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Residenz Museum

Hofkapelle (Court Chapel)

The Hofkapelle was erected as part of the large-scale remodelling and expansion of the Residenz undertaken by Duke Maximilian I in the early years of the 17th century. The choir was not completed until 1630.

Maximilian attended Mass every day. Members of court worshipped in the chapel below, while the Duke and his family sat in the gallery, which they could reach easily from their apartments.

The Hofkapelle is dedicated to the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception. This was probably Maximilian's own choice, because he had already adopted the Virgin Mary as the patron saint of the Wittelsbach dynasty and of Bavaria. The magnificent high altar, probably designed by Hans Krumper, likewise focuses on the Virgin Mary. The main painting was created by Hans Werl in 1600 and shows the Virgin enthroned in glory on clouds surrounded by angels. The painting at the top depicts the Trinity.

An altar was erected next to the choir on either side of the nave in the mid-18th century. The altar paintings depict St Maximilian and St Anne, the patron saints of Maximilian I and his wife, Maria Anna. The altars were designed and executed by two leading exponents of the Rococo style in southern Germany: Johann Baptist Zimmermann and Franz Zimmermann. The way in which they integrated the altars and their lively white and gold stucco frames into the rest of the interior reveals remarkable sensitivity towards a space created 150 years earlier.

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