Main information:

Residenz Museum

Nibelungensäle (Nibelung Rooms)

 

The Nibelungensäle, three large, two small, occupy the ground floor at the western end of the Königsbau. King Ludwig I entrusted their decoration to the architect Leo von Klenze, who took his cue from Italian models.

The pictures on the walls and ceilings were reconstructed in 1955-60. Originally painted in 1828-34 and 1843-67 by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, assisted by Friedrich von Olivier and Wilhelm Hauschild, they show scenes from the Nibelungenlied (written about 1200). They are the first monumental images to have been based on this work of medieval literature, which in the nineteenth century was seen as the epitome of German epic poetry. As on the upper storey of the Königsbau (King's Tract), Ludwig I was the moving force behind the creation of murals on subjects taken from literature.

The main characters of the Nibelungenlied are introduced in the first room. The paintings in the next three rooms depict the chief events: Siegfried's marriage to the royal daughter Kriemhild, his murder by Hagen and Kriemhild's cruel revenge. The images in the final room mourn the downfall of the Nibelungs.

Ludwig I himself permitted public viewings of the Nibelungensäle.

 

| top |