Wurzburg Residenz - UNESCO World Heritage Site and Major Restoration Project!

What did it look like to be insanely rich in Germany in the 1700s? Kind of like this!

Everyone who was anyone was apparently trying to copy Versailles. How do you top Versailles? The Imperial Hall here, where there is a fusion of stucco and fresco, is the only thing I've seen so far that has to be considered a contender! If there are other examples of paintings with a 3D stucco component, please tell me, so I can make sure to visit them! The figures out lined against the windows (there's more than I fit in the video!), like the spears, are incredible.

I think that's the real reason I love architecture so much. Sure, it's fun to see how the rich and powerful lived. That's why romance books are about rich people, not poor people. But what I REALLY love is seeing what talented artisans were able to do with the money from the rich people! That is, when the rich people actually paid their bills. But the buildings are beautiful, whatever the economic and social situations.

Despite the heavy damage from Allied bombings in WWII, the frescoed ceilings ARE the real thing! The floors were burned, but somehow the frescoes survived.