The Bavarian palaces, castles and residences will have a good 3.5 million guests in 2022. That’s almost three times as many as the year before. Much to the delight of Finance Minister Albert Füracker (CSU), who has announced further highlights for 2023.
Which Minister of State does not like to announce good deeds and good news. Of course, this also applies to Finance and Homeland Minister Albert Füracker (CSU), whose statement about the positive development of Bavaria’s palaces, castles, residences and cultural monuments suggests deep ministerial satisfaction. “Almost three times as many visitors as in 2021!” read the paper. In the past, the president of the palace administration could have announced this, but times have long since changed, and the ministers are now doing it themselves. When the castles shine, the whole of Bavaria shines.
In fact, the number of visitors has increased significantly in 2022. The statistics reveal that more than 3.5 million people have explored the sights of the Bavarian Palace Administration. The balance of the Bavarian administration of the state palaces, gardens and lakes also shows that the Walhalla in Donaustauf, the Willibaldsburg in Eichstätt, the Trausnitz Castle in Landshut as well as the old Schleißheim Palace and the Lustheim Palace were noticeably popular. In 2022, even more visitors were welcomed there than in 2019 – i.e. before the corona pandemic.
As always, the absolute magnet for visitors was Neuschwanstein Castle with 706,000 visitors. This is a whopping gain compared to 2021, when only 179,000 guests were counted due to Corona. Behind them are the Munich Residenz Museum (280,000) and the palaces of Nymphenburg (273,000), Herrenchiemsee (269,000) and Linderhof (260,000). According to Bavaria’s wishes, the royal castles should soon be part of the world cultural heritage, but this also arouses scepticism. In Schwangau, some fear an additional rush to Neuschwanstein, which swallowed around 1.5 million visitors every year before Corona. After the Corona break, there is a little room for improvement again.
Füracker named the completion of the work in the throne room of Neuschwanstein Castle and the installation of the bust of Max Planck in the Walhalla as important events in 2022.
He also announced that the Opera House Museum in Bayreuth will open in April 2023. On the occasion of the opening, the Bayreuth Residence Days will be held from April 23 to May 7, 2023 under the motto “What a party!” planned. In Johannisburg Castle in Aschaffenburg, too, the first construction phase of the overall repair is to be completed.
Füracker is planning another highlight for August 10, 2023. On that day, the museum in the constitutional convention of the Augustinian Canons on Herrenchiemsee, which was redesigned by the Bavarian Palace Administration together with the State Center for Political Education, is to be opened – on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the constitutional convention meeting.
The Bavarian Palace Administration is Germany’s largest state museum operator. Around 1,200 employees look after 45 palaces, castles and residences, 21 lakes, 27 historic parks and more than 900 individual properties. The budget amounts to 165 million euros.