Munich Residenz

The Residenz grew from a fourteenth-century castle into a complex of ten courtyards and about a hundred and thirty rooms open to visitors, the seat of Bavarian rulers until 1918. Bombing in the Second World War destroyed most of it; reconstruction ran from 1945 into the 1980s, working from photographs, plans and salvaged fragments, and much of what stands is careful rebuilding. The Antiquarium of 1571, a barrel-vaulted hall sixty-six metres long, is the largest Renaissance interior north of the Alps. The treasury holds a thousand years of regalia, including a small crown of English origin from around 1370.

What you actually see

• The Antiquarium - a 66-metre Renaissance vaulted hall of 1571.
• The treasury - regalia and objects spanning a thousand years.
• The Cuvilliés Theatre - a rococo court theatre dismantled and saved in the war.
• The reconstruction - rooms rebuilt from photographs after 1945.

When to go

Year-round; the complex is large enough to fill a day and separate tickets cover the palace, treasury and theatre. It is busiest in summer and at Christmas.

Honest expectations

Much of the interior is postwar reconstruction rather than original fabric. The site is very large and tiring. Rooms close in rotation for maintenance.

Nearby

The English Garden lies north; Marienplatz is south.