A tour of the New Palace Oberschleißheim

It wasn’t until friends visited that I finally took a tour of the Baroque New Palace Oberschleißheim. I was already familiar with the palace gardens from several visits, but I hadn’t really focused on the interiors until now.

The New Palace Oberschleißheim is part of a complex consisting of several palaces, outbuildings and a large park dating from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. To bolster the status of the Bavarian dukes and electors from the House of Wittelsbach, a massive residential palace in the Baroque style, modelled on Versailles, was to be built to the north of Munich. However, the originally planned four-wing complex could not be realised for financial reasons – the Nymphenburg Palace was being built at the same time, for example – and political reasons. The New Palace as it stands today, with a length of 300 metres, is impressively large in its own right.

What pleasantly surprised me were the elaborately and richly decorated interiors – where the Late Baroque already transitions into a lighter and more playful style typical of Rococo. The tour began in the massive entrance hall with its columns and stucco-decorated walls and ceilings. Via a grand staircase, which is architecturally significant due to its layout and features a large ceiling fresco, the path led into the light-filled Great Hall, which is now a popular venue for concerts.

Just beyond that, we had a real “wow” moment as we entered the Great Gallery, which is almost 60 metres long: red fabric tapestries, masterly paintings in gilded frames, crystal chandeliers under a richly decorated ceiling, and a view of the extensive park – this room alone was worth the visit.

In the princely apartments and cabinets to the north and south, we saw more colourful wall coverings, tapestries, paintings and furniture – such as state beds for audiences. Even though there is very little original furniture left to contribute to the overall impression, and significant paintings from the gallery have been moved to other museums, the remaining interior decoration still gives a good sense of the intended grand and magnificent effect.

On the upper floor, you can look through the doors of the rooms and the Great Gallery along a visual axis from one end of the building to the other and appreciate the enormous dimensions. However, these many rooms were never actually lived in for any length of time, especially as the palace was only intended as a summer residence.