings (from 1993), designed with inspiration from the central dome and Munich’s palatial Art Deco winter gardens.
PHOTO: Equestrian statue of duke Otto von Wittelsbach (1117-1183) acts as a reference to the building’s use until 1969 as a Bavarian Army Museum (www.bayerisches-armeemuseum.de), today located at Neues Schloss palace in Ingolstad). Otto von Wittelsach started the Bavarian Wittelsbach dynasty thanks to his military skills, as he was one of the best knights at the army of Fredrik I Barbarossa, and the Bavarian lands were a gift for a victorious battle near Verona in 1155.
The buildings were badly damaged during WWII, which led to an architect competition (in 1982) to start the renovations.
At the same time, new buildings were added for the Bayerische Staatskanzlei, which had previously been operating within Prinzregentenstrasse.
The competition was won by Diethard J. Siegert and Reto Gansser, but the new plans were, however, opposed by the most locals, as the plans changed many aspects of the historical Hofgarten.
Of the Bavarian Army Museum buildings, only the central domed section remained, with new, more modern wings being built next to it.
Of the central old structures, a highlight is the 32-meter (105 ft) tall dome, a more recent version of Renaissance architecture’s central dome theme.
The 194-meter (212 yards) long modern addition also uses continuity to the Hofgarten, as many of the shapes are from Munich‘s Art Deco winter gardens.
Staatskanzlei, as an organization, is an advisory to the Bavarian state government and prime minister.
The organization uses 293 offices/meeting rooms within the building, taking total floor space of around 8,875 square meters (2.2 acres).
There are several artworks inside the Staatskanzlei offices, include pieces from…
- Maria Caspar-Filser, Emanuel Fohn, Pieter Jacob Horemans,
- Alexander Koester, Johann Christian von Mannlich,
- Carl Rottmann and Eduard Schleich elder.
Bayerische Staatskanzlei
Address: Franz-Josef-Strauss-Ring 1, 80539 Munich, Germany
Official website: Bayern.de/Staatskanzlei-.314.htm
…one being the three gigantic aluminium boulders by Markus Stangli (at northern stairway), and the other Adrian Maryniak’s four-meter-tall (13 ft) sculpture (reminiscent of an aluminium tube) at the southern staircase.