Hofgarten
Hofgarten is one of the narrated stops on the self-guided Munich audio walking tour in Gingerguide. Plan about ~45 min here. Press play at the spot for its two to three minute story, or ask the AI guide anything about it.
- Type garden
- Suggested visit ~45 min
- Munich Munich guide
About Hofgarten
The Bavarian rulers' formal court garden behind the Residenz, its central pavilion crowned not by Diana, as everyone assumes, but by a bronze Bavaria holding out the land's grain and salt.
The Hofgarten is the formal court garden of the Munich Residenz, laid out from about 1613 under Elector Maximilian I in the Italian Renaissance style, as a geometric green extension of the palace. Its gravel paths radiate from a central open pavilion, a twelve-sided Renaissance temple built in 1615 by Heinrich Schön the Elder. The bronze figure on its dome is often called Diana, but it is in fact the Tellus Bavarica, a personification of Bavaria holding out the land's riches of water, grain, salt and game; it is a copy, the original of around 1590, attributed to Hubert Gerhard, having been moved into the Residenz for safekeeping. The present garden is a 20th-century reconstruction, the historic layout having been damaged in the Second World War. Bordered by arcades and the Bavarian State Chancellery, the Hofgarten is a popular place of rest in the middle of the city.
Did you know? The neat Renaissance garden you walk through is largely a 20th-century reconstruction: the original layout was damaged in the Second World War and carefully replanted afterwards.
How long should you spend at Hofgarten?
Plan about ~45 min at Hofgarten. That is enough to take it in and hear its narrated story; stay longer if it grabs you. The tour is self-guided, so there is no rush.
Is Hofgarten worth visiting?
Hofgarten is one of the 26 sights the Gingerguide team researched and narrated in Munich, so it earns a place on a self-guided walk. Its story explains why it matters, and you can ask the AI guide anything the story leaves open.
Nearby stops in Munich
Hear the story of Hofgarten
Preview the Munich tour free in the Gingerguide app.