Schloss Seehof

About the museum

Schloss Seehof near Memmelsdorf, northeast of Bamberg, served the prince-bishops of Bamberg as a summer and hunting residence. On the site of a late-15th-century country house, Prince-Bishop Marquard Sebastian Schenk von Stauffenberg had a four-winged complex with striking corner towers built from 1687 to plans by Antonio Petrini; its furnishings were added to until the late 18th century.

Under Prince-Bishop Adam Friedrich von Seinsheim, the complex reached its Rococo heyday. Giuseppe Appiani painted the ceiling fresco of the White Hall in 1751, sculptor Ferdinand Tietz and his workshop created hundreds of sandstone figures for the park, and the great cascade with its fountains was built.

After secularization, Seehof passed into private ownership. In the 20th century, furniture, artworks and garden sculptures were sold and scattered around the world. In 1975 the Free State of Bavaria acquired the complex and had it restored over decades; the cascade has been running again since 1995. Parts of the palace are used by the Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments (Bayerisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege).

Today the Bavarian Palace Administration (Bayerische Schlösserverwaltung) shows nine state rooms, including the prince-bishops' apartment, on guided tours. In the western orangery, the Ferdinand-Tietz-Museum displays original sculptures from the palace garden.

Highlights

• White Hall with ceiling fresco by Giuseppe Appiani (1751)
• Great cascade with fountains
• Ferdinand-Tietz-Museum with original garden sculptures
• Apartment of the prince-bishops
• Rococo palace park

Permanent exhibitions

• Prunkräume und Appartement der Fürstbischöfe – Guided tour through nine restored rooms of the summer residence, with the White Hall as the highlight.
• Ferdinand-Tietz-Museum – The western orangery displays original sandstone figures from the Rococo garden, which was once adorned with more than 400 sculptures.

Operated by

Bayerische Schlösserverwaltung (Schloss- und Gartenverwaltung Bamberg)

Admission & discounts

2026 prices.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: not available
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: not available

Elevator (door width 85 cm); rooms are step-free with door thresholds 2–3 cm high; staff assist at the entrances. Accessible restrooms in the palace and in the eastern orangery (café). Four accessible parking spaces approx. 450 m from the entrance. The orangery museum has an entrance step of approx. 15 cm. No tactile guidance system, no induction loops. Some park paths have gradients of more than 6%.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Restaurant
• Wi-Fi

Restaurant-café in the eastern orangery (schloss-seehof.com). Free Wi-Fi.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Weddings / ceremonies

Up to 416 guests.

Orangery for receptions, dinners and concerts (up to 416 people); palace chapel (up to 80 people) for non-religious wedding ceremonies; side room of the chapel (up to 40 people) for civil weddings.

Plan your visit