Würzburg Residence Palace

The former residence of the prince bishops of Würzburg, built between 1720 and 1744, is one of Europe’s foremost baroque ensembles, and its unity of style makes it one of the finest south German baroque palaces.

Commissioned by Prince Bishop Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn, this ‘palace of palaces’ was designed and built by the architect Balthasar Neumann. Neumann’s famous staircase with its unsupported vaulted ceiling features the largest ceiling fresco in the world, created in 1752–53 by the Venetian painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. A magnificent sequence of rooms starts in the vestibule and the Garden Hall, continues to the staircase and the White Hall, and through to the Imperial Hall, which also features frescos by Tiepolo. Other outstanding rooms are the reconstructed mirrored hall and the court chapel with its exquisite marble features, a highlight of religious art in Würzburg. A walk through the palace gardens offers a chance to enjoy art and nature at its best.