Phone +49 89 74508290 | ||
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Address Forst-Kasten-Allee 103, 81475 München, Germany Similar Blutenburg Castle, Schleissheim Palace, St Michael's Church, Alter Hof, Fürstenried West | ||
Fürstenried Palace is a Baroque palace in the southwest of Munich, Germany.
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History
It was built by Joseph Effner for Elector Maximilian II Emanuel in 1715–17 as a hunting lodge. Two pavilions are added each in the south and north of the main building. A few years later (1726) a fire damaged the Fürstenried Palace. The following year, at the birth of the future Maximilian III, Fürstenried went as puerperal gift to the Princess Maria Amalia of Austria, the wife of the son of Maximilian Emanuel, Elector Charles Albert. From 1778 to 1796 Fürstenried Palace was the residence of the former Electress Maria Anna, the widow of Maximilian III. In September 1796, Munich was surrounded by the French Republican Army that fought against the Austro-Imperial forces. Here, the Fuerstenried castle was plundered.
During the German war in 1866 and the Franco-German war 1870/71 the castle was used as a military hospital. The palace served as domicile for King Otto of Bavaria from 1883 onwards until his death in 1916. The King lived in an elegantly furnished apartment on the ground floor, while his servants lived on the first floor. After the First World War, the castle served as a military hospital again. Since 1925 the Catholic Retreat Hostel for spiritual exercises has been housed in Fürstenried Palace. Pope Benedict XVI has said that, prior to his ordination as a deacon in the fall of 1950, he pondered his vocation to the priesthood "as I walked in the beautiful park of Fürstenried ... ."
The park
Already in the 18th century high-quality vegetables and dessert fruit was produced in the fruit and vegetable garden of the palace. The court gardener excelled in the arts, in addition to the everyday to also use rare fruit and vegetables such as asparagus, artichokes, quinces and peaches. The then-popular beans and peas were grown in cold frames almost all year round. This tradition was resumed in King Otto's time. The baroque garden behind the castle was then reconstructed by Carl von Effner, according to the plans of his ancestor Joseph Effner. Carl von Effner's great merit is to preserve the 110 lime trees in the park and many more along the two double-row alleys flanking the line of sight towards Munich.