UNESCO World Heritage Sites — Bavaria
Germany is home to 44 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, ranging from historical buildings and constructions to exceptional natural landscapes. Located throughout the country, these sites are recognised for their “outstanding universal value to humanity” and reflect Germany’s rich cultural and natural history.
Five of Germany’s 44 UNESCO World Heritage Sites are located in Bavaria.
Würzburg Residence with the Court Gardens and the Residence Square (1981)
Having been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1981, the Würzburg Residence is Bavaria’s oldest and Germany’s second-oldest site. The baroque palace was constructed between 1719 and 1781 and is the result of accumulated expertise from architects, painters, sculptors and stucco-workers from Austria, Italy, France and Germany under the supervision of iconic Germanic architect Johann Balthasar Neumann. Having suffered partial destructions during WWII, reconstruction commenced immediately after the war and lasted about 40 years. Today, it is home to several museums and hosts parts of the local university. In 2017, the Residence, its beautiful Court Gardens and its Residence Square attracted 344,215 visitors.
Pilgrimage Church of Wies (1983)
The sanctuary of Wies is situated near Steingaden in the beautiful setting of a Bavarian Alpine valley. It is home to extraordinarily well-preserved ingenious and creative composition rococo artwork. Dating back to the 1740s, the pilgrimage church symbolises German tradition. According to a myth, a wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column cried as it was forgotten by the Premonstratensian monks of the abbey. To honour this miracle, the local monks built a wooden chapel which was soon replaced by the magnificent Pilgrimage Church of Wies due to an influx of pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and Italy. The construction (1745–1754) was overseen by master-architect Dominikus Zimmermann who laid great emphasis on a harmonious synergy between the art and the countryside. All art forms and techniques were melded by the architect into a perfect, unified whole, in order to create a diaphanous spatial structure of light and form. UNESCO is impressed by the church’s lively colours of the paintings, its frescoes and stuccowork as well as the church’s abundance of motifs and figures, providing the observer with fresh surprises.
It has been UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983.
Town of Bamberg (1993)
The medieval town of Bamberg is located in the district of Upper Franconia. Its main attraction is its impressively well-preserved Old Town; an architectural ensemble of historic buildings, museums and churches, overlooked by an imposing cathedral and the magnificent Michaelsberg Abbey. A number of facets are testament to the city’s versatility: It is a university town, a beer brewing hub, and owes much of its Franconian charm to its gorgeous location, built on seven hills and on an island. From the 10th century onwards, Bamberg was an important link to the Slavic peoples, particularly those of Polish and Pomeranian origin. During its peak prosperity in the 12th century, the town was heavily influenced by northern German and Hungarian architecture. According to UNESCO, Bamberg functioned as a centre of the Enlightenment in southern Germany during the 18th century, with eminent philosophers and writers such as Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and E.T.A. Hoffmann residing there.
It has been UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993.
Old town of Regensburg with Stadtamhof (2006)
Situated on the banks of the Danube River, UNESCO praises the Old Town of Regensburg with Stadtamhof as an exceptional example of a central-European medieval trading centre — a medley of cultural and architectural influences. A variety of buildings from two millennia of structural continuity, including Roman, Romanesque and Gothic architecture, are evidence of Regensburg’s high political, religious, and economic ranks from the 9th century onwards. However, it is the town’s dark and narrow lanes and strong fortifications dating back to the 11th to 13th centuries that define the character of Regensburg until this day, such as the 12th century Stone Bridge. Numerous buildings allude to its history as one of the centres of the Holy Roman Empire, like the Patrician towers, large Romanesque and Gothic church buildings and monasteries as well as the cathedral St Peter and the late Gothic town hall.
It has been UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2006.
Margravial Opera House Bayreuth (2012)
Inscribed as a World Heritage in 2012, the Margravial Opera House in Bayreuth is the most recent Bavarian UNESCO site. It was erected during the 18th century for Margravine Wilhelmine of Brandenburg and is considered a masterpiece of Baroque theatre architecture. Its bell-shaped auditorium of tiered loges built of wood and lined with decoratively painted canvas was designed by Giuseppe Galli Bibiena, an iconic figure in European theatre architecture of the time. As an independent court opera house rather than part of a palace complex, it marks a key point in opera house design, foreshadowing the large public theatres of the 19th century. Today it survives as the only entirely preserved example of court opera house architecture where Baroque court opera culture and acoustics can be authentically experienced. After six years of renovation work, the Opera house was festively re-opened in March 2018 with a performance of Artaserse — the very piece performed for its initial opening in 1748.
