Neues Schloss Schleissheim

The Neues Schloss Schleissheim is a palace on the scale of Versailles — begun in 1701 for Elector Max Emanuel of Bavaria, who intended it as an imperial residence and filled it with one of the finest collections of Baroque painting in Central Europe. The state rooms are a succession of gilded ceilings, painted walls, and Flemish and Dutch masterworks: Rubens, Titian, and Van Dyck all hang here.

Unlike the main Munich museums, the Neues Schloss rarely feels overcrowded. The formal gardens between the palace and Lustheim — designed with long water canals and geometric parterres — give the setting a grandeur that requires the space to appreciate. The combination of architectural ambition, superb paintings, and manageable visitor numbers makes this one of the better-value palace experiences in Bavaria. Admission is moderate; the Bavarian palace pass covers multiple sites.

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A story
Elector Max Emanuel commissioned the Neues Schloss in 1701 when he fully expected to be elevated to Holy Roman Emperor. The ambition failed — Bavaria ended up on the losing side of the War of Spanish Succession — and the palace, though completed eventually, was never the seat of power its patron imagined. The grand state rooms he never inhabited are now open to the public, still set with the paintings he collected in Flanders during his years as governor there.