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 Geschichte Bayerns > Culture > Royal Residences and Representative Structures
Royal Residences and Representative Structures

Bavaria's wealth of castles and palaces derives from the large number of religious and secular states that occupied Bavarian soil before 1806 and frequently demonstrated their claim to power by means of imposing architecture. Munich was the royal residence of the dukes of Wittelsbach from 1255 onwards.

The appearance of the city today has been largely shaped by the Bavarian electors and kings. After Bavaria became a kingdom in 1806, Munich's magnificent Ludwigstrasse and Königsplatz were commissioned by King Ludwig I, who reigned from 1825 to 1848. An even more famous builder was his grandson Ludwig II (1845 - 1886), who had his representative structures such as Neuschwanstein, Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee built in the landscape of Upper Bavaria, far away from the public eye.

The large parks such as the one surrounding the Palace of Nymphenburg, or the English Garden (laid out in 1785) all date back to the regents of Bavaria. Other important 18th-century parks include Veitshöchheim near Würzburg, the Sanspareil rock garden, and the Eremitage and Fantaisie Castle Park in Bayreuth.