Ellingen Residence

The Residenz Ellingen is a Baroque palace in the Bavarian town of Ellingen. It stands on a site where a castle has existed since at least 1219. For over four centuries the Teutonic Order owned the castle, making it the residence of the Franconian commander. In the early 18th century Karl Heinrich von Hornstein commissioned architect Franz Keller to redesign the palace in Baroque style. Later, in 1775, Pierre Michel d’Ixnard added Neoclassical elements. The palace passed from the Teutonic Order to Bavaria in the late 18th century. The palace is worth visiting for its layered history and fine interiors. The Baroque church and princely suites contain original floors, wall panelling and frescoes by Franz Joseph Roth. The Neoclassical rooms rank among the finest in Bavaria, shaped by d’Ixnard and later by Field Marshal Karl Philipp von Wrede. After World War II parts of the Baroque garden were lost, yet a single balustrade remains. The western wing now houses the Kulturzentrum Ostpreußen, a centre devoted to East Prussian culture. Visitors find a mixture of Baroque and Neoclassical architecture set beside a park. The church shows rich stucco work and painted ceilings from the early 18th century. Neoclassical rooms display clean lines and restrained ornament from the late 18th century. The adjacent park blends former formal terraces with later landscape gardening. A single surviving balustrade marks the site of the original Baroque garden. The palace is administered today by the Bavarian state and parts are rented for events.