Palais Holnstein: A Bavarian Rococo City Palace in Munich
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 5
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Germany
- Primary era
- Early Modern
- Eras represented
- Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Electorate of Bavaria, Holy Roman Empire
- Site type
- Domestic
- Remains
- Palace
On this page9 sections
History
Origins and Construction
Palais Holnstein is a historic city palace in Munich, Germany, built between 1735 and 1737 in the Bavarian Rococo style. Elector Karl Albrecht acquired the property on 13 January 1735 for his natural son, Franz Ludwig, Count of Holnstein. In historical usage, “natural son” meant a son born outside a formal marriage. An earlier dating places the beginning of construction in 1733.
The palace is also associated with Maria Caroline Charlotte Sophie von Ingenheim, Countess of Holnstein and Karl Albrecht’s mistress. An alternative tradition holds that Karl Albrecht had the building constructed for her. François de Cuvilliés, the Bavarian court architect whose work helped shape Bavarian Rococo, designed the palace as an aristocratic residence.
Archiepiscopal Residence
Palais Holnstein entered state ownership in 1818. In 1821 it became the residence of the Archbishop of Munich and Freising, leading to its later name, the Archiepiscopal Palace. Lothar Anselm Baron von Gebsattel, who lived from 1761 to 1846, was the first Munich archbishop to reside there.
The palace has remained a Catholic archiepiscopal residence associated with the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising. From 1977 to 1982, it was the residence of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, a German Catholic theologian and archbishop who became Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. Ratzinger also stayed at Palais Holnstein during his visit to Munich in September 2006.
Renovation and Preservation
A comprehensive renovation took place between 2008 and 2012. The second staircase was reconstructed, while the ceiling fresco in the historic main staircase was largely restored to its original condition. The palace is also known as Palais Königsfeld, alongside its designation as the Archiepiscopal Palace.
Remains
Palace Layout and Exterior
Palais Holnstein is arranged as a four-wing complex around an inner courtyard. The front building was intended for representative purposes, while the rear building contained the count’s private quarters. The palace retains much of its original interior arrangement and is described as the only Munich aristocratic palace still preserving its original room layout.
Rococo Facade
The three-story facade is organized across nine window axes in three groups of three. A shallow central projection rises above the entrance and ends in a gable. A cantilevered balcony stands over the central entrance gate, while the gable in the roof zone displays the Holnstein family arms with a bastardy bar.
The window arrangement reflects the division of the building into a main tract and side tracts. Pilasters rise through the upper stories from a continuous cornice band. The rusticated ground floor has barred arched windows, with round mezzanine windows above. On the piano nobile, the principal reception floor, tall rectangular windows with segmental arches stand between the pilasters. The second floor has segmental-arched windows.
Stucco and Staircase Fresco
Stucco work on the facade and inside the palace is probably attributable to Johann Baptist Zimmermann, an eighteenth-century German stucco artist and fresco painter associated with the Wessobrunn tradition. Zimmermann also created the ceiling fresco in the historic main staircase.
The fresco depicts Justitia, the personification of justice or law, and Pax, the personification of peace. The staircase was among the elements addressed during the renovation of 2008 to 2012, when its ceiling painting was largely returned to its original condition.
Architectural Importance
Palais Holnstein is regarded as the most important surviving aristocratic palace from Munich’s Baroque period after Palais Piosasque de Non, also designed by Cuvilliés, was destroyed during the Second World War. Only the facade can be viewed externally, while the palace and its interior rooms remain closed to the public.
