Palais Seyssel d’Aix

Palais Seyssel d’Aix stands in Munich’s Maxvorstadt as an architectural landmark with a layered cultural history. The building began as a Biedermeier residence for merchant Carl Reschreiter. Edwin Graf von Seyssel d’Aix later acquired the residence, giving the palace its name. Franz Rank’s construction company reshaped the palace in the Régence style. Its present design draws on French villas, with balanced forms and two wrought-iron gates. The gates frame symmetrical remises, former carriage-storage buildings beside the palace. The palace served as a temporary residence for Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli during the early twentieth century. Pacelli later became Pope Pius XII. The building later housed the Apostolic Nunciature and the American Forces Network after the Second World War. The palace became home to the Institut français, linking it with French culture and education. A surrounding park once contained a greenhouse and a historic fountain. The façade, gates, remises, and park form a connected architectural setting around the palace.