Your tour begins in the elegant Court Garden of the Würzburg Residence, a refined green space laid out between 1613 and 1617 under Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria. Designed in the style of an Italian Renaissance garden, it offers a harmonious introduction to Würzburg’s aristocratic past. At its center stands the Diana Pavilion, completed in 1615 by Heinrich Schön the Elder, with radiating paths extending from its arches in symmetrical fashion. Crowning the pavilion is a replica of Hubert Gerhard’s statue of Bavaria (1623), while the original design of the garden can still be admired inside the Kaisersaal of the Residence.

You will then step into the grandeur of the Würzburg Residence itself, one of Europe’s most celebrated Baroque palaces and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Commissioned in 1720 by Prince-Bishop Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn and his brother Friedrich Carl, the palace was designed by the brilliant court architect Balthasar Neumann and completed in 1744. Its scale and artistic ambition reflect the power and prestige of the Prince-Bishops, making it a defining symbol of Würzburg.