Kurfürstliches Palais

Kurfürstliches Palais brings together a site associated with Constantine’s symbolic throne hall, Renaissance wings, and a rococo south wing. Its architecture records changing claims to worldly power. Late-sixteenth-century archbishops added grand Renaissance wings to an older site associated with imperial ambition. The palace continued to grow across several historical centuries. In the mid-eighteenth century, Johannes Seiz replaced the Renaissance south wing with rococo design and created the grand staircase. The staircase remains a defining interior feature of the palace. Ferdinand Tietz shaped the gardens with lively sculptures, while originals are held in the city museum. The palace gardens also contain a distinctive water-clock fountain. The Red Tower began as an archive and now holds basilica bells, linking practical history with sound. The palace is also recorded as wheelchair accessible. French troops later opened the state rooms and used them as barracks, adding conflict to the palace’s long history. The south wing provides a setting for concerts and classical music.