Munich in the Baroque

Finally, the Thirty Years' War is over, and Bavaria is slowly recovering from those terrible years marked by fighting, occupation, plague, famine, and renunciation. Now, something entirely new can emerge from the ruins, a new style that expresses the regained joy of life in a variety of ways: in music and dance, fashion, painting, and even architecture: the Baroque era had dawned!

Initially, it was Italian influence that washed over the Alps thanks to the young Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy, giving Munich a completely new face with its Mediterranean architecture. The Theatinerkirche on Odeonsplatz, now almost sunny yellow, is a prime example. In the next generation, the absolutist rulers of the House of Wittelsbach oriented themselves toward the France of the Sun King, who, with Versailles, also set standards for Nymphenburg Palace and its park. But it wasn't only outside the city that lavish gardens were being built; the city center was also home to royal strolls, particularly in the Hofgarten, where today you can watch boules players in their evening competitions in a very relaxed atmosphere.

Naturally, as a more or less influential nobleman, you don't hold back, show off your possessions, and have the prestigious front of your new palace decorated by renowned stucco artists. Thankfully, today, on our tour, we can admire the not-so-cheap investments at the time, for example, at the Preysing Palace or the Holnstein Palace, and delight in the flourishes, cherubs, and ornate decor. It doesn't matter if the noble offspring wasn't born according to their social standing, but merely the product of an amorous liaison between a princely sovereign and his mistress. The need for representation remained unabated.

Above all, however, it was the Catholic Church that strove to demonstrate its power and influence through countless new construction and renovation projects, thus dissuading even the last doubters from austere Protestantism. At that time, the Baroque architectural style was an excellent marketing tool, conveying a vibrant and colorful image. And as you stumble from one church to the next in Munich, you can also marvel at how the initially heavy and rather colorless Italian style evolved into the light Baroque architecture so typical of Bavaria.

The Bavarian artists quickly learned the sophisticated techniques from their Italian and Flemish colleagues and matured into world-renowned architects, sculptors, and stucco artists. Most notably, of course, the Asam brothers, who created an impressive calling card for themselves with their private church and the adjoining house – naturally one of the highlights of our tour today.