Schloss Berchtesgaden

The Königliches Schloss Berchtesgaden stands in the market town of Berchtesgaden, at the northern edge of the Berchtesgaden Alps. Its oldest parts date from about 1102, when an Augustinian canons’ foundation was begun by Countess Irmingard of Sulzbach and her son Berengar. Over the centuries the complex grew into a large ensemble of church, cloister and residential wings in Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles. In 1810 the Wittelsbach royal family took possession, turning part of the former provost’s residence into a summer palace for Bavarian kings. The palace is worth visiting for its layered history and the objects it still contains. Rupprecht Crown Prince of Bavaria lived here with his family from 1922 to 1933 and opened rooms to the public, creating the nucleus of today’s museum. The guided tour passes through thirty furnished chambers that hold original furniture, tapestries and paintings from successive epochs. Three armoury rooms display hunting weapons, armour and polearms spanning three centuries. Visitors follow a route through the former provost’s apartments and royal reception rooms. The Great Dining Hall displays Nymphenburg porcelain made in 1755 to represent the palace gardens, once so admired that guards were posted to protect it. Elsewhere works by Tilman Riemenschneider, Veit Stoß and artists of the Munich School hang on the walls. In summer the small rose garden opens beside the cloister. In the former stables the Rehmuseum presents trophies and natural-history collections assembled by Albrecht Duke of Bavaria, offering another perspective on the region’s wildlife and hunting traditions.