Landshut Residence, Renaissance palace in Landshut, Germany.
The Landshut Residence is a Renaissance palace in the historic center of Landshut, made up of two main buildings connected by side wings around an inner courtyard. The older German building and the later Italian wing each have their own character, with the Italian section containing a series of decorated halls and a chapel.
Duke Ludwig X began building the German section in 1536, and after visiting the court of Mantua he commissioned a second wing in the Italian style. The two phases together show how the taste of the Bavarian dukes shifted toward the Renaissance models they had seen in northern Italy.
The rooms in the Italian wing are decorated with frescoes by Hans Bocksberger the Elder, a painter who worked closely with the Bavarian ducal court. The stucco ceilings in the same wing were crafted by Italian artisans brought specifically to Landshut for the project.
The palace sits in the old town of Landshut and is easy to reach on foot from the main street. Visits are typically done through guided tours that cover the decorated halls, the chapel, and the Birkenfeld Rooms, so it is worth setting aside enough time.
The Birkenfeld Rooms still have their early French wallpaper from the time Count Wilhelm von Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen lived in the palace, which is unusual in a building of this age. This makes them one of the few spaces in Bavaria where such early decorated paper wall coverings can still be seen in place.
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