Schloss Nymphenburg - The Swan Lake

11 April 2015 (Saturday) - Nymphenburg Palace.  I decided to head down to the Nymphenburg Palace to obtain my Annual Season Ticket for all Bavarian Castles at 45 euros.  Bus 17 took me from the main road just outside my apartment to the Palace in less than 15 minutes.  Upon reaching the Palace, I was met with a breathtaking sight!  Dozens of swans, ducks and fishes were swimming in the river leading to the Palace.  It was a lovely sight!

Up close with the swans!  Its quite a big feat for someone
like me who fears all things that fly (including birds haha)

The founder of Nymphenburg was Henriette-Adelaide of Savoy, the wife of elector Ferdinand Maria of Bavaria.  In 1662, after 12 years of marriage, she gave birth to the heir to the throne, the electoral prince, Max Emmanuel.  In gratitude, the Elector founded the Theatine church in the town centre, and presented his wife with a country estate to the west of Munich (i.e. Nymphenburg).  Doesn't their story remind you of the SG50 baby bonus back in Singapore?

The first room in the museum was also the grandest and most beautiful - the Great Festival Hall.

One of the most popular attraction was King Ludwig I of Bavaria's beauty gallery.  It portrayed 36 beautiful women from all walks of Munich, such as the shoemaker's daughter and King Ludwig's mistress Lola Montez (second lady below, although I personally don't think she is very pretty).  Apparently, their love affair contributed to King Ludwig's downfall.  The canvas paintings were gorgeous and from certain angles looked like photographs rather than drawings.

Lola Montez

The other rooms are pretty much the same as the Residenz to my untrained eye.  Some rooms have their original Baroque style, while others were in the later styles like Rococo and Classism.

Schlafzimmer (i.e. Bedroom)

Bust of Henriette-Adelaide's two sons

A room decorated with wall paintings of Chinese Art influences

Painting of the Old Nymphenburg Palace

My favourite yellow room!

At the back of the Palace lays the impressive gardens of Nymphenburg.  The garden was provided with a variety of water features with pumping machinery and there were hedge gardens with extensive wooded parks.

Nymphenburg is famous for its many water features

In the former royal stables in the south wing is the Marstallmuseum, containing forty splendid carriages and sleighs once owned by the ruling Wittelsbach family, showcasing one of the greatest coach collections in Europe.  The first Marstallmuseum opened in the former court riding school close to the Munich Residenz.  During the WWI, the collection was transferred to Nymphenburg Palace.

Coronation coach of the Emperor Charles VII

Diana, goddess of the moon and the hunt

Hercules sleigh

Hunting sleighs featured below were used in a mock tournament.  Couples lined up against each other in the competition and consisted of the cavalier steering the sleigh and the lady being driven by him.  The lady then had to hit a mounted target with a lance, sword or pistol.  

On 31 January 1742, the Emperor Charles VII was coronated.  The magnificently adorned coronation coach (seen in the photos above) represented the imperial power and it was a central part of the coronation ceremony.  The following photo shows the entire long chain of procession line.

Procession line of the coronation ceremony

An excerpt featuring the coronation coach

In the wooded parks of the Nymphenburg palace gardens, there were also other small palaces.

Prince's garden with pavillion

The Amalienburg was a small summer residence and hunting lodge for the Elector’s wife, Maria Amalia. The single storey building with its unique hall of mirrors decorated partly in silver is a masterpiece of European rococo art.

 

The most unusual room in the Amalienburg is the kitchen.  Here a magnificent kitchen of the Dutch type is combined with Chinese-style decoration.  The tiles produced in Netherlands were designed in imitation of blue and white Chinese porcelain.  The paintings on the the ceilings and panelling showed what the Europeans thought China was like.

The sunny fine weather made it an excellent day for taking wedding pictures.  There were many couples decked in their finery posing in front of the Nymphenburg Palace along with their bridegrooms and bridemaids.  Passers-by stopped captivated by the gorgeous sight filled with a warm fuzzy feeling of love! 

Unfortunately, I didn't manage to cover the entire Nymphenburg Palace grounds as it was getting late.  Ended off my visit with a Pistachio Nut ice cream at a "Cafe + Eis" store outside the Palace for 1 Euro!  Yummy~