Munich Residenz and Englischer Garten

Built in 1385 and known as the Neuveste, the first tenant at the Residenz Palace was Duke Stephan III, who reigned from 1375 to 1392.
The palace was expanded under the tenure of Duke Wilhelm IV from 1508 until 1550. Part of the expansion included the construction of the Antiquarium, a magnificent Renaissance hall.

Every subsequent monarch that moved into the palace, it seems, added yet another room or two to the residence; from ballrooms and chapels to galleries, apartments, fountain courts, and gardens.

Because additions were made over the centuries, they vary greatly in style. It's said that if you approach the Residenz Palace from one side, you'll think it's Palladian. Come in from another direction and you'll think the architectural style resembles Italian or German Renaissance.

This hall is the oldest room of the Residenz München. 66 metres long, it is the largest and most lavish Renaissance interior north of the Alps. Duke Albrecht V had it built from 1568 to 1571 for his collection of antique sculptures. These antiquities gave the room its name "Antiquarium".

Click here 
to learn more about the Residenz.

Green Gallery

The palace is absolutely enormous and dwarves Versailles. 

This room was created to showcase miniatures.

 

The treasury was filled with amazing things, but I was too exhausted by this time to take too many photos.  There were bejeweled toiletry sets, chess sets made out of precious materials, countless crowns, and treasures from all over the world.  It was quite stunning--both amazing and completely overwhelming.

 

 The Residenz is on the top of any visit to Munich.

We walked through  Englischer Garten (English Garden).
It is bigger than Central Park and contains several playgrounds and beer gardens.

The beer garden we found was right next to a playground.  There was even a gate to enter the playground from the beer garden.  Why did this not exist in Ottawa when the girls were toddlers?  We shared some warm pretzlels and mustard.

For dinner, the girls and I had spaetzle, which is a lot like macaroni and cheese.

This pretty building was on our tram route.