Munich Residenz

Run your hand along the bronze shield at the palace gate. Most of the metal is dark and dull, the colour of old coins. But one small patch shines bright gold. That is the lion's nose, polished by thousands of passing hands. Around you, trams rattle down the street, and the long stone front of the Munich Residenz stretches away. You are standing at the edge of the house where Bavaria was ruled for four centuries.

That shiny patch has a story. There are four bronze lions guarding the gates on Residenzstrasse, each one holding a shield. Locals say that if you rub the face on the shield as you walk past, you will have good luck. Watch for a moment and you will see it happen. A businessman in a suit, a student with headphones, a grandmother with shopping bags. Each one reaches out without breaking stride. It is a small ritual, and it is very Munich.

The family behind these walls was the Wittelsbach dynasty. They ruled Bavaria first as dukes, then as electors, and finally as kings, until the monarchy ended in 1918. The palace began much smaller, as a moated castle at the northeast corner of the medieval town. Over the centuries, each ruler added something. A wing here, a courtyard there, a new hall in the latest fashion. The result is not one building but many buildings, joined together over hundreds of years.

This is the first thing that surprises many visitors. The Residenz has no single grand front and no single style. Instead, it is a sequence of courtyards and wings, each from a different age. You can walk from Renaissance to Baroque to Rococo to Neoclassical in a few minutes. Think of it less as a palace and more as a small walled city. It is the largest city palace in Germany, and it takes most visitors far longer to explore than they expect.

The oldest grand room is the Antiquarium. It is a long, low hall with a curved, painted ceiling, built in the sixteenth century. Duke Albrecht the Fifth commissioned it to hold his collection of ancient sculpture. Marble busts of Roman emperors and gods line the walls. Above them, the vaulted ceiling is covered in painted scenes and views of Bavarian towns. It is often described as the largest Renaissance hall north of the Alps. Standing at one end, the far wall seems a long way off.

Not far away is the Grotto Court, one of the strangest corners of the palace. Its walls are decorated with shells, coloured stones, and tufa, a soft, porous rock. In the sixteenth century, artificial grottoes like this were fashionable among European princes. They imitated caves and the hidden worlds of mythology. In the centre stands a bronze figure of Perseus, the Greek hero who killed the monster Medusa. The court is quiet, and the shells catch the light in unexpected ways.

Then the mood changes completely. The Cuvilliés Theatre is a small court opera house from the eighteenth century, named after its designer, François de Cuvilliés. He was a Flemish-born architect who began his career at the Bavarian court as a court dwarf, and then trained as an architect. The interior is pure Rococo, a light, playful style of curling gold ornament. Red velvet and carved wood fill every surface. In 1781, Mozart's opera Idomeneo had its first performance here.

Here is the second surprise. The theatre you see today is not in its original location. During the Second World War, the carved wooden interior was taken apart and stored away for safety. That decision saved it. The original building was destroyed in the bombing. After the war, the pieces were reassembled inside a different part of the Residenz. So the boxes and gilding are genuine, but the room around them is newer than it looks.

That wartime story applies to the whole palace. Air raids left much of the Residenz in ruins. Roofs burned, walls collapsed, and painted ceilings were lost. The reconstruction took decades. Some rooms were rebuilt carefully from photographs and surviving fragments. Furniture, paintings, and panelling that had been moved to safety came back. When you admire a ceiling here, it can be worth asking whether it is old, or a patient modern copy. Often, the answer is a mix of both.

The treasury, called the Schatzkammer, holds the dynasty's most precious objects. There are crowns, swords, jewelled cups, and religious reliquaries, small containers made to hold sacred remains. The craftsmanship is extremely fine, so take your time with the cases. Small enamel figures, carved crystal, and gemstones reward a close look. The treasury needs its own ticket, separate from the main palace museum, so plan ahead if you want to see both.

Now step back outside onto Max-Joseph-Platz, the square on the southern side. The long wing facing you is the Königsbau, or King's Building. It was built in the nineteenth century for King Ludwig the First, designed by his architect Leo von Klenze. Ludwig loved Italy, and the façade was modelled on the Palazzo Pitti in Florence. Next to it rises the columned front of the National Theatre, home of the Bavarian State Opera.

On the northern side, the palace opens onto the Hofgarten, the former court garden. It is laid out with gravel paths, rows of trees, and flowerbeds. At its centre stands a small domed pavilion dedicated to the goddess Diana. On warm evenings, you may hear music echoing under its roof, and people sometimes dance there. It is a good place to sit after the long walk through the rooms. The palace walls feel calmer from this side.

So, before you move on, stand still for a moment. Listen to the trams, the footsteps on stone, the voices crossing the square. These walls held dukes and kings, survived fire, and were rebuilt piece by piece. Yet the life of the place today is simple and everyday. As you walk away, look back at the lions one more time... and maybe touch that bright, worn nose for luck.