Würzburg Residence, Würzburg, Germany

Germany-27, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Received Postcards.

The Würzburg Residenz (Residence) is a palace in Würzburg, Germany. It was designed by several of the leading Baroque architects. Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt and Maximilian von Welsch, leading representants of the Austrian/South German Baroque were involved as well as Robert de Cotte and Germain Boffrand, who were prominent architects of the French Style. Balthasar Neumann, architect of the court of the bishop of Würzburg, was the principal architect of the Residenz, which was commissioned by the prince bishop of Würzburg Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn and his brother Friedrich Carl von Schönborn in 1720 and was completed in 1744. The Venetian painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, assisted by his son, Domenico, painted frescoes in the building. The most spectacular interiors include the grand staircase, the chapel and the grand salon. The building was dubbed the "nicest parsonage in Europe" by Napoleon. It was heavily damaged in World War II, and restoration has been in progress since 1945.