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 PARIS10  #8  Neue Pinakothek & Residenz  

Monday August 23, 2010

              I woke at 3:25, 5:35 and again at 8:20 from a vivid dream.  I got up at 9:10 and was out the door.  I stopped at 9:30 at Rosen Apokoteke and by 10:00 I was on my run again in the Hofg�rten.  Below left is part of the building bordering the park.  I decided to leave the Hofg�rten and explore farther afield.

            I went past the Bayerische Staatskanzlei (left) with the Unknown Soldier tomb memorial in front (below right.)

            To get around to the other side of this building, I had to go along this ancient wall and discovered there is a very busy street out there but also a beautiful little park...

...a little brook running through it and bridges to cross.

            I enjoyed the weeping willows very much.  I have liked them since I was a kid growing up in Upstate New York where they were very prevalent.

            As I continued on, there was this very cute little classic building on the corner where Von Der Tan Stra�e makes a big wide bend.

            While still running, at 10:20, I took a photo of this large impressive building on  Prinzregentenstra�e and ran inside but there wasn't really much to see.

            I looked it up later and discovered it is a rather important building called the Haus den Kunst.  Below is a Bing map of the building.

            The Haus der Kunst (House of Art) [1 Prinzregentenstra�e] was constructed from 1934-7 by the architect Paul Ludwig Troost, as the Third Reich's first monumental structure of Nazi architecture and as Nazi propaganda.  The "Tag der deutschen Kunst" ("Day of German Art") celebration showing Adolf Hitler, Hermann G�ring, Joseph Goebbels, Heinrich Himmler, Albert Speer, Robert Ley, Reinhard Heydrich is available on VHS and DVD.  Below is a winter time photo I found which shows the columns of the building since the tree leaves don't cover them up.

            After the end of WWII, the museum building was first used by the American occupation forces as an officer's mess; and became known as the "P1," a shortening of its street address.  Since 1983, the museum building now houses the nightclub "P1" and is Munich's famous high-society hang-out.  Today, while housing no permanent art exhibition of its own, the museum is still used as a showcase building for temporary exhibitions and for visiting exhibits.  Among many others, it has shown the Tutankhamen exhibit and the Zeit der Staufer exhibits.

            Beyond where I ran was something more spectacular architecturally, the Bayerisches National Museum [3 Prinzregentenstra�e, +49-89-211-2401] which is Bavaria's cultural museum.  Its too bad I didn't run just a little further.  It was built by King Maximilian II in 1855.  Its hours are 10-5, Thursday to 8 and closed Mondays.  The prices are �5, Senior �4 and Sundays �1.  So plan to go there on a Sunday.  There are many interesting exhibits of German culture; a cr�che from 1750 (left) and "The Rape of the Sabine" from 1600 (right.)  BTW, Munich has a great website to find about all its museums called Museumsportal Munich.  Just click on it (right) to visit it.

            The building is beautiful (Bing map above.)  Below are the layout maps of the floors and what is displayed there.

            Something else I missed on all my running around was the stately Bavarian Parliament Building (or Maximilianeum) (below) which is just across the Maximiliansbr�cke (bridge) on Max-Planck-stra�e.

            This building is also quite a spectacular structure.  The Maximilianeum was built by King Maximilian II (beginning in 1857) as the home of a gifted students' foundation and since 1949, has housed the Bavarian Landtag (state parliament).  The leading architect was Friedrich B�rklein (left,) a student of our friend G�rtner.  B�rklein also created the Central Station in Munich (1847�9) as well as the stations for the cities of Augsburg, Bamberg, Ansbach, Neu-Ulm, Hof, N�rdlingen, Rosenheim, W�rzburg, Nuremberg and Bad Kissingen.

            The Landtag is the unicameral legislature of the state of Bavaria and between 1946 and 1999 there was also an upper house called the Senate of Bavaria.  Above right is the meeting room called the Plenarsaal.  This will be a good time to discuss the politics here.  From the table below you can see that the center right (CSU) and the center left (SPD) parties saw quite a loss in the last election, however the CSU is still the majority party.  Note they have a Republican Party (1.4%.)

            Compare this to the last election (2008) of the Munich city government (Stadtratswahl) which is much more left wing (SDP, red.)

            I finished my run at 10:30 and had another cappuccino at SFCC and worked on my computer.  Dr. Tom Neuhann called and told me he had booked rooms for us in the town of Prien on Lake Chiemsee.  The Shammases were to land in Munich at 11:00 so I had to get moving.

            At 12:20 I left and I wanted to tour the Residenz.  I tried every way I could but I just couldn't find the entrance.  In frustration, I decided to give up and instead head to the museum area and see something else.  I headed down Briennerstra�e again and got to Karolinenplatz and got to see the large memorial obelisk (below) up close.

            The base has four plaques.  The first says "The Thirty Thousand Bavarians Who Died in the Russian War" and the other says "And They Died for the Liberation of the Fatherland."

            The third one says "Erected by King Ludwig I, King of Bavaria" and the fourth "Completed on October 18, 1833."

            One of the buildings on the circle was called the "Amerika Haus."

            There was an American and Canadian flag out front so it must be about English-speaking America.  This was originally housed in the Haus der Kunst (see above) right after WWII.

            I took the circle around and turned right on Barerstra�e (below map) and passed by the Pinakothek der Moderne, we visited before, on the right...

...and got a shot of this large red sculpture in front of it (below left.)  I then crossed the street and got a shot of the side of the Alte Pinakothek (below right.)

            I had to go around the building and then cross this large grassy expanse in front of the Alte Pinakothek and Photostitch gave me this shot of the entire building (below.)

            Note the dual sculpture on the grass (above.)  Below is a close-up shot from the front (left) and the back (right.)

            It is a work by H. Noack of Berlin.  Once I crossed the grass and Theresienstra�e, at 1:00, I arrived at the front of the Neue Pinakothek [29 Barer Stra�e, +49-892-899-6500] and the entry fee was �5.  This museum was founded by the King Ludwig I in 1853.  The original building was constructed by Friedrich von G�rtner and August von Voit and was destroyed in WWII. The ruins were demolished in 1949.  Below is a photo of it in 1880.

            The new postmodern building (below) was designed by architect Alexander Freiherr von Branca and opened in 1981.  Its focus is European Art of the 18th and 19th Century and is considered to be one of the most important museums for 19th Century art in the world.  Below is the front of the museum using Photostitch.

            Below left is the front entrance door and on the left a Bing map of it.

            For compariso, on the left (below) is the Google map.  This is the sculpture in the front by Marino Marini (1901-80) called "Miracolo" from 1959.

            They give you a floor plan and index for the various exhibits (below.)

            Below will be all the shots I took of the art here.  Most are labeled with the artist's name (birth-death,) title of the work in German and English and the year the work was done.  At the bottom it describes where they got it from.  If you have no interest in the pieces, just scroll past it all.  The first has no tag.

            Below are a series of paintings of landscapes in Greece by Carl Rottmann from a collection of Ernst von Siemens.  Below from L-R are: "Eleusis" 1843, "Korinth" 1847 and "Nemea" 1850, ...

..."Kopaissee" 1839, "Olympia" 1839, "Theben" 1842 and "Aulis" 1847 ...

... finally "Pronia" 1847 and "Sparta-Ebene" 1841.

            Below are two close ups I took of the women's faces.

            Above you can see how large some of these works are.  Note the painting of Max II (above right) in the center.  Below is an example of a painting photographed from an angle and below left after it has been straightened and cropped.

            C�zanne is OK but I sure wouldn't want a face like von Keyserling (above right,) poor guy.

On the left is my shot and on the right is one I found.

            Below left is my shot of Monet's "La Seine � Argenteuil" and on the right is one I found.

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Above and below compares my shots (on left) with ones I found (on right.)

            As you have seen, this is a collection of all the famous artists of note.

            Above is the main entry area looking out (above) and looking in (below.)

            Finished with my visit, at 2:30 I went into their Museum shop (below left) and bought two short pens and a marker.  I left the museum at 2:35 and got a call from my friend Wolfgang from W�rzburg, so I chatted with him by the outdoor waterscape (below right.)  If he hadn't called me I would have walked out without getting my computer.  I ran back inside and down to the basement to retrieve it.

            Meanwhile, at 1:05 Marcia bought shoes, a hat and a hair band at Shuster [3 Rosenstra�e, +49-8-923-7070] and then at 1:20 she had lunch at Dinea (a chain) [11 F�rstenfelderstra�e, +49-892-318-5757.]  At 2:15 she found her way to the Galeria [Am Marienplatz 1, +49-8-923-1850,] the big department store and got some pillows.

            I started my walk back and came across this huge building under construction.

            I got a shot of the signboard (below left) saying what it was but had to straighten out the photo (right) to be able to read it.

            At 2:45 I walked back to Odeonsplatz.  At 3:25 Marcia was buying cosmetics and gifts back at the Galeria.

            I was determined to find the entrance to the Residenz Museum and after asking several people I finally found it.  From below you can see how I got confused earlier.

            At 3:30 I entered the door above and paid �7 for the ticket (below left) and got a brochure (right.)

            This satyr (left) welcomes you to the place.  From the warning sign you can see they ban flash photography but its OK to take pictures without a flash.

            Below is a sign telling the history of the Residenz which saves me from typing it all.  Take a few moments to read it.

            Below is a map of this huge complex with numbered descriptions.

            Here is the floor plan for the ground floor.  I wound up going into the tiniest of the courtyards (surrounded by the blue rooms) called the Grotto Courtyard.

            Here is the floor plan for the upper rooms.

            As you enter the Grotto Courtyard you can see a lot of ornate structures.  I have no idea their origin.

            Here is the grotto topped by a golden statue.

            Then I had to cross the Neptune Courtyard to get into the museum.

            I started to enter this long beautiful hallway but was stopped by this very nice girl who told me that was the way out not the way in.  It is called the Ancestral Gallery (#4 on map); more on that later, at the end.

            They start with a little on the Wittelsbach dynasty and a model of the Residenz.

            Then I entered this spectacular long hallway called the Antiquarium (#7 map) and Porcelain Gallery.  Below is a view half way down the hall and below that one from one end to the other.

            The building was originally called the Grottenhof.  The porcelain pieces were quite interesting.

            Without photostitching, I never could have gotten a panoramic shot of this room.

            The walls of the hall were covered with busts of all the Roman Emperors, e.g. Trajan is the bust on the far right.

            Above right is the end of the hall where I came in with a closer shot of it below left.  On the right is the other end of the hall which is similar.

            From here on, I will let the signs descripe the scenes.  The numbers after the name indicate the position of the room on the map above.

China Kangxi (1662-1722) above & below left.  I was now in the Upper Rooms.  The Elector was the name given to the "Duke," "King" or ruler at the time.

            They forbade photographing this church so excuse the odd angles of the pix.

            Here is this hallway was another model of the Residenz in wood.

            Below left is the beautiful cabinet in the panorama above.  The painting of the Prince on the ceiling is below right.

            This chapel below was so tight the photo below took four shots to stitch.  The ceiling here was just spectacular to see.

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            Unfortunately, there was no way to get this shot without me in it.

            This photostitch is chopped up because it was the only way to give some impression of the end of this ornate room.

            The tag says "Johann Karl Friedrich von Ostrin(o?) Mainz 1745"

            I am now back to where I started, the beautiful Ancestral Gallery.

            I was now finished and at 4:30 headed to the Schatzkammer which was included in the ticket price.  This is where all the jewels and crowns are kept.

            Below are just a few examples of what they had on display.  Krone means crown and K�nigen means Kings.

            I new time was running out for me so at 4:50 I made my way to see the Cuvilli�s-Theater and wound up in this very large Fountain Courtyard.  I found the registration desk and found out I had to pay an extra �2 to see it.  Below is the map.

            Before I went in, I had to get some shots of the courtyard and the fountain.

            The entry way to the theater was covered with glass and took 4 photos to get it.

            The photostitch above was not perfect but gives you a sense of the grand scale of the Theater.  Below is a shot looking back at the entrance.  You can see the King's box in the center above the entry.

            Above is a final shot of the complex just before I left.  It looks like I covered it all before it closed.  I was exhausted and done with touring so at 5:00 I went across the street to relax after all that walking and have another cappuccino at SFCC (right.)  You can see the entrance to the Residenz out the window of the coffee shop

  At 5:30 Marcia was buying papeterie at Das Plus [29 Sendlinger Stra�e] so she was finding her way around.  At 6:00 I decided it was time to head back and while walking I got a call from my friend Giacomo about our presentations coming up in Venezia.  I arrived at Rosen Apoteke at 6:30 and then went back to the room to change for dinner.

            At 7:10 we met John and Najwa Shammas in our hotel (Mercure) lobby where he was also staying.  Then he introduced us to his cousin Ralph and his wife Isabel who live here in Munich.  It was great to meet them.  We all walked to Marienplatz and I got this shot of John and Ralph (above left) in front of the Neues Rathaus.

            At 7:30 we arrived at his chosen place (and our favorite) Sp�tenhaus an der Oper [Residenzstra�e 12, +49-89-290-7060] for dinner.  Below left is John and Ralph, center Isabel and on the right is Najwa and Marcia.

            We ordered a bottle of Gr�nes Veltliner wine for dinner and then Ralph ordered something I had not seen before.  It was Speck mit radishes (ham with thinly shaved white radishes) (below left.)

            I had two Spaten helles and then goulash with spaetzle (above right) for an appetizer followed by � roast duck with spaetzle (below left) and red cabbage (below right.)  Marcia had the goulash for her entree and John & Najwa also had the duck.

            As usual, it was all excellent.  We said good-bye to Ralph and Isabel (below left) and then walked back to the hotel at 10:00 and at 10:15 Marcia was enjoying some B�rgerspital 2009 Silvaner wine from W�rzburg in the lobby with John & Najwa.

            We went up to our room and I copied my photographs to the Terabyte drive and went to bed at 11:30 PM.

KJH                                                                          Go To -> NEXT DIARIO #9 

Kenneth J. Hoffer, MD

KHofferMD@AOL.com                       

Munich, Germany

8-23-2010

Sent 3/24/2011

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