The Palais Preysing is a late- Baroque mansion in

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 ...

, southern

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, which served as residence for the Counts of Preysing. To distinguish it from the nearby Palais Neuhaus-Preysing, it is also called the ''Elder Palais Preysing''.

Joseph Effner Joseph Effner (February 4, 1687 (baptized) – February 23, 1745) was a German architect and decorator. Biography Effner was born in Dachau as a son of the court gardener Christian Öffner. Effner accompanied the elector of Bavaria Max Emanu ...

built the mansion between 1723 and 1728 for the Count Johann Maximilian of Preysing opposite to the

Residenz Residenz () is a German word for "place of living", now obsolete except in the formal sense of an official residence. A related term, Residenzstadt, denotes a city where a sovereign ruler resided, therefore carrying a similar meaning as the modern ...

. It is Munich's first

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

style palace. The exterior walls were embellished with stucco. Since its restoration after the destructions of World War II, the building houses shops and offices but the decorated stairway is open for the public.

Viscardigasse

The mansion is situated behind the

Feldherrnhalle The Feldherrnhalle (Field Marshals' Hall) is a monumental loggia on the Odeonsplatz in Munich, Germany. Modelled after the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence, it was commissioned in 1841 by King Ludwig I of Bavaria to honour the tradition of the ...

Odeonsplatz The Odeonsplatz is a large square in central Munich which was developed in the early 19th century by Leo von Klenze and is at the southern end of the Ludwigstraße, developed at the same time. The square is named for the former concert hall, ...

, the little alley behind the Palais Preysing connecting the Residenzstrasse and the Theatinerstraße is called Viscardigasse (after

Giovanni Antonio Viscardi Giovanni Antonio Viscardi (27 December 1645 – 9 September 1713) was a Swiss architect of the baroque, who worked mostly in Bavaria. Biography Giovanni Antonio Viscardi was born in San Vittore, Grisons. He was descended from a family wh ...

), but it used to be known by the locals as "Drueckebergergasse". "Drueckeberger" is a German slang expression for someone who tries to avoid his duty.

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

ordered that everyone passing the Feldherrnhalle had to give the Nazi salute as they walked by, as a tribute to the Nazi sympathisers who had been killed at that spot in the Beer Hall Putsch of 1923. Many people practised a kind of passive resistance by making a detour down the Viscardigasse, to avoid passing the Feldherrnhalle and having to salute. In the mid-90s, a wavy stripe of gold-colored

pavement stones Pavement may refer to: * Pavement (architecture), an outdoor floor or superficial surface covering * Road surface, the durable surfacing of roads and walkways ** Asphalt concrete, a common form of road surface * Sidewalk or pavement, a walkway alo ...

were placed in the Viscardigasse in memorial of this civil resistance.

References

{{Authority control Houses completed in 1728 Baroque palaces in Germany Preysing Baroque architecture in Munich 1728 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire