Nymphenburg Palace or Schloss Nymphenburg as it is called in German is a Baroque palace in Munich, Bavaria.

Nymphenburg Palace used to be the main summer residence of the Bavarian electors and kings and commissioned by the prince-electoral couple Ferdinand Maria and Henriette Adelaide of Savoy to celebrate the birth of their son and heir. It was designed by the Italian Architect Agostino Barelli in 1664.

Nymphenburg Palace © Julia Höfer-von Seelen

From 1701 on the palace was systematically extended, two pavilions by Enrico Zucalli and Joseph Effner were added in the south and north of the original palace and the southern section was even further extended to form the court stables.

The massive Great Hall (Steinerner Saal) was beautifully decorated in Rococo style with ceiling frescos by Johann Baptist Zimmermann and F Zimmermann. Also worth a visit is the ‘Gallery of Beauties”, painted by Joseph Stieler for King Ludwig I.

Today the court stables are home to one of the most important museums of ancient carriagas, the Marstallmuseum, and also house a collection of Nymphenburg porcelain. The factory being founded by Maximilian III Joseph was also located in the palace complex. The handcrafted products of that factory were of legendary kind of quality and are comparable to Augarten andSevres.

Nymphenburg Palace view from park © Julia Höfer-von Seelen

The large 490acre (200hectare) historic park of Nymphenburg Palace and the Botanic Gardens invite visitors for a walk. In the park you can see a number of beautiful pavilions such as the Pagodenburg (1716-1719), Badenburg (1719-1721), Magdalenenklause (1725-1728), Amalienburg (1734-1739) and Apollotempel (1862-1865).

The palace as well as the park are one of the most famous and most popular sights of Munich and really worth a visit.

Cologne is Germany’s fourth largest city and the largest city of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Founded in 38 BC it is also one of the oldest German cities.

The most famous building in Cologne and the city’s iconic landmark is Cologne Cathedral, a World Heritage Site.
Even though the foundation stone of the cathedral was laid on August 15th, 1248 the cathedral wasn’t completed before 1880. During WW2 72% of the city centre were destroyed but the cathedral survived and can still be seen from nearly everywhere in the city centre and many other places. The towers with a height of about 157metres (the north tower is 7cm higher than the south tower) dominate the city’s skyline.

The cathedral houses the Shrine of the Three Kings that is said to contain the relics of the Three Magi.

Cologne © Rolf H./flickr.com

But apart from Cologne Cathedral there are twelve Romanic churches in Cologne, as well as other medieval buildings and three of the formerly twelve city gates. The Cologne City Hall established in the 12th century is the oldest German city hall still in use. In the 15th century the Renaissance style loggia and tower were added.

Cologne also boasts 36 museums and more than 100 art galleries. And it is a green city too with many parks and gardens. Besides several bridges crossing over the Rhine there also is the Cologne Cable Car connecting the two banks of the Rhine near Cologne’s Zoo Bridge (Zoobrücke).

And Cologne is of course famous for its beer, the Kölsch. The top-fermented beer is served in typical glasses and is part of the Cologne culture. The best place to drink Kölsch certainly is one of the small brew houses you can find everywhere in the city.