The Landshut Residence (German:Stadtresidenz Landshut) is a palace in

Landshut Landshut (; bar, Landshuad) is a town in Bavaria in the south-east of Germany. Situated on the banks of the River Isar, Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free State of Bavaria. It is also ...

Lower Bavaria Lower Bavaria (german: Niederbayern, Bavarian: ''Niedabayern'') is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of the state. Geography Lower Bavaria is subdivided into two regions () – Landshut and Donau-W ...

History

In 1536 Louis X, Duke of Bavaria laid the foundation stone for a new residence in the inner city of Landshut. It was begun in

German Renaissance The German Renaissance, part of the Northern Renaissance, was a cultural and artistic movement that spread among German thinkers in the 15th and 16th centuries, which developed from the Italian Renaissance. Many areas of the arts and scienc ...

style under the architect Bernhard Zwitzel from Augsburg; this palace is today known as the "German building" (in German: ''Deutscher Bau''). During a journey to Italy the duke got the inspiration for an additional palace. Behind the German building, close to the river

Isar The Isar is a river in Tyrol, Austria, and Bavaria, Germany, which is not navigable for watercraft above raft size. Its source is in the Karwendel range of the Alps in Tyrol; it enters Germany near Mittenwald and flows through Bad Tölz, Mu ...

, the so-called "Italian building" (in German: ''Italienischer Bau'') was constructed from 1537 to 1543 in

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

style with a spacious courtyard and the palace chapel. It was modeled in particular after the

Palazzo Te or is a palace in the suburbs of Mantua, Italy. It is a fine example of the mannerist style of architecture, and the acknowledged masterpiece of Giulio Romano. Although formed in Italian, the usual name in English of Palazzo del Te is not t ...

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...

, and was the first Italian style palace erected north of the Alps. Both buildings were connected by two wings. The paintings in the rooms were created by the Germans Hermanus Posthumus, Hans Bocksberger the Elder and Ludwig Refinger, while the stucco was done by Italian artists. When Count William of Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen, who became later the first Duke in Bavaria, resided in the palace from 1780 onwards the facade of the German building was altered in French Neo-classical style by

Carl Albert von Lespilliez Carl Albert von Lespilliez (also known as Karl Albert von Lespilliez) (1723-1796) was a German draftsman, architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to prov ...

and the so-called "Birkenfeld Rooms" were constructed. These rooms were decorated again with early wallpaper, when Crown Prince Ludwig lived here in the early 19th century, in the course of his studies in Landshut. These rooms are today a part of the Residence Museum, together with the halls of the Italian building.

References

External links

Landshut Residence
{{Authority control Houses completed in 1543 Palaces in Bavaria Royal residences in Bavaria Museums in Bavaria Renaissance architecture in Germany Historic house museums in Germany Registered historic buildings and monuments in Bavaria Buildings and structures in Landshut 1543 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire