Main information:

Würzburg Residenz

Nördliche Kaiserzimmer
(Northern Imperial Apartments - Rooms 14-21)

The Northern Imperial Apartments, like the Southern Apartments, were decorated and furnished under Prince-Bishop Friedrich Carl von Schönborn (1729-1746). Since, however, the work was only begun in 1743, it had to be completed rapidly so that Emperor Franz I could take up residence in at least some of the rooms on his way to the election in Frankfurt in 1745.

The first four rooms of the Northern Imperial Apartments only acquired their final character as magnificent state apartments when the decorations were substantially enriched, in particular with the gilding of the stucco-work on the walls, under Prince-Bishop Carl Philipp von Greiffenklau (1749-1754). There was also to have been a "Grand Cabinet" as a counterpart to the Mirror Cabinet in the Southern Imperial Apartments, but this was never built.

When the rooms were restored after 1945 the ceiling stucco-work had to be completely recreated, whereas most of the remaining stucco decoration is original, as are the paintings over the doors.

The following picture gallery enables you to look at individual rooms in the Northern Imperial Apartments. To see an enlarged view of a room, please click on the section shown.