Würzburg Residence

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The Würzburger Residenz is a palace in Würzburg, Germany. It was designed by the leading Baroque architect Balthasar Neumann to a commission from the prince bishop of Würzburg Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn and his brother Friedrich Carl von Schönborn in 1720 and was completed in 1744. The Venetian painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, assisted by his son, Domenico, painted frescos in the building. The most spectacular interiors include the grand staircase, the chapel and the grand salon, and was indeed dubbed the "nicest parsonage in Europe" by Napoleon. The Residenz was heavily damaged in World War II, and restoration has been in progress since 1945.

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[edit] Beginnings

The prince bishops of Würzburg resided in the Fortress Marienberg until the early eighteenth century. Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn (1791 - 1724) moved the court to a palace erected in 1701 - 1704, the predecessor of the Residence. But the rather small palace did not measure up to Johann Philipp Franz's position as an absolute monarch. Since he had won a sum of fl. 600,000 (a fortune at the time) in a court case in the year of his accession, there was nothing to stop him from undertaking a building that would proclaim to all his standing in the world. In this, he was eagerly supported by two relatives, his uncle the prince archbishop and elector of Mainz, Lothar Franz von Schönborn (who confessed to have been possessed by a "Bauwurmb", a building bug) and his brother Friedrich Carl von Schönborn, reformer of the Imperial Chancery in Vienna. Both supplied ideas and, crucially, artists from their circles.

[edit] Inclusion in World Heritage List

The Würzburg Residence with the Court Gardens and Residence Square was inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1981. According to the Advisory Body Evaluation, the inclusion in the List was a "measure [...] so clearly desirable that the proposal of the Federal Republic of Germany does not require lengthy justification[.] The Residence is at once the most homogenous and the most extraordinary of the Baroque palaces[.] It represents a unique artistic realization by virtue of its ambitious program, the originality of creative spirit and the international character of its workshop."[1]