Main information:

Würzburg Residenz

Building phases – chronological table

Picture: Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn

Prince-Bishop Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn (reigned 1719-1724)

Court architect: Balthasar Neumann

  • Foundation stone laid on 22 May 1720

  • Construction of the north block started


Picture: Christoph Franz von Hutten

Prince-Bishop Christoph Franz von Hutten (reigned 1724-1729)

Court architect: Balthasar Neumann

  • Completion of the north block 1729

  • All other building work is stopped


Picture: Friedrich Carl von Schönborn

Prince-Bishop Friedrich Carl von Schönborn (reigned 1729-1746)

Court architect: Balthasar Neumann

  • Building of the south block from 1730

  • Cour d'honneur front completed 1732/33

  • Work on the central building and decoration of the Court Chapel with the participation of Lucas von Hildebrandt from 1735 on; consecration of the Court Chapel 1743

  • Construction of the main staircase 1737

  • Completion of the garden front 1740

  • Decoration of the Southern Imperial Apartments and the Mirror Cabinet 1740-1745

  • Completion of the vaulted ceilings over the Emperor's Hall and the White Hall 1742

  • Completion of the vault over the staircase 1743

  • Stucco-work in the White Hall created by Antonio Bossi 1744/45

  • Completion of the shell in December 1744

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Picture: Anselm Franz von Ingelheim

Prince-Bishop Anselm Franz von Ingelheim (reigned 1746-1749)

  • Balthasar Neumann falls out of favour.

  • Building work on the Residenz ceases until the death of Anselm Franz von Ingelheim in 1749.


Picture: Carl Philipp von Greiffenklau

Prince-Bishop Carl Philipp von Greiffenklau (reigned 1749-1754)

Court architect: Balthasar Neumann

  • Completion of the stucco-work by Antonio Bossi in the Garden Hall 1749

  • Completion of the ceiling painting in the Garden Hall by Johann Zick 1750

  • Imperial Hall decorated with frescos by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo 1751/52

  • Creation of the ceiling fresco above the staircase by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo 1752/53

  • Death of Balthasar Neumann 1753


Picture: Adam Friedrich von Seinsheim

Prince-Bishop Adam Friedrich von Seinsheim (reigned 1755-1779)

  • Stucco-work decoration over the staircase and in the First and Second Guest Rooms of the Northern Imperial Apartments by Materno and Ludovico Bossi 1765-1767

  • Decoration of the Green Lacquered Room 1769-1772

  • Completion of the Princes' Hall 1772

  • Decoration of the Ingelheim Rooms, including stucco-work by Materno Bossi 1776-1781

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Prince-Bishop Franz Ludwig von Erthal (reigned 1779-1795)

  • Interior of the Ingelheim Rooms completed 1781

Fürstbischof Georg Carl von Fechenbach (reigned 1795-1802, dann Bischof bis 1808)

The episcopal principality of Würzburg was abolished with secularization. After an eight-year interregnum by Grand Duke Ferdinand of Tuscany (reigned 1806-1814) in 1814 Würzburg became part of the kingdom of Bavaria.

The wrought-iron gates across the cour d'honneur, which had effectively separated this inner area from the large Residenz Square, were demolished in 1821. In their place today is the Franconia Fountain created by Ferdinand von Miller the Younger. This was unveiled in 1894 as a tribute by the city of Würzburg and the whole of Franconia to Prince Regent Luitpold, who was born in 1821 in the Würzburg Residenz.


Picture: Residenz with cour d'honneur gates (engraving, 1757)

Picture: Façade with Franconia Fountain


Residenz with cour d'honneur gates (engraving, 1757)


Façade with Franconia Fountain


The Würzburg Residenz as a museum

  • 1921: Opening of the Residenz to the public


War damage and reconstruction

  • 16 March 1945: As a result of a devastating air raid, the Residenz burnt out almost completely and only the central building with the Vestibule, Garden Hall, Staircase, White Hall and Imperial Hall survived the inferno, apart from the roofs. Much of the furnishing and large sections of the wall panelling of the period rooms had been removed in time and thus escaped destruction.

  • 1945: Commencement of reconstruction

    Picture: The war-damaged Residenz with the first new roofs
    The war-damaged Residenz with the first new roofs,
    as it looked in 1947

  • 1950: Most of the roofs on the central building have been rebuilt.

  • 1963: The restored Court Chapel is reopened to the public.

  • 1970: Completion of the Southern Imperial Rooms

  • 1974: Completion of the Northern Imperial Rooms

  • 1978: Reopening of the Ingelheim Rooms and the Princes' Hall

  • 1981: The Würzburg Residenz, together with the Residenz Square and Court Garden, is included on the UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage List and thus placed under special protection.

  • 1987: The rebuilding process concludes with the reopening of the Mirror Cabinet in the Southern Imperial Apartments, reconstructed in all its detail.

 

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