Garden structure The park, once an
Italian garden (1671), which was enlarged and rearranged in
French style by
Dominique Girard, a pupil of
Le Nôtre, was finally redone in the
English manner during the early 19th century by
Friedrich Ludwig von Sckell, on behalf of prince-elector
Charles Theodore. Von Sckell was also the creator of the
English Garden in Munich. He preserved the main elements of the Baroque garden (such as the "Grand Parterre"). The park is bisected by the long western canal along the principal axis which leads from the palace to the marble cascade (decorated with stone figures of Greek and Roman gods) in the west. The iron greenhouse north of the Grand Parterre was completed in 1807, the adjacent geranium house in 1816. Image:Schlosspark Nymphenburg-Vorschau.png|391px|Overview: 1 Palace, 2 Grand parterre, 3 Crown prince garden, 4 Amalienburg, 5 Dörfchen with Brunnhaus, 6 Badenburg, 7 Monopteros, 8 Marble cascade, 9 Pagodenburg, 10 Magdalenenklause, 11 Botanical Garden default The garden
parterre is still a visible feature of the French garden. As part of the transformation of the entire castle grounds by Sckell it was simplified, but retained its original size. The "Grand Cascade" was built by Joseph Effner in 1717. He was referring to a concept of François Roëttiers. The water falls in the middle of a two-part water staircase, the first stage being half round to the west, the second, deeper, is formed to the east. The cascade consists of symmetry which continues through the centre channel. The right side of the cataract was covered with pink marble in 1770. Originally a supporting architecture was to be provided, which was never executed. Instead, from 1775 to 1785, sculptures were added. Many were the work of
Dominik Auliczek and
Roman Anton Boos, who later added twelve decorative marble vases with mythological themes.
on the right, of the Danube'' on the left The fountains in front of the palace and in the garden
parterre continue to be operated by the water powered
Pumping Stations built between 1803 and 1808. The Northern Cabinet Garden is small garden that borders directly the garden side of the north wing of the main palace. It is also called
Kaisergarten, because it is in the immediate vicinity of the rooms where Charles Albert lived during his time in Munich as
Emperor Charles VII. It has its counterpart in the Southern Cabinet Garden where
François de Cuvilliés built an octagonal bird house in 1757. Two lakes are situated on both sides of the canal. The "Dörfchen" was created under Maximilian III Joseph as
Petit hameau. The "Salettl" (1799), a cottage with its little garden nearby close to the former menagerie served as attraction for the children of Maximilian IV Joseph. The garden wall (1730–1735) preserves several
Ha-ha effects. A passage close to the old
arboretum in the north of the Grand Parterre leads to the large
Botanical Garden of Munich. Originally there was also a visual axis, the
Durchblick, to the north-west-located
Blutenburg Castle. The canals of Nymphenburg are part of the northern Munich channel system, a system of waterways that connected also to the complex of
Schleissheim Palace. The endpoint of the eastern canal leading from the city to the palace forms the
Cour d'honneur and the centre was designed by Effner as a water parterre with a fountain, cascade and branching canals on both sides. The driveway ("Auffahrtsallee") from the city on both sides of the eastern canal is framed by a semicircle of smaller baroque buildings ("Kavalierhäuser") at the Cour d'honneur. The eastern endpoint of the canal is the
Hubertusbrunnen (1903, a fountain building by
Adolf von Hildebrand).
Garden pavilions , Royal hunting lodge Within the park, a number of pavilions - palaces en miniature - were built: • The
Pagodenburg (1716–1719) – an octagonal, two-story pavilion with
Delft tile decoration downstairs and
Chinoiserie upstairs. It was built by
Joseph Effner as "maison de plaisance" and
tea house. • The
Badenburg (1719–1721) – a
Baroque pavilion also by Joseph Effner. It served for the private bathing and contains several rooms including a grand banqueting hall with a festive ornament decor by Charles Dubut and a very large tiled bath with a pool. The dressing room is decorated with various Chinese printed wallpapers. In the Monkey Cabinet the Elector performed his toilette. It was the first major building in Europe for centuries that was exclusively for the purpose of enjoying a comfortable bathroom. • The
Magdalenenklause – a
faux ruin for retreat and meditation, erected between 1725 and 1728. The building with its prayer room is considered as an early representative of the hermitage and the ruins of architecture in Germany; it was to serve Max Emanuel as a place of contemplation - a memento mori, whose completion the elector however did not longer witness. • The
Amalienburg – a
Rococo hunting lodge constructed in 1734–1739 by
François de Cuvilliés for
Charles Albert and his wife,
Maria Amalia of Austria, including a hall of mirrors (designed by Johann Baptist Zimmermann and Joachim Dietrich) and a kennel room for the hunting dogs. The building with its decoration is a definite masterpiece at the climax of European rococo. • The
Apollotemple – a neoclassical
monopteros temple by
Leo von Klenze, erected in 1862–1865. The architecture of the garden pavilions was influential for other architecture in Germany. So the Wittelsbach
Falkenlust Palace was built in the style of the Amalienburg while the Pagodenburg served as prototype for the building of the same name in
Rastatt. ==Tourism==