Day 15: The Residenz

My second day in Munich was rainy, so I decided to spend it going to some of Munich’s many museums. First stop: the Residenz.

The Residenz is where the Wittelsbach clan, the Bavarian royal family, lived between 1508 until 1918. Now, it’s the biggest tourist attraction in Munich. Big parts of the palace was unfortunately destroyed or damaged during WWII, but it’s been meticulously reconstructed and everything looks so luxurious and extravagant that I can’t tell the difference between the original and the reconstruction.

The most impressive part of the palace is actually the first thing that you see, just after the ticket office and entrance hall: the Antiquarium. It is so breathtaking that it even deserves another picture, taken from the other end.

Otherwise, it was the personal chambers of the different kings and queens and princesses that impressed me the most. Imgaine living in that, sleeping on that silk. It looks both heavenly and horrific at the same time. With all that gold, how will your brain be able to relax? The green is at least calming. And I wouldn’t mind having a mirror like that in my hallway.

That is what I call a decorated ceiling. Why don’t they make ceilings like that anymore? I’ll have to paint my own ceiling fresco. It’ll be my next project!

Last on the tour lies the Ahnengallery, where all the important Wittelsbachs’ portraits hang in chronological order.

It is impressive, this extravagance and the extreme detail put into every single part of the palace – but it also puzzles me, how there could have existed families that were so rich that they could afford this. Because, of course this was only meant to be seen by a small group of privileged people. It makes me uneasy, thinking of all the ordinary people that had to pay for it with their labour, and never getting a chance to see all the beauty. With an extravagantly decorated Catholic church, people are at least allowed in to see it. Here, it was only meant for royal eyes. Despite my weakness for beautiful things, ceiling decorations and detail, I can’t forget the unequality of the society that could afford building these kinds of palaces.