Schleissheim palace is a palatial complex of three buildings and their Baroque gardens, historically used by the Bavarian rulers as a summer residence.
The palace has origins from the reign of Duke of Bavaria, Wilhelm V(1548-1626).
As a ruler, Wilhelm was not fond of the spotlight, and subsequently, gave the reign to his son Maximilian, in 1598, and decided to focus on religious mediation in Schleissheim.
As the former ruler moved to the area permanently, first buildings were added to the place from 1598-1600, including several religious forest chapels.
PHOTO: Of the three palaces in Schleissheim, the (pictured) Baroque New Schleissheim (built from 1701-1704) is the largest and most impressive, located between the Old palace and Lustheim.
PHOTO: Baroque New Schleissheim has wing sections, of which the (pictured) eastern / gardens side includes a long row of statues from 1763, made by Ignaz Günther.
PHOTO: New Schleissheim statues on the wing buildings are dressed as they were at a carnival, a reference to the historical Munich ‘Fasching’, which is celebrated with masks, similarly to how Venetians celebrate the Carnevale.
PHOTO: New palace has many Baroque highlights, of which pictured is a door at Corps de Logis, opposite the Old Schleissheim palace.
PHOTO: Schleissheim Baroque gardens, one of the few remaining Baroque gardens in Germany, in fact. The garden park consists of formal gardens, a canal, and many statues & fountains.
PHOTO: The oldest part of the palatial complex is the pictured Old Schleissheim, which was under construction from 1617-1623. The palace contains two permanent exhibitions: history of religious culture & history of Prussia.
PHOTO: Lustheim palace, built in Italian garden palace style for Maximilian II Emanuel, from 1684-1688.
PHOTO: Between Lustheim palace and New Schleissheim, there is the pictured Mittelkanal, banked by walkways and several benches to relax while traveling between the buildings.
Although the first buildings to Schleissheim were built by Duke Wilhelm V, his son, Maximilian I (in reign 1598-1651), also was interested in the area…
…and it was he, who commissioned the Old Schleissheim palace to be built in 1617, from plans by Heinrich Schön elder.
Today, the old palace is one of the best examples of countryside palatial construction, built in traditional Venetian country villa style.
Next Bavarian ruler to expand Schleissheim was Prince-Elector Maximilian Emanuel, from 1680-1726.
His addition was the Lustheim palace, built from 1684-1688.
Among the many highlights, Lustheim got extensive frescoes, which, in their non-religious nature, were a rarity at the time.
New Schleissheim palace, meanwhile, was built from 1701-1704, and when completed, it was one of the finest residential royal palaces in Europe.
The new palace is known for its magnificent interiors, which include…
- wall frescoes in Southern German style,
- bas-reliefs,
- monumental sculptured panels, and
- period furniture, especially within the formal stately rooms.
Today, the new palace also features a gallery of Baroque paintings, from artists such as…
- Peter Paul Rubens,
- Anthony van Dyck,
- Carlo Saraceni,
- Joachim von Sandrart,
- Johann Heinrich Schönfeld,
- Jose Antolinez, and
- Jusepe de Ribera.
The Schleissheim gardens, meanwhile, between the new palace and Lustheim, are one of the most important Baroque gardens still in existence in Europe.
Originally, a Dutch gardening style was used, but as the gardens were expanded, they were re-designed in French Baroque style (with fountains), by Dominique Gerard.
Schleissheim Palace
Address: Max-Emanuel-Platz 1, 85764 Oberschleißheim, Germany
Official website: Schloesser-Schleissheim.de
For getting to the palaces, which are located 13 km from central Munich, you can use the S-Bahn, line S1, exiting at “Oberschleißheim“.