Maximilianeum

The Maximilianeum, a palatial building in Munich, was built as the home of a gifted students' foundation but since 1949 has housed the Bavarian State Parliament. History The Maximilianeum was initially an educational foundation set up by King Maximilian II of Bavaria in 1852 to prepare gifted students for the civil service. Construction of the building was the initiative of King Maximilian II in 1857, with Friedrich Bürklein the lead architect. The Maximilianeum sits grandly and as a focal point on the bank of the Isar River above Maximilian Bridge at the eastern end of Maximilianstrasse, a royal avenue dotted with Neo-Gothic palaces influenced by the English Perpendicular style. Weight problems delayed completion until 1874, and the façade, which had been conceived as Neo-Gothic, needed to be altered; Gottfried Semper was entrusted with the adjustments, resulting in the final quasi-Renaissance appearance decorated with arches, columns, mosaics, and niches filled with busts. Until 1918, it also housed a "historical gallery" and the royal page school.