Only 8 km down the River Main from Würzburg, set in one of the most important Rococo gardens in Germany, is Veitshöchheim Palace, which until 1802 was the summer residence of the Würzburg prince-bishops. The summer residence was built on the site of a hunting lodge under Prince-Bishop Peter Philipp von Dernbach from 1680 to 1682 and was enlarged from 1749 to 1753 by Balthasar Neumann, who also redesigned the roof. The ceiling stucco-work by Antonio Bossi also dates from this time, and the staircase sculptures were completed by Johann Peter Wagner in 1780.

The castle has been owned by the Bavarian Crown since 1814 and was also used as a summer palace by the royal family in the 19th century. It was not until the restoration of 1931/32 that all the rooms on the upper floor were refurbished as historical showrooms and the palace was opened to the public as a museum. 

From 2001 to 2005 the entire palace was renovated. In addition to the prince-bishop’s apartments, the rooms furnished in around 1810 for the Grand Duke Ferdinand of Tuscany are particularly worth seeing. On the ground floor is a permanent exhibition on the history of the Court Garden.