Your Guide in Munich
Some of Munich's Landmarks
Cathedral Church of Our Lady - Frauenkirche
Due to the growth of the population of Munich the parishes were reorganized in 1271. A new parish, the Cathedral Church of our Lady, was added to the two existing ones - the church of Saint Peter and of the church of the Holy Spirit. In the middle of the 15th century a new construction became necessary due to fierce defects in the original cathedral. In 1468 the cornerstone was laid to the cathedral as we know it today. Master Jörg, brick layer from the village of Halspach, was appointed construction supervisor to rise a huge brick building in only 20 years. The cathedral is a three nave hall church. The tower got their world famous copulas only around the year 1525.
Saint Johann Nepomuk Church
Known locally as the Asam Church, this is a fantastic example of the late Baroque or Rococo style in Munich. The brothers Cosmas Damian and Egid Quirin Asam (one a painter and the other a sculptor) designed and built the church as their own private chapell, and dedicated it to the St. Johann Nepomuk. The sanctuary or theatrum sanctum is considered unique.
Old City Hall
The old townhall is mentioned the first time in 1310 in the council\s book. Since then the building has been refurbished and rebuilt many times. In 1470 the building got its Gothic look and the foundations of the tower were laid. This was done by master Jörg who also built the church of our Lady. After beeing completely destroyed during World War II it was rebuilt in 1952 and 18 years later the tower was also again erected, that rises to 56 meter above the Marien square. In 1805 the first smallpox vaccination was conducted here. In the 18th and the 19th century the lottery balls were drawn at the place and in 1848 Munich's representatives at the first democratic chosen parliament at Paul's Church in Frankfurt am Main were chosen inside the building. On the 9th of November 1938 Hitler and Goebbels gave inside the Old town hall the order to beginn the “night of the broken glass”.
On the front of the tower one can see today different emblems of Munich. Inside the tower you find the toys museum and the councils bell. In the big ballrooms today remembrance events, award shows and other events of the city take place. This ball room is the old council's room with an ornamented wooden roof. The emblems on the edges of the roof are grouped by the Morisken dancers. The Maruska Dance illustrates a proposal of marriage. These figures belong to the greatest German woodcraft figures from late Gothic time.
New Town Hall
Because the population grew quickly in the 19th century a new town hall had to be built around 1865. Its facade on the side of the Marien square is asymmetrical, because the town hall was build in two stages of construction (all together in four stages). The first stage of the facade includes the loggia, the second stage the tower at the side, and equestrian statute with Prince ruler Luitpold on it stand where stage one and two combine. The facade is ruled by the 80 meters and 12 floors high tower. On the 9th floor is an observation platform with a great panoramic view. On the top of the tower stands the Münchner Kindl. Where the roof begins you can see one of the biggest glockenspiel in Germany. The glockenspiel tells two stories = one is the marriage of duke Wilhelm V with Renate of Lorraine in 1568 during a knights' tournamnet on Marien square. A level below the barrel builders, the Schäffler, are dancing as they were the first one to take on the streets to show the population that the black-death was gone in the Middle Ages.
The Olympic Stadium
is a multi-functional arena. It was build for the Olympic games of 1972. After that it was mainly used as a soccer stadium by Bayern Munich and partly by TSV 1860 Munich. In the world championship final in 1974 West Germany beat the Netherlands 2.1 and became for the second time after 1954 world champion. The Dutch team took 14 years later the European champion trophy home after winning against the the Sovjet Union 2:0. The first final of the then new Champions League was played here and won by Olympique de Marseilles with a 1:0 over AC Milan.
Since 1982 open air concerts are conducted at the stadium, since 20054 also public-viewing events.
The pavilion roof covers two-third of the stadium as also the Olympic hall, the indoor-swimming-pool and the in between walkways. The pavilion roof resembles lightness, transparency and openness. It is one of the most important building in Germany after World War II. The whole compound is since 1997 a protected monument.
The English Garden
belongs to the biggest parks worldwide inside a city. It stretches over 3.7. square kilometers, includes brooks, lakes, lawns, beer gardens, wonderful places and buildings. The southern part of the park is closer to the city and is therefore used by Munich's inhabitants and visitors as a lively recreation park. Whereas the northern part is a oasis of tranquility to rest. The Chinese Tower is the most known building inside the park. Close to it children enjoy a ride on a wooden Biedermeier carousel. The best view of Munich's old city skyline one has from the Monopteros. The tiny neoclassic Rumford palace was built in 1791. The Tea House KanShoAn was created in 1972 due to the Olympic games together with the Japanese garden as a sign for the German-Japanese friendship and for the twin city agreement between the city of Sapporo and Munich. The Tivoli power plant was built in 1895. The Kleinhesseloher Lake gets its water from the Ice brook – Eisbach and it displays the King's island, the Elector's island and the Regent's island. You nearly always find a place in the beer garden near the Chinese tower (the biggest beer garden in Munich), also the Hirschau beer garden offers a lot of space. And it is worthwhile to take a bike to reach the northern Aumeister beer garden. Besides 78 kilometers pathes, lanes and alleys invite to cycle and to jog.
The Field Marshal's Hall
was built on the command of King Ludwig I during the years 1841 till 1844. It is a monumental loggia resembling the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence. The loggia planned as the passage from the old city to Ludwig's boulevard leading to the new city. Two Bavarian marshals, count Tilly and prince Wrede, were honored with statues. The two lions were placed at the stairs in 1906.
In the morning of the 9th of November 1923 Hitler marched with his followers towards the Field Marshal's hall to be confronted there by Bavarian police forces. The march was stopped bloodily. After taking power in Germany in 1933 the place became a commemoration and propaganda site of the Nazis. The march was repeated yearly accompanied by a commemoration ceremony. During such a march on the 9th of November 1938 Marice Bavaud from Switzerland tried to shoot Hitler. A year later Hitler left the commemoration ceremony earlier than assumed and the bomb that went off didn't harm him.
Traditionally shooting clubs and national costume groups march yearly over Ludwig's boulevard and the Field Marshal's hall to the Okotberfest. State funerals take the same route, last time in 1988 when the Bavarian prime minister Franz Josef Strauß was laid to rest.
The Residence
nside Munich downtown was the city and residential palace of Bavarian dukes, electors and kings. Today this spacious palace is the biggest palace inside a city in Germany and one of the most important museums for art in huge halls in Europe. This complex of buildings includes ten courts and three main complexes – the king's building at the Max-Joseph square, the residence of Maximilian (also called the old residence) and the ballroom building. Artifacts are presented in the Residence's museum in 130 show rooms. The residence grew over centuries and therefore it is a mix of the renaissance, the baroque, the rococo and the neoclassicism style. All the started in the late 12th century with the first city castle, the so called Alte Veste, that became from 1255 the residence of the dukes of Upper Bavaria, then of Bavaria. During the regency of Ludwig the Bavarian it was even the domicile of the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
Munich's Old City Gates
From the Middle Ages, 14th century, exist today three city gates – the Karl's Gate, the Gate of Sendlingen and the Gate on the Isar. Originally the gates had only one tower in the middle. At the beginning of the 15th century side towers were added.
Through the Gate on the Isar travelers coming from the east entered the city. Today the Museum of the famous comedian couple Valentin-Karlstadt is located there. Both had their high time in the 20th of the 20th century.
The Gate of Sendlingen is located in the south of the Old City. In 1808 the middle tower was dismanteled and the gate had three passages. Due to modern traffic these passages became one in 1906 while the side towers got passages for people passing on food.
The Karl's gate is the western gate. During the centuries it was often reconstructed and strengthened. It was heavily damaged during World War II and has been rebuilt in a more simple kind.
Viktualien Market
is a food product market. Viktualien is an old German term for food and groceries. Since 1807 it is open daily besides Sundays and holidays. The market accommodates on 22.000 square meters 140 companies: fruiterers, potato merchants, butcheries, market stalls, shops, sales areas for cheese, fish, coffee, Italian cuisine, trees and wood. The center of the market is defined by a beer garden. All Munich breweries provide beer there. Only at the counter you get to know which beer is served that week. The maypole is at the center of the beer garden. You find some tiny fountains on the market that depict local artists, actors and performers.
Saint Michael's Church
is the first church build in the renaissance style north of the alps. It was a trendsetting building for later to be built baroque churches in the south of Germany. Under the huge barrel vault in the nave all professions and people from all classes become the one people of God. At the sides of this long hall the life of Jesus is depicted. With the church's and the college's facade and the square in front of them duke Wilhelm V acclaimed that education has the same value as the trade on the nearby market, but that all men belong to God and the leadership of the house of Wittelsbach. Therefor 15 statues of rulers that worked for the better of the people and the country are depicted on the facade under the leadership of the archangel Michael who contains the evil. In addition to the church, the school and the monastry Wilhelm V build his residential palace - the Wilhemsfeste, later called Marxburg.
Trinity Church
is a dedicatory-votive church. It was financed by the professions of Munich and build by Giovanni Antonio Viscardi during the years 1711 till 1718. The Munich professions thereby honored a vow they had given in 1704 following a prophecy of the Carmelitian noun Maria Anna Landmayr that promising to built a church would prevent the city to be destroyed by the Austrians during the War of Spanish Succession. This church is the first one in the city that was built in the rococo style. The layout is an octagon. The main entrance is polygonal formed, flanked by recessed Ionic columns and covered by a huge baroque comice. The most outreaching columns of this facade belong to the side walls opposed to the classical baroque approach. The projecting pilasters cause the slim facade |to step back”. This was the first rococo facade to be built in Munich. Josf Fichtl created the statue of Saint Michael placed in alcove of the upper floor.