Herrenchiemsee New Palace: State bedroom

The state bedroom bears little resemblance to the comparatively plain historical "chambre de parade" of Louis XIV (1638-1715), where the essential ceremonies of "lever" and "coucher" had taken place, placing the monarch in a relationship with the sun and its course. Here at Herrenchiemsee this room is furnished with the last possible abundance, especially as the gold-embroidered panneaux are without comparison in their craftsmanship and quality. This room is the climax of the 19th century decorative arts. It was intended as a memorial space to glorify absolutist royalty.

As early as 1872 Georg Dollmann (1830-1895) designed this room in its present form with the lunettes in the area above the ceiling coving, which did not exist in Versailles. The paintings above the doors show scenes from the French court life of Louis XIV. In the ceiling painting (by E. Schwoiser) Apollo with the Olympian gods. In the rounded off bed alcove, which is enclosed by a balustrade, is a red velvet covering with the richest ornamental gold embroidery, divided by carved and gilded palm trees, modelled on the bedroom of the Rich Rooms in the Munich Residence, furnished for the ancestor of Ludwig II, Carl Albrecht, later Emperor Karl VII (1697-1745).

Like the bed canopy, the seating furniture’s covers also show mythological scenes in needle painting. On 18 September 1881 the room was handed over to the king as the first one completed in the palace.

Uwe Gerd Schatz