Herrenchiemsee New Palace: Gallery of mirrors

Like the State Bedroom, Ludwig II initially had the Versailles Gallery of Mirrors depicted by the stage designer Christian Jank (1833-1888) in one of his private performances on the stage of the Munich Court Theatre in 1873. The king demanded a true-to-scale copy of the Herrenchiemsee Gallery, which was built between 1879 and 1881 according to plans and under the direction of Georg Dollmann (1830-1895). Along with the architectural structure, the extensive imagery of the barrel vault from Versailles was also adopted, representations of the deeds of King Louis XIV (1638-1715), in which the history of France from the Peace of the Pyrenees (1659) to the Peace of Nymwegen (1678) is reflected.

In contrast, the ceiling ornamentation, which was only painted in Versailles, was executed here in solid, gilded stucco, with figures in the paintings merging into the sculpture of the stucco in places in accordance with Baroque Bavarian tradition. Ludwig II also had the historical furnishings of this gallery, long lost in Versailles, recreated at great, excessive expense: reproductions of antique sculptures, busts of emperors, ornamental vases set in silver and gilded vases for orange trees in the window niches, 44 candelabras and 33 chandeliers. The lighting fixtures in particular are far larger than their historical models and bathed this mirrored hall in radiant light with over 2,000 candles when Ludwig II visited his "Temple of the Fame to Louis XIV" alone at night.

Uwe Gerd Schatz