New Residence, Bamberg, Palace and historic site on Domberg, Bamberg, Germany

The New Residence is a multi-wing sandstone palace on Domplatz, built in two stages: a rear Renaissance wing from 1604 and a forward Baroque section by Leonhard Dientzenhofer, 1697–1703. Its light ochre facade rises three storeys plus a grey slate mansard roof, with a projecting central section under a triangular pediment and statues along the roofline. Inside are over 40 state rooms, including the Imperial Hall with Melchior Steidl's trompe-l'œil ceiling frescoes of Roman emperors.

Construction started in the early 17th century under a prince-bishop and later received Baroque expansions that shaped the building we see today. The residence served as the governing center and home of Bamberg's church rulers until modern times.

The Staatsgalerie, a branch of the Bavarian State Painting Collections, has occupied rooms here since 1933, when Bamberg's municipal art collection was dissolved. Its holdings include Hans Baldung Grien's "Die Sintflut" and works by Lucas Cranach the Elder, alongside Dutch Baroque paintings. The garden sculptures of 1760–61 by Ferdinand Tietz depict ancient mythology.

To see the grand interior rooms, visitors should join guided tours that are offered regularly throughout the week. The east wing houses the state library, so it is separate from the tour areas.

The Kaisersaal on the second floor of the central wing holds 16 emperor portraits along its walls, all but one from the Habsburg house, running from Henry II to Leopold I and Joseph I. Melchior Steidl painted the walls and ceiling in 1707/1709 with medallions of Roman emperors and the four ancient world empires, using trompe-l'œil.