Würzburg Residence
The prince-bishops of Würzburg built one of the largest Baroque palaces in Europe. Balthasar Neumann’s staircase is covered by an unsupported vault, and on it Giovanni Battista Tiepolo painted the world’s largest ceiling fresco. The vault survived the bombing of 1945.
Prince-Bishop Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn wanted a palace instead of the old fortress on the Marienberg. The young Balthasar Neumann was given the commission, and work began in 1720. The plans were reviewed by architects from Paris and Vienna, among them Robert de Cotte, Germain Boffrand and Lukas von Hildebrandt. The building was completed in 1744, but the interiors continued for many years. The Venetian Tiepolo and his sons painted the staircase and the Imperial Hall in 1751–1753.
The palace has a horseshoe-shaped plan around a large courtyard. The staircase is about 30 metres long and 18 metres wide and is covered by a single vault without columns. Many thought it would collapse, but Neumann was sure of his construction. Tiepolo’s fresco, about 600 square metres, shows the four continents of Europe, Asia, Africa and America, and in the middle of Europe the prince-bishop himself can be seen. As you climb the stairs the fresco opens up step by step, an example of the Baroque way of steering the visitor’s experience. The Court Chapel and the Imperial Hall are filled with stucco, gold and paintings.
In the bombing of Würzburg in March 1945 large parts of the palace burned, but the vaults of the staircase and the Imperial Hall held, and the frescoes were saved. The building has been rebuilt in stages, and the destroyed rooms were reconstructed. The Residence became a World Heritage Site in 1981. It is regarded as one of the high points of the South German Baroque, in which architecture, sculpture and painting are united.