St. Emmeram’s Palace, residence of the princely Thurn und Taxis family, is situated in the south of the old town of Regensburg. Boasting well over 500 rooms, it is the largest privately inhabited palace in Germany. The magnificent palace is built on the extensive complex of one of Europe’s most important Benedictine abbeys, the Imperial Abbey of St. Emmeram. The oldest sections of the complex date back to the 12th century.

Past & Present

The Princely House was awarded the secularised monastery complex in 1812 as part of the compensation paid by the Kingdom of Bavaria when the Thurn und Taxis postal service was nationalised. Conversions and extensions then lasted for 100 years, creating what is now the principal residence of the Princes of Thurn und Taxis. Albert II, Prince of Thurn und Taxis, is the 12th prince to reside at the complex.

The centrepiece of the palace complex, the abbey wing, dates back to the time when the monastery was first established, and the oldest preserved part of the building dates back to the early 12th century. The first Benedictine monks settled here in around 800 AD, close to the tomb of St. Emmeram, founding a monastery tradition that lasted over 1,000 years. The Papal Basilica of St. Emmeram is one of the oldest and most important baroque churches in Bavaria, while the former St. Emmeram Monastery numbers among the most significant abbeys in the German-speaking world. Our visitors are invited to view the medieval cloister at the monastery, the princely crypt chapel, the state rooms of the Princely Family, the former stables with the carriage collection and the princely treasury.

Overlooking Fürst-Anselm-Allee, visitors enjoy a stunning view of the imposing south wing, which was completed in 1883 and is the last palace building in Bavaria, as well as the palace grounds set in an English landscape park designed by Carl von Effner.