Antiquarium (Münchner Residenz) - DSC07441

Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F033778-0027, München, Staatsbesuch König von Belgien

The Antiquarium was built from 1568 to house the ducal Collection of Classical Antiquities and Library as an extension of the

Munich Residenz The Residenz (, ''Residence'') in central Munich is the former royal palace of the Wittelsbach monarchs of Bavaria. The Residenz is the largest city palace in Germany and is today open to visitors for its architecture, room decorations, and disp ...

and was converted into a

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic ma ...

soon after. It is one of the most important surviving

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

collection buildings.

Architecture

The ground floor hall of the Antiquarium, 69 metres long, is considered the largest Renaissance hall north of the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, ...

. The continuous barrel vault is hollowed out by the piercing caps of the 17 pairs of windows and is transparent. The rich painting by artists such as Hans Donauer the Elder, Alessandro Scalzi, called Padovano, Peter Candid and

Antonio Viviani Antonio Viviani (1560–1620) was an Italian painter of the late Renaissance and early Baroque. He was also called ''il Sordo di Urbino'' ("the Deaf of Urbino"), because of his self-absorption while painting frescoes. He was born in Urbino, and t ...

with 102 views of old Bavarian towns was completed only at around 1600.

History

The residence in downtown

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

was the seat of the Bavarian

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, t ...

s, electors and

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ...

s. Between 1568 and 1571

Duke Albrecht V Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

built a free-standing, two-storey building there for his extensive sculpture collection (on the ground floor) and library (on the upper floor) based on ideas by Jacopo Strada from

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard language, Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture ...

. In 1580-1584

Friedrich Sustris Friedrich Sustris (c. 1540, in Padua – 1599, in Munich) was an Italian-Dutch painter, decorator and architect. He was a son of the artist Lambert Sustris, who worked in Italy. Sustris got his training from his father Lambert in Venice and Padu ...

was commissioned to convert the ground floor hall of the Antiquarium into a festival and banquet hall, and the painting still preserved today was begun. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the vault was destroyed by an explosive

bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...

in the middle. However, the moisture penetrating the vault in the following years was even more serious as it severely destroyed the

ceiling painting A painted ceiling is a ceiling covered with an artistic mural or painting. They are usually decorated with fresco painting, mosaic tiles and other surface treatments. While hard to execute (at least in situ) a decorated ceiling has the advantage ...

. Following the closure of the gap in the vaults and the reroofing of the building wing, the Antiquarium was rebuilt under the direction of Otto Meitinger. The hall is again used for receptions by the Bavarian state government and for concerts. It is part of the ''Residenzmuseum''.

References

{{coord missing, Bavaria Buildings and structures in Munich Historicist architecture in Munich Tourist attractions in Munich Heritage sites in Bavaria Culture in Munich Buildings and structures completed in 1568 Munich Residenz