Konigsplatz (“Königsplatz“) is a square with monumental museum buildings, build as part of a 19th century plan to make Munich the “Athens on Isar river”.
The square and its buildings were commissioned by Bavarian Crown-Prince (later King) Ludwig during the early 19th century…
…and they were realized from plans by architects Karl von Fischer and Leo von Klenze.
Fischer created the square, using Athens’ Akropolis as an inspiration, using many of the beautiful classical elements.
Klenze, meanwhile, created….
- “Glyptothek“, using Ionian style from ancient Greece,
- Dorian style “Propylaea“, and
- Corinthian style “Staatliche Antikensammlungen“, which houses the Bavarian State collections of antiques.
PHOTO: Propylaea, a 1:1 copy of the original Propylaea in Athens, acts as a gateway to the Konigsplatz…similarly, in fact, how the original provide a gateway to Athens’ Akropolis. Another famous German tourist attraction that was built with Propylaea (its central section) as an inspiration, is the Brandenburg gate in Berlin.
PHOTO: Propylaea decorations are not similar used in the original in Athens, partly due to the fact that the German version is dedicated to Otto I, King of Greece. Its (pictured) bas-reliefs and statues were designed by Ludwig Michael Schwanthaler, portraying events from the Greek War of Independence.
PHOTO: Staatliche Antikensammlungen (State’s Antique Collections) museum was built to house Wittelsbach ruling dynasty’s collections of antiques, especially their collection of Attican vases, which had been acquired by Ludwig I.
PHOTO: Closeup of the neoclassical Staatliche Antikensammlungen facade, where Corinthian temples from ancient Greek were used as an inspiration.
PHOTO: Glyptothek was built as a museum for Ludwig I’s collection of ancient Greek and Roman sculptures. The name of the building, “Glypto-” is, in fact, derived from the Greek word “glyphein“, translating as “to carve“.
PHOTO: A sculpture at the Glyptothek facade. The facade has a total of 18 original sculptures from ancient Roman and Greek periods.
First of the buildings to be completed was Glyptothek, which had been under construction from 1816-1830, from plans by Leo von Klenze.
After completion, the museum was used for Ludwig I’s collection of ancient Roman and Greek sculptures.
Inspiration for the museum’s architecture was taken from Ludwig I’s interest in ancient Greece and Italian Renaissance periods.
In fact, these periods also inspired Ludwig I to build several monuments, as a project to construct a “German Athens” in Munich.
These projects included…
- Munich’s Walhalla temple,
- Befreiungshalle,
- Ludwigstrasse,
- Bavaria statue,
- Glyptothek, and
- Alte Pinakothek and Neue Pinakothek art museums.
Glyptothek sculpture collections include works of art from archaic period of ancient Greece (around 650 BC), up to the ancient Roman period (around 550 AD).