Munchen Attractions, Germany

Cathedral Church of Our Lady
The Munich Frauenkirche has been the cathedral and metropolitan church of the South Bavarian ecclesiastical provinces since the establishment of the archbishopric of Munich and Freising in 1821.
This brick-built Late Gothic church owes its impact to its great size (109m/358ft by 40m/131ft), its high walls, its clear articulation and its lack of ornament. With its sturdy twin towers, rearing up to a height of 99m and 100m/325ft and 328ft, it is Munich's most celebrated landmark.
The Frauenkirche was built in 1468-88 by Jörg Halspach (known as Ganghofer) on the site of an earlier chapel dedicated to the Virgin. In 1525, in place of the spires originally planned by Halspach, the two towers were given their characteristic Renaissance domes, the green patina of which harmonizes well with the dark red brick. The carved medallions on the five doorways were the work of Ignaz Günther (1772). The church was severely damaged in 1944-45, restoration being completed in 1953.
The interior of this aisled hall-church, with 22 tall octagonal pillars in two rows, was remodeled in Renaissance style in 1601 but reconverted to a Gothic design in 1858. As rebuilt after its destruction in the last war it has a simply conceived but very effective whitewash interior.
Viewed from the porch the aisles and side windows are invisible, the octagonal pillars of the nave having the appearance of a wall; at one time the window of the choir was also obscured by the high altar. Legend has it that the Devil came to inspect the church after its completion and was so delighted that the windows had been forgotten that he stamped his foot, leaving a print in the porch that can still be seen.

Altes Residenztheater (Cuvilliéstheater)
The Altes Residenztheater, also known as the Cuvilliéstheater, is located on the east side of the Residenz in Munich. Built by François Cuvilliés in 1750-55 it is the finest Roccoco Theater with tiered boxes in Germany. Nowadays used for selected performances, it is well worth visiting. The magnificent carved woodwork of the auditorium, with its four tiers of boxes, Elector's box and proscenium boxes, was safely stored away during World War II, thus allowing the Theater to be reconstructed anew in the Apothekenpavilion in 1958.
Architecturally the arrangement of the Theater, which has its entrance in the Brunnenhof and a delightful foyer, is highly successful. The rare elegance and rich hues of the intimate Roccoco interior make this a unique setting for Late Baroque operas. It was here in 1781 that Mozart's "Idomeneo" was given its first performance.
Access to the Festsaalbau (Banqueting Hall wing), the interior of which suffered severe bomb damage in the war, is from the Hofgarten. During rebuilding in 1952-53 the former Throne Room behind the portico was turned into a banqueting and concert hall with seating for 1270. At the same time it was rechristened the Neuer Herkulessaal after the Antwerp tapestries illustrating the myth of Hercules (by M. de Bos; ca. 1565 to 1579) which now hang there. Since the war the east wing of the Festsaalbau has been the home of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences, whose old building in Neuhauser Strasse was destroyed in 1944. On the ground floor to the west of the Festsaalbau are a suite of exhibition rooms housing the State Egyptian Collection.
The State Coin Collection is accommodated in part of the building between the Kaiserhof and the Kapellenhof.

Court Brew-Hall
This world-famous hall in the older part of Munich, one of the city's major tourist attractions, was established by Duke Wilhelm V as long ago as 1589 in order to provide for the needs of his Court and domestic staff (Hofbräuhaus means Court Brew-House); but it was not until 1828, when the citizens of Munich were allowed for the first time. Its fame as a place of conviviality soon spread far beyond the bounds of the city, a fame enhanced by a popular song, "In München steht ein Hofbräuhaus". In 1890 the brewery was moved out to Haidhausen, and the Hofbräuhaus, rebuilt in the Neo-Classical style, became a large and busy hall.
On the ground floor is the Schwemme (literally "watering place"), where as many as 1,000 customers are seated at wooden tables scrubbed till they shine, to the accompaniment of a Bavarian brass band.
Upstairs are a whole range of further rooms: the Trinkstube (for up to 350 people), Schäfflersaal (for 180), Fischerstube (for 70), Jägerstube (for 45), Weihenstephanerstuben (for 30), Wappensaal (for 130), Münchner Zimmer (for 100), Erkerzimmer (for 100), and a banqueting hall capable of seating between 400 and 1,300.
In summer patrons can sit in the colonnaded courtyard with its Löwenbrunnen (Lion Fountain).

Munich Therese Meadow - Octoberfest
Extending from the foot of the Bavaria statue is the Theresienwiese (Therese Meadow) where, on October 17, 1810, horse races were held in celebration of the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria, later King Ludwig I, to Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. It was these celebrations which gave rise to Munich's famous Oktoberfest, the biggest popular festival in the world, taking place every autumn.
In 1811 the horseracing was augmented by an agricultural show. Then in 1818 swings and rides made their appearance for the first time. From 1820 onwards numerous other attractions were added, including show booths, merry-go-rounds, troupes of performing artists and the so-called "anatomical wonder".
On September 26, 1980 a terrorist bomb claimed 12 lives (memorial at entrance).
In terms of both the area covered and the number of visitors (about six million) the Munich Oktoberfest, held annually on the Theresienwiese (or "Wies'n" for short) at the end of September/beginning of October, ranks as the biggest and best-known popular festival anywhere in the world. Preparations start months in advance with the erection of huge marquees and other facilities. Year after year a host of attractions - a fun-for-all show and great variety of pleasure booths, traditional swings and roundabouts, hurtling roller-coasters and breathtaking fairground rides, prove totally irresistible to foreigners and locals alike, irrespective of age-group. Swept along by the crowd they try their hand at everything, collecting in the process all manner of odd "trophies" and other curiosities. Amidst much merriment they have their fortunes told and enjoy the lights, the bustle and the noise. There is no opportunity to go hungry and even less to go thirsty, with traditional Hendl and Steckerlfische (grilled chicken and fish) in plentiful supply. Every year sees the establishment of a new Hendl-eating record!
One million broiled chickens and pork sausages, 60 roasted oxen and tons of fish, würsts and ham hocks are served during this 16-day event.
The Octoberfest also includes an agricultural fair every three years, an annual costume and markmen's parade, a folk festival and other amusements. But the events are usually a secondary reason for coming to this festival and pale in comparison to the number of food stalls.

Nymphenburg Palace
This vast Baroque palace on Munich's western outskirts was originally the summer residence of the Wittelsbach Electors. The impressive range of white and gray buildings, more than 600m/2,000ft from wing to wing, with yellow ornamentation and red tiled roofs, was enlarged in symmetrical fashion in several phases.
The central mansion was the first part to be built, later linked to pavilions either side by low galleries above open arcades. Adjoining outer pavilions were then added, connected by wings to the large Kavaliersbau and Marstall (stables) built around a courtyard to the south and the old orangery to the north.
These extensions continue to the east in the form of the Rondell, a semi-circular range of 10 yellow and whitewashed officials' houses, joined by walls, which close off the park in a charming manner. The entire ensemble is arranged on an east-west axis defined by the Nymphenburg Canal which, tumbling down a splendid marble cascade, enters the park to the west. Initially following a dead-straight course, the canal divides to pass around the main palace buildings, the two branches meeting again in a fountain-adorned pool in front of the principal facade. From there, straight as a die, it continues eastward, flanked by two avenues, the Auffahrtsalleen.

New Town Hall
In the mid 19th C the Munich Municipal Council resolved to build a new Town Hall to provide much-needed additional office space. A site was cleared by the demolition of 24 older buildings, including the hall in which the Bavarian Estates had met from 1554 to 1807, and a new building was designed by Georg Hauberisser. It was erected in three stages - first the brick-built eastern part (1867-74), then the extension to the rear (1889-92), and finally the western half, in limestone, with the 85m/280ft-high tower, which vies with the towers of the Frauenkirche as Munich's best-known landmark.
The main front, looking onto the Marienplatz, is decorated with a profusion of figures and ornaments - Bavarian dukes, electors and kings, fabulous creatures, saints, Munich types and characters.
The world-famous carillon and display by mechanical figures is the fourth largest in Europe. Every day at 11 a.m. (and from May to October also at noon, 5 p.m. and 11 p.m.) the bells play folk-tunes and the figures enact scenes from the history of Munich - the wedding in 1568 of Duke William V and Renate (Renée) of Lorraine, with a jousting-match from which the Bavarian knight emerges the victor (upper figures), and the Schläfflertanz, performed every seven years in thanksgiving for the ending of the plague of 1515-17 (lower figures). In the evening (at 9 p.m. in summer and 7 p.m. in winter) there appear in the oriels on the seventh tier a night-watchman blowing his horn (left) and an angel of peace blessing the Münchner Kindl, emblem of the city of Munich (right).

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