Würzburg Residence

Würzburg Residence
In 1720, the building of this baroque palace started on request of Bishop Johann. It is made of yellow sandstone, which provides a golden glow. The palace has 300 rooms, spread over 3 wings.

The ceiling over the broad staircase is decorated with frescoes made by the Venetian master Tiepolo. The paintings date from 1753, and portray the god Apollo and the four continents.

At the end of World War II, the Residence was partly wrecked by bombs. However, the ceilings (and paintings) did survive.

In the western wing lies the Hofkirche, an elegant red-golden church. The altar is decorated also with paintings of Tiepolo.

Year Decision Comments
1981 Inscribed Reasons for inscription



Visit February 2000

The paintings made by Tiepolo are really marvellous. They are the no.1 reason to visit this site: they colourize this otherwise quite empty and bleak building.

Würzburg is a quiet town in the South of Germany. Except for the Residence, the old bridge across the river Main (dating from the 15th century) with its statues, and the several churches are also worth visiting.

Reviews

Michelle (USA):
This is worth seeing...as it was winter when I visited the gardens were not in bloom. The inside of the Residence itself was indescribable. The paintings, the furniture, the ceilings everything was so gorgeous. The marble floors, the entryway and stairs and don't forget the room of mirrors are so breathtaking. If you have time visit and take the tour. Michelle
Date posted: May 2008
Ian Cade (England):
My enthusiasm for Palaces is very low, however the main staircase of the Residence is well worth the effort to see. It is one of the finest pieces of Baroque art anywhere, and the work of two of the periods leading talents: Neumann and Tiepolo. The ceiling fresco is magnificent and is reputedly the largest in the world. You are not actually allowed to take any photos inside, but I did manage to take a few sneaky ones. The decoration is on a much larger scale than the palace at Brühl, also by Neumann and also a WHS, but it is somehow a little more restrained, if you can use that term to describe Baroque.
In the other rooms there are some impressive restorations going on and you do get a good idea of how the process takes place, especially interesting is the display on restoration after the damage brought by Second World War. After this it seems to be the usual route around the usual array of ornate bedchambers, wardrobes and halls, very impressive, just not my favourite things.
The gardens were well laid out and free to enter, and worth exploring. As Frederik has said below the Court Chapel is amazing, well worth heading into even if you don’t go into the Palace itself, the paintings here are also by Tiepolo.
The town of Würzburg is well worth some time on its own, with some lovely churches, an impressive bridge lined with Baroque statues a-la Charles Bridge in Prague and an impressive fortress, on the vineyard lined hill on the opposite bank of the river. The Youth Hostel offers lovely views of this in the morning. It is seems to be a bit of a train hub for Northern Bavaria, so should be very easy to get to.
Würzburg is well worth a visit the Residence is a very worthy inclusion and the staircase is a masterpiece of Western European art.
 
Joyce (The Netherlands):
This grand building is definitely worth a visit. On the outside it might not look very special, but the inside sure is. When you walk up the stairs you will see huge paintings on the ceiling; what makes the paintings stand out is that they have lots of depth. Also in some places the ornaments that are part of the ceiling and walls blend right into the paintings themselves. In other rooms there are crazy ornaments on the wall up to the ceiling. In the "green room" with a wonderful wooden floor there’s lots of mirrors from where you can see each other from different points of view (ask the guide in the room about it). Finish your visit with a nice stroll through the gardens, and while you’re there, visit the town of Würzburg since it’s quite a pretty town.
Date posted: July 2006
Frederik Dawson (Netherlands):
Franconia is always my favorite area in Germany and Würzburg is one of my many favorite cities in this region. The city itself is very nice with many beautiful old buildings and the Marienburg fortress on the hill can easily capture your imagination of romantic Germany – actually Würzburg is a starting point of the famous “Romantische Strasse”. However romantic can not save this city from the war, the city was almost completely destroyed during the WWII including the WHS in this city, the Residenz.

Würzburg residenz is considered as a masterpiece of baroque palace designed by Balthasar Neumann and built by yellow sandstone making this palace glows like a shinning moon in the dusk. In my opinion it seems that the late evening is the best time to enjoy the magnificent feeling of this palace. The Residenz and its square are huge compared to other places in the town making the Residenz look more striking. The garden is also marvelous with many lovely flowers and statues.

However, the palace’s inside gives the feeling of mix. The grand staircase is truly gorgeous with the fresco masterpiece by Tiepolo, Court chapel is just amazing, the green room is worth for special noticed, and about 10 lovely rooms of baroque and rococo styles which can be seen in many German baroque palaces like Schönbrunn or Sanssouci. After seeing of those mentioned, the palace becomes a long series of empty rooms with displays some ridiculous amount of fine art (OK the exhibition about Würzburg city after the war and its restoration work is quite interesting). I expected German or Bavarian government to restore the whole building to its former glory for both outside and inside, but my idea is not true. It is not surprised that I spend only 40 minutes to explore this big palace! (What’s a record) and not much tourists as I expected (I saw many tourist buses but they only come to see the exterior and garden – they are wise).

It’s really hard to conclude my idea about this place, the exterior and the garden is truly great, some part of interior are very good, but the less of palace are unconvincing for the WHS status.
Date posted: June 2006
Paul Tanner (UK):
I know of no other UNESCO “Evaluation” which is so peremptory in its conclusion as that for this palace:- “The inclusion of the Wurzburg Residence on the World Heritage List constitutes a measure, which is so clearly desirable that the proposal of the Federal Republic of Germany does not require lengthly (sic) justification.”. So that’s that then….!

The WHS list isn’t short of “Baroque Palaces” but this is a great example of its type and, whether you like “Baroque” or not, should be seen by all “WHS enthusiasts” - if only for the giant Tiepolo frescoes.
Date posted: April 2006
mark (usa):
visited wurzburg in 1999. neatest thing i remember was the model of the city before it was bombed in WWII. you could really tell the allied forces were pissed at the germans. they pretty much leveled the city. stayed in a hostel that used to be a school. enjoyed my stay. the people were very friendly. food was great. the residence is worth visiting and the gardens were very pretty.
Date posted: December 2005


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