Holnstein Palace''The Encyclopedia Americana: the international reference work, Volume 19''. (1962), Americana Corp., p. 564. ISBN. (german: Palais Holnstein) is an historic building in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

Southern Germany Southern Germany () is a region of Germany which has no exact boundary, but is generally taken to include the areas in which Upper German dialects are spoken, historically the stem duchies of Bavaria and Swabia or, in a modern context, Bavaria ...

, which has been the residence of the Archbishop of Munich and Freising since 1818.

History

The architect

François de Cuvilliés François de Cuvilliés, sometimes referred to as ''the Elder'' (23 October 1695, Soignies, Hainaut14 April 1768, Munich), was a Belgian-born Bavarian decorative designer and architect. He was instrumental in bringing the Rococo style to the Wi ...

built the mansion between 1733 and 1737 for Sophie Caroline von Ingenheim, Countess Holnstein, a mistress of

Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor Charles VII (6 August 1697 – 20 January 1745) was the prince-elector of Bavaria from 1726 and Holy Roman Emperor from 24 January 1742 to his death. He was a member of the House of Wittelsbach, and his reign as Holy Roman Emperor thus marked the ...

. It is today Munich's best

rococo style Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

palace as Cuvilliés' less conventional ''Palais Piosasque de Non'' was destroyed in World War II. The Holnstein Palace is designed as a four-winged building around a courtyard. The front house was used for representative purposes, while the rear building represented the privacy of the Count. The building is the only noble palace in Munich that kept the original layout. The rococo façade and many interiors have been preserved in their original state. The façade layout shows three storeys and nine window bays, and a flat central

avant-corps An ''avant-corps'' ( it, avancorpo or , plural , german: Risalit, pl, ryzalit), a French term literally meaning "fore-body", is a part of a building, such as a porch or pavilion, that juts out from the ''corps de logis'', often taller than oth ...

with a

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aest ...

, as often seen in Munich since the time of

Joseph Effner Joseph Effner (February 4, 1687 (baptized) – February 23, 1745) was a German architect and decorator. Biography Effner was born in Dachau as a son of the court gardener Christian Öffner. Effner accompanied the elector of Bavaria Max Emanu ...

. The breakdown of window axes in three fields of three axes also corresponds to the internal division of main and side wings. The upper floors are divided by

pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...

s. The interior decoration was done by

Johann Baptist Zimmermann Johann Baptist Zimmermann (3 January 1680, Gaispoint — 2 March 1758, Munich) was a German painter and a prime stucco plasterer during the Baroque. Zimmermann was born in Gaispoint, Wessobrunn. He and his brother Dominikus Zimmermann were ...

. Only the elegant façade can be inspected since the palace is closed to the public. From 1977 to 1982, the Palais Holnstein served as the residence of Archbishop Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) who stayed here also during his visit in September 2006. The current Munich Archbishop

Reinhard Marx Reinhard Marx (born 21 September 1953) is a German cardinal of the Catholic Church. He serves as the Archbishop of Munich and Freising. Pope Benedict XVI elevated Marx to the cardinalate in a consistory in 2010. Biography Born in Geseke, No ...

lives in three rooms of the palace. 6.5 of the 8.7 million Euro renovation costs (= 75 percent) of the palace was paid by the Free State of Bavaria in 2013.

References

{{Commons category, Palais Holnstein (Altstadt München) Houses completed in 1737 Rococo architecture in Germany Buildings and structures in Munich Palaces in Bavaria Baroque architecture in Munich Registered historic buildings and monuments in Bavaria Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor