Elector Max Emanuel had the hunting lodge of Lustheim built between 1684 and 1688, to celebrate his wedding to the Emperor’s daughter Maria Antonia. Since the construction of the New Palace, it has provided a focal point at the end of the extensive Baroque garden. Court architect Henrico Zuccalli was guided in its design by Italian country villas, known as casino buildings.

The suites reserved for the Electoral couple adjoin the magnificent banqueting hall. On the ceilings, a cycle of frescos of art-historical importance by Francesco Rosa, Giovanni Trubillo and Johann Anton Gumpp exalts Diana, the goddess of the hunt.

The rooms are now used as a branch of the Bavarian National Museum, exhibiting a major collection of early Meissen porcelain, established by Prof. Dr. Ernst Schneider – the most important such collection next to the one in Dresden.

The palace is flanked by two pavilion buildings designed by Zuccalli: on the south side, the Baroque Renatus Chapel and on the north side, the richly frescoed ‘Beautiful Stable’.