A Tale of Two Buildings and Their Shared Heritage
The building in which the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum (Bavarian National Museum) is housed today is not particularly prepossessing, its exterior walls, at once ornate and fortress-like, stretch westward from the corner of Oettingerstrasse along the Prinzregentenstrasse towards the Haus der Kunst. Yet to be deterred by appearances would be to miss out on one of the most sumptuous collections of fine and applied art in Germany.
Initially the museum was actually located a few streets away, on the Maximilianstrasse. The original building, which was commissioned by Maximilian II, King of Bavaria, in 1858, is currently home to the Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde (State Museum of Ethnology). A keen observer may notice the inscription over the main entrance: “Meinem Volk zu Ehr und Vorbild” (In Honor of my People and as an Example to Them). Although an incongruous epithet for its present collections, it is a clear expression of Maximilian’s desire to create an institution that would inspire Bavarian artists and craftsmen and instill in the people of Bavaria a sense of national pride bound up with his family, the Wittelsbachs dynasty. The museum was to house historical artifacts and objets d'art belonging to Bavaria’s royal family. It was inspired, in part, by the king’s visit to the South Kensington Museum (now the Victoria and Albert Museum) in London in 1851 and, perhaps as a rival to the Germanisches Museum in Nuremberg, begun in 1852. Intended to complement the government offices across the way architect Eduard Riedel’s impressive structure was built in the English Perpendicular style, and duly opened in October 1867. The king, however, was not there to witness the event, for he had died in 1864.
The building was not well received by the people of Munich. Critics denounced its “box-like exterior” and “shamefully dilettantish lack of style.” Rather more dramatic was the problem of space; within a few years the collection had outgrown its home. Consequently, on September 29, 1900, the exhibits were moved to new premises on the Prinzregentenstrasse, where they have remained to the present day.
The architect responsible for this second building was Gabriel von Seidl, who also created the Lenbach House. Seidl designed a building that would mirror its contents in its outer aspect. The facades of the asymmetric, Historical Revival building reflect the architecture of various historical periods, from the Romanesque to the Rococo, engendering a “total work of art,” which was a characteristic idea of the 19th century.
First-time visitors to the Bavarian National Museum may wish to start their tour by visiting the banquet service of the Prince Bishop of Hildesheim on the top floor. Laid out on white damask under a high glass case are 30 silver dinner settings complete with gleaming silver plates, candlesticks and ornate serving dishes from the 18th century. Next door is the courtly game collection, with exquisite Meissen chess figures, a green velvet topped card table and board games inlaid with mother-of-pearl. A little further on visitors will find the courtly collection of musical instruments—rows of shiny brass trumpets, spindly legged clavichords in polished wood and the lid of a 17th-century cembalo, painted in a kind of trompe l’œil style showing musicians and diners at a bucolic feast. If you wish to see how King Maximilian’s family lived and dressed, cross the stairwell and look at the 19th-century clothes and jewels of the Wittelsbach family.
One of the most popular rooms in the museum lies on the first floor and contains wooden models of the cities of Munich, Ingolstadt, Burghausen, Landshut and Straubing made by master turner Jacob Sandtner in the 16th century. This level also includes the Waffensaal (weapons hall), where an impressive display of armor and weapons are on show, and for scientists, there is a German model from the Enlightenment period that reconstructs the Ptolemaic planetary system, as well as one from England of the competing Copernican system.
Below, in the basement, the exhibition area is given over to Bavarian folk art, both religious and secular. Here the rooms are furnished with colorful, rustic, hand-painted beds and cupboards as well as the locally produced Hafner tableware. Unfortunately, the stunning collection of Nativity scenes—donated almost entirely by one man—will be closed until the beginning of December.
Finally, a new monthly event enables visitors to become experts on one artifact or just discover the mystery surrounding a single work of art. With “Kunstwerk des Monats,” one piece from the museum’s holdings is displayed on its own. For September this will be a 17th-century family portrait in wax created by Heinrich Kramer.
