Princely Treasury Thurn und Taxis, Museum collection inside St. Emmeram's Palace, Regensburg, Germany

The Princely Treasury Thurn und Taxis occupies the renovated north wing of the former princely stables at St. Emmeram's Palace, built between 1829 and 1832 by Jean Baptiste Métivier. Its ground floor retains the three-aisled vaulted stable with Tuscan columns, now displaying goldwork, porcelain, clocks, furniture and a table set with a Du Paquier service from about 1735. Upstairs are a Biedermeier salon and the hunting weapons collection, including rifles by the Kuchenreuter gunsmiths of Regensburg.

After Johannes von Thurn und Taxis died in 1990, Bavaria settled the inheritance tax in 1993 by taking over more than 2,200 art objects worth nearly 44 million DM, keeping the core of a collection assembled over three centuries from being scattered on the art market. It was agreed from the start that the works would be shown in Regensburg as a branch museum of the Bavarian National Museum, which opened in 1998. Its operation is regulated by contract between the Free State of Bavaria, the city of Regensburg and the House of Thurn und Taxis.

The museum's name comes from the Thurn und Taxis postal dynasty, and the displays recreate the courtly setting of the 18th and 19th centuries. A table is laid with a porcelain service made around 1735 by the Vienna manufactory du Paquier, framed by console tables and mirrors from the family's Brussels and Frankfurt palaces. A smaller room is staged as a boudoir with a dressing table.

The museum is housed in a multi-level palace, so comfortable shoes and some time to explore are helpful for your visit. Audio guides in several languages allow you to move at your own pace through the rooms.

The weapons chamber on the upper floor holds one of the largest collections of hunting firearms in the German-speaking world, with many pieces by the Kuchenreuter gunsmiths of Regensburg. A complete Biedermeier salon occupies another room of the same floor.