Photo: Tony Castle · CC BY-SA 4.0 · editedResidenz München
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Why go
- Germany’s largest city palace, with more than 40,000 square metres of floor space.
- The Antiquarium, the largest Renaissance hall north of the Alps.
- Treasury treasures spanning about 1,000 years, including Charles the Bald’s prayer book from around 860.
- The Cuvilliés Theatre’s Rococo decoration.
- More than 100 Wittelsbach portraits set into the Ancestral Gallery’s carved, gilded wall panels.
Opening hours
Today09:00 – 18:00Show all
Don't miss
- Four bronze lionsLook for the four bronze lions flanking the main entrance.Residenzstraße entrance
- Wittelsbach FountainIts figures represent the Donau, Lech, Inn and Isar. The Brunnenhof hosted tournaments before the fountain was installed in 1610.Centre of the Brunnenhof
- Green GalleryThe gallery served as both a ballroom and a display for paintings and mirrors.Residenzmuseum
- Red paving stonesThey mark where the Neuveste’s cellars and foundations remain beneath the courtyard.Apothekenhof
- Perseus fountainThe courtyard takes its name from the grotto on the Antiquarium’s west facade.Grottenhof
Know before you go
- Open daily from 09:00 to 18:00. Tickets are available online through the Residenz’s own website.
What's inside
- Antiquarium: built for Duke Albert V’s sculpture collection, then converted into a banqueting hall by Friedrich Sustris.
- Ludwig I’s State Apartment and the Nibelungen Halls, with paintings by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld made in 1827–1834.
- Ancestral Gallery and Porcelain Cabinet: rooms 4 and 5; the adjoining room once displayed Wittelsbach treasures in mirrored wall cases.
- Ornate Rooms, designed by François de Cuvilliés for Charles Albert.
- Papal Rooms, where Pope Pius VI stayed during his 1782 visit to Munich.
- Many rooms retain furnishings made for them, including paintings, tapestries and sculpture.
- Room 100’s exhibition on changes in domestic culture and royal and state representation.
With kids
- In the Hartschiersaal, room 103, children can fold napkins using Baroque instructions.
- Residenzwoche, 16–25 October 2026: children can make items from old banners and emboss gold-foil badges.
Tips for your visit
- Browse enlarged collection images and the prayer book online through Landesbibliothek Online.
- Check the official information for the Residenzmuseum, Treasury and Cuvilliés Theatre when planning which parts to visit.
Tours and audio guides
- Detective tour of the royal apartments
- 90 minutes For children aged 5–9; an adult companion is required.
Interesting facts4
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500 porcelain
The Wittelsbach East Asian collection includes more than 500 porcelain pieces and some paintings.
Munich Residenz - Wikipedia (part 2) -
300,000 coins
The Bavarian state coin collection contains more than 300,000 coins, medals and banknotes.
Munich Residenz - Wikipedia (part 2) -
1897
Ludwig II’s Winter Garden was dismantled in 1897 because its ornamental lake leaked.
Munich Residenz - Wikipedia -
The complex’s ten courtyards included spaces for receptions, feasts and ceremonies.
Münchner Residenz - Wikipedia
Shorts
History
The Wittelsbachs commissioned the palace as an enduring expression of their authority. The Neuveste began as a Gothic water castle, reached from the city only by a fortified bridge.
- 1363–1385Construction of the Neuveste fortress began in 1363 and ended in 1385.
- 1568–1571Simon Zwitzel and Jacopo Starda built the Antiquarium for Duke Albert V’s sculpture collection.
- 1581–1586Friedrich Sustris designed the Grottenhof for William V.
- 1825–1835Leo von Klenze built the Königsbau for Ludwig I, modeled on Florence’s Palazzo Pitti.
- 1832–1842Klenze added the 250-metre Festsaalbau for Ludwig I.
Show all
- 1918–1920After the 1918 revolution, the former royal residence became a museum and opened to the public in 1920.
- 1958–1985The Cuvilliés Theatre was rebuilt in a different location using decoration moved from the Old Residenz Theatre.
- World War II–1980sThe palace suffered severe bombing damage. The Court Church lost its interior decoration in 1944, and most rooms were rebuilt by the 1980s.
Sources: Munich Residenz - Wikipedia · Munich Residenz - Wikipedia (part 2) · Bayerische Schlösserverwaltung | Residenz Münch… · Bayerische Schlösserverwaltung | Residenz Münch… · Bayerische Schlösserverwaltung | Residenz Münch… · Münchner Residenz - Wikipedia · Résidence de Munich - Wikipedia · Bayerische Schlösserverwaltung | Residenz Münch… · Bayerische Schlösserverwaltung | Residenz Münch… · Bayerische Schlösserverwaltung | Residenz Münch… · checked 28 Sep 2026
- Website
- residenz-muenchen.de/
- Phone
- +49 89 290671
Questions and answers
When did Bavaria’s rulers live at Residenz München?
It served as the residence of Bavaria’s Wittelsbach dukes, electors and kings from 1508 to 1918.
Did an emperor live at Residenz München?
Charles Albert died there as Emperor Charles VII in 1745, during its brief use as an imperial residence.
What replaced the destroyed Large Throne Room at Residenz München?
The Herkulessaal concert hall replaced it.
Which rooms at Residenz München were reconstructed in 1985?
The Kaisersaal and Vierschimmelsaal were rebuilt and refurnished using surviving paintings and carpets.
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