Hofgarten (München)

The Hofgarten is a rectangular garden in central Munich, between the Residenz palace and the Englischer Garten. It was laid out between 1613 and 1617 for Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria, in the Italian Renaissance style. A square pavilion dedicated to Diana stands at the centre, built in 1615 by Heinrich Schön the elder. Eight straight gravel paths radiate from the pavilion to the enclosing arches. On its roof sits a replica of Hubert Gerhard’s bronze Bavaria, cast in 1623; the original remains in the Residenz. The garden’s east side faces the Bavarian Staatskanzlei, a former army museum rebuilt in 1993 with modern glass wings. A war memorial for Munich’s Great War dead stands before the chancellery. Nearby, a black granite square remembers the White Rose group executed for opposing Hitler. The south side shows Carl Effner’s 1853 flower beds and arcades lined with wall paintings of Bavarian history. Leo von Klenze’s Hofgartentor of 1816 leads west to the Theatinerkirche. After wartime destruction the garden was restored, blending its 19th-century landscape character with the original 17th-century formality. Today it is open to all and widely used by locals and visitors. The Odeonsplatz U-Bahn station lies immediately west of the garden.