Wittelsbacher Palais

The Wittelsbach Palace was a major Neo-Gothic city palace in Munich, built between 1843 and 1848 to designs by Friedrich von Gärtner. The red brick building, which drew on elements of English Gothic, originally served Bavarian Crown Prince Maximilian, but later became the retirement residence of King Ludwig I. It subsequently became the home of King Ludwig III, who addressed the people from here in 1914 at the outbreak of World War I. The building had a checkered history: in 1919 it became the meeting place of the Munich Soviet Republic, and from 1933 it served as headquarters of the secret police. In this connection, prison cells were built in the garden, where the Scholl siblings, among others, were held.

After heavy damage from air raids in 1944, the palace was completely demolished in the postwar period. The headquarters of the Bavarian State Bank was later built on the former site. Only a few traces of the once magnificent building survive today. Since 1984, a memorial plaque at the corner of Brienner Strasse and Türkenstrasse has commemorated the historical significance of the site. In addition, two sandstone lions that flanked the portal survived. One of these lions now stands as a monument in front of the Catholic Academy, while a replica can be seen in front of the bank's north entrance.