Road Trippin' to Wurzburg

July 30, 2015
Wurzburg, Germany
My friends Elaine and Tina and I decided to take an impromptu trip to Wurzburg to see the Residenz since the last time I went, I wasn't able to actually go into the palace.  It was such a treat and so much more impressive than I could have expected. Truly, the architecture is unbelievable and one of the most impressive palaces I have seen yet.  All of the pictures below have been searched for on the internet or taken directly from the Palace website since it is against their policy to bring a camera of any kind into the palace.  The Palace was completed in 1744.

Floor plan of the Residenz

The entrance room or Vestibule.  A six horse drawn carriage could fit in this space so guests were not in the elements.

The Vestibule and staircase leading to the first floor

The Staircase:  Up the grand staircase was the coolest ceiling I could have ever dreamed of.  There were incredible paintings covering it all with statues coming out of the walls and appearing to interact with the paintings.

The architectural of the Residence is the staircase, one of the most magnificent achievements of secular building. By contrast with the winding staircases of medieval castles and the more elaborate but still spatially limited stairways of Renaissance palaces, the staircase in the baroque era increasingly became a reception room of considerable splendor.

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, summoned specially from Venice for the purpose, decorated the vault in 1752/53 with the largest ceiling fresco ever painted. With great artistic sensitivity he depicted the exotic, magical worlds of the continents of America, Asia and Africa, personified by regal female figures. The highlight of the composition is the allegory of Europe with the Würzburg court as a centre of the arts. The painting, which measures around 600 square meters, is fused into a whole with the sky inhabited by the ancient gods in the center.

Painting depicting the Continent of Africa

Painting depicting the Continent of America

Note that the Native American woman was topless and riding an alligator.  The Germans, at this time perceived us as uncivilized and thus not clothes wearing, respectable people.

Painting depicting the Continent of Asia

Painting depicting the Continent of Europe

Self Portrait of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo w his son Giovanni Domenico

The Architect Balthasar Neumann on the Continent of Europe

Apollo

This Palace was truly grand

You can see how the titans are literally coming out of the ceiling

These pictures just can't do justice to what it really looks like

The Garden Hall:  The vault is supported not by the walls alone but by twelve slender marble columns which stand freely in the room like figures in a round-dance. As a result, the vault stands out from the walls like a baldachin. This type of room is more usually to be found in church architecture and is not common in palaces.

The colors used in the room are light and cool, and the stucco decoration created by Antonio Bossi in 1749, with light blue motifs on a white background, pierced by sparkling fragments of mirror, is also extremely graceful. Only the ceiling painting, produced by Johann Zick in 1750, introduces an element of solemnity and heaviness into the room. The paintings depict "The banquet of the gods" and "Diana in repose", and the ambulatory is decorated with putti scenes.

The Garden Hall

The Garden Hall

The ceiling of the Garden Hall

The Imperial Hall:  The Imperial Hall, the shell of which had already been completed in 1741, was only decorated and furnished in 1749-1753 under Prince-Bishop Carl Philipp von Greiffenklau. The three ceiling frescos by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, produced in 1751/52, are a splendid depiction of the political history of the episcopal principality of Würzburg in the context of the Empire at the time of Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa. The sopraportas (= paintings over the doors) are by Tiepolo's son Giovanni Domenico and show scenes from the lives of emperors of the ancient world. Antonio Bossi created the four life-size stucco figures of Neptune, Juno, Flora and Apollo in the wall niches on the short sides of the hall.

The Imperial Hall

Yes, that is real gold all over the walls

It's hard to tell but everything that looks like it's gold, is.

The ceiling of the Imperial Hall

What looks like curtains on the ceiling is all painted stucco...they look like actual material

The ceiling is like curtains being pulled away from a scene

The Wedding of Emperor Friedrich I Barborossa and Beatrix of Burgundy

The Northern Imperial Apartments:  The Northern Imperial Apartments, like the Southern Apartments, were decorated and furnished under Prince-Bishop Friedrich Carl von Schönborn (1729-1746). Since, however, the work was only begun in 1743, it had to be completed rapidly so that Emperor Franz I could take up residence in at least some of the rooms on his way to the election in Frankfurt in 1745.

The first four rooms of the Northern Imperial Apartments only acquired their final character as magnificent state apartments when the decorations were substantially enriched, in particular with the gilding of the stucco-work on the walls, under Prince-Bishop Carl Philipp von Greiffenklau (1749-1754). There was also to have been a "Grand Cabinet" as a counterpart to the Mirror Cabinet in the Southern Imperial Apartments, but this was never built.

When the rooms were restored after 1945 the ceiling stucco-work had to be completely recreated, whereas most of the remaining stucco decoration is original, as are the paintings over the doors

The Antechamber

The Audience Room

Red Cabinet

Green Damask Room

Napoleon Room

First Guest Room

Second Guest Room

Green Lacquered Room

This was such a beautiful room

Every detail was perfection

The floor was absolutely amazing

The Southern Imperial Apartments:  Imperial apartments, like imperial halls, are a typical feature of German baroque palaces. In addition to the ruler's own rooms, most of the residences of the electors and ecclesiastical rulers had finely furnished state apartments which were used for occasional visits by the emperor and other high-ranking guests. In Würzburg these apartments were especially important, as emperors regularly stayed in this bishop's city on their journey to and from Frankfurt am Main for the coronation ceremony.

The Mirror Cabinet

This room was filled with porcelain and gold

There were more figures coming out of the walls

Details of the mirror cabinet walls

Antechamber

The Audience Room

The Venetian Room

Gallery

The Ingelheim Rooms:  The Ingelheim Rooms were named after Prince-Bishop Anselm Franz von Ingelheim, who lived here from 1746-1749, the current decoration and furnishings are from 1776-1778.

Hall of the Ingelheim Rooms

The Red Antechamber

The Yellow Corner Cabinet

Blue Antechamber

Yellow Audience Room

Tuscany Room:  In 1945, the Tuscany Rooms were burned out completely.  Many pieces of furniture survived the war.  Some of the most important suites of furniture have now been restored.

Gold trimmed furniture

The children's carousel

A table belonging to the "Swan suite)

Exotic candelabra's

This was a short day trip but it was a lot of fun and the food was pretty great.  The desserts were out of this world though.  It was the first time I ever had Basil ice cream.  Yum!  I am hoping to do more day trips with these ladies because they are super adventurous and so much fun to be around!

Tina and me...Elaine was taking the picture!