Palais Ludwig Ferdinand: An Urban Palace and Siemens Headquarters in Munich
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.7
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Germany
- Primary era
- Modern
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Modern
- Civilizations
- German
- Site type
- Domestic
- Remains
- Palace
On this page9 sections
History
Palais Ludwig Ferdinand is an early nineteenth-century urban palace in Munich, Germany, built in 1825–1826 in the neoclassical period for Karl Anton Vogel, a manufacturer of gold and silver thread. Franz Xaver Widmann prepared the plan, while Leo von Klenze designed the façades. The palace became part of the architectural setting around Odeonsplatz and later developed into the headquarters of Siemens.
Construction and Klenze’s residence
Klenze had originally intended the site for Munich’s first Protestant church. That church was eventually built elsewhere, to a design by Johann Nepomuk Pertsch. Instead, the palace was erected for Vogel, and Klenze initially made it his own residence. He lived in the piano nobile, the principal residential floor of a palace, for twenty-five years.
Princely ownership and wartime damage
From 1878, the building belonged to Princes Alfons and Ludwig Ferdinand of Bavaria. Their ownership gave rise to the former names Alfons Palais and Palais Ludwig Ferdinand. Ludwig Ferdinand had the building remodelled. The palace was severely damaged during the Second World War and was subsequently reconstructed.
Siemens headquarters
In 1949, Siemens & Halske, the predecessor of Siemens AG, rented the reconstructed palace. The company first used it for its motor-pool and casino operations. After Ludwig Ferdinand died that year, Hermann von Siemens and Ernst von Siemens decided to acquire the building as Siemens’ headquarters and as the official seat of its management board and supervisory board, the company’s two principal governing bodies.
The sale to the prince’s heirs was completed in 1957. The two Siemens governing institutions continue to be based in the palace. The building is recognized as a historic monument in Germany.
Remains
Palais Ludwig Ferdinand stands at 4 Wittelsbacherplatz and forms an ensemble with the buildings along the west side of Odeonsplatz. Its historic palace is now incorporated into a larger complex of adjacent new wings, including SiemensForum München, a Siemens forum and exhibition facility. The enlarged complex occupies the block bounded by Finkenstraße, Kardinal-Döpfner-Straße, and Oskar-von-Miller-Ring.
Historic façades and extensions
East front
The east front was originally the palace’s main façade. It faces the head of a short street branching from Odeonsplatz, between the Odeon and Palais Leuchtenberg. Klenze had designed the exteriors of the Odeon and Palais Leuchtenberg identically, creating a coordinated architectural ensemble with the palace on this side. The façade has a projecting central bay and a balcony above the principal entrance. These details echo Klenze’s Bazar building across Odeonsplatz.
Wittelsbacherplatz façade
The building was extended westward around 1850. Around 1900, the façade facing Wittelsbacherplatz was embellished with arched doorways and a balcony. A staircase was added on this side in 1968, introducing a later element to the palace’s historic fabric.
Siemens complex
The palace forms the historic part of a complex whose surrounding new wings occupy the rest of the block. These additions include SiemensForum München. The palace and the adjacent wings underwent extensive renovation, completed in 2016.
