Munich is best known to Dutch people for the annual Oktoberfest, BMW and the Bayern Munich football club. But the capital of Bavaria has much more to offer. Not only an old city center with winding streets, large department stores and beautiful beer gardens, but also the largest city park in Europe, the Englisher Garten, world-famous museums such as the Pinakhotecs and the Isar River that flows through the middle of the city.
History of Munich
Middle Ages to modern times
Munich is located in southern Germany on the Isar River. The city was founded in 1158 as a trading post near a monastery and was governed by the bishop of Freising. From 1328 the city was the residence of the Wittelsbachers, but its growth into an important European city only began at the beginning of the 19th century. Munich had only 24,000 inhabitants in 1700, but the city then began to grow rapidly. In 1871 there were already 170,000 people living there, by 1933 it had grown to 840,000. The various kings of Bavaria, part of the Wittelsbach family, had a major influence on the development of the city at this time. King Ludwig 1 of Bavaria made the city an important art city. His son Max II changed the appearance of the city by having many new streets and avenues constructed. And Max II’s brother, Prince Regent Luitpold, ensured a major increase in employment but also in the arts.
World War I and World War II
Munich came through the First World War relatively unscathed. In the period after the First World War, the city, like the rest of Germany, became the scene of political unrest. Ultimately, Munich became the place where Adolf Hitler’s NSDAP was born and grew. Adolf Hitler regularly gave speeches in the city’s beer cellars. In 1923 he tried to overthrow the city’s government through a ‘putsch’. This attempted takeover failed near the Odeonsplatz. The site is today marked by a bronze memorial on which the names of four fallen Bavarian police officers are engraved. During the Nazi period, the sixteen fallen supporters of Hitler were honored with a memorial at the same location. Because Munich was the city where it all started for Hitler, he established the headquarters of the NSDAP here. The first concentration camp was set up in nearby Dachau, where opponents of the regime were imprisoned. During the Second World War the city was largely destroyed by many bombings.
After the Second World War until now
After the war, Munich started its reconstruction vigorously. It was decided to completely restore the city to its former glory. This means that many of the buildings look old but actually date from the 1960s and 1970s. In 1972 Munich hosted the Summer Olympics. The Olympic Park, including the Olympiaberg, were built on the rubble that was dumped here after the Second World War. The metro system was also constructed during this time. The Olympic Games themselves were overshadowed by a Palestinian terrorist attack on the Israeli sports team. The city grew rapidly economically after the Second World War, partly due to the presence of large companies such as BMW and Siemens.
Sights
The city of Munich has a historic city center with the largest city park in Europe, the Englisher Garten. The Isar River flows through the city, along the banks there are small beaches here and there that are full of sun worshipers in the summer. A branch of the Isar flows through the park, where it flows into the park and you can surf on the wave that arises here. This produces spectacular pictures.
Beer culture
Munich is known for its beer culture and related Oktoberfest. This festival, which lasts two weeks and ends in the first weekend of October, is the largest folk festival in the world. About 7 million people come to the festival grounds on the Theresienwiese every year. Munich’s six major breweries are all represented with a few tents. Beer is served in a Maß, a glass with a capacity of 1 liter.
The rest of the year the beer is available in one of the many beer gardens and brauhauser. The most famous brauhaus is the Höfbrauhaus located Am Platz 1. Here the Oktoberfest is held all year round. All other breweries also have one or more brauhausers themselves. There is also a beer museum in the city.
Museums
There are several museums in Munich whose collections are world famous. A number of museums are located together in the art area. it is:
- Alte Pinakothek, old masters
- Neue Pinakothek, modern masters
- Pinakothek der Modern, contemporary art
- Museum Brandhorst, contemporary art
- Lenbachhaus, 18th and 19th century artists from Munich
- Glyptothek Munich, Greek and Roman objects
- State Graphic Collection, prints
Furthermore, located throughout the city:
- BMW museum
- German Museum
- House of Art
- Jewish Museum
- Munich City Museum
- Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde
Churches and other famous buildings
The city has several important churches.
- The Frauenkirche (Church of Women), the main church of Munich. Striking because of its west towers. The interior is also worth seeing. The church is the most important monument of Bavarian architecture;
- The Asam Church, built in 1733 by the Asam brothers;
- The Theatiner Church, built between 1663-1688 with an 18th-century facade;
- The Saint Michael’s Church from the 16th century with several mausoleums.
There are also a number of buildings worth seeing:
- Alte and Neue Rathaus;
- Residenz, the residence of the kings of Bavaria;
- Bavarian State Chancellery, the seat of the Prime Minister of Bavaria;
- Schloss Nymphenburg.
Shop
Munich’s main shopping streets are Kaufingerstrasse, Sendlingerstrasse and Weinstrasse. These streets converge on Marienplatz. This square, famous for the Alte- and Neue Rathaus, is the center of the city. To the east of this square is the Viktualienmarkt, where fresh products such as meat, fish, vegetables and fruit are sold every day. The Maximilianstrasse is the expensive shopping street, here you will find Hugo Boss, Gucci and other top brands. Around the Hauptbahnhof (main station) you will find many hotels, hostels and small shops. Further north, in the Schwabing district, there are several large shopping streets.
Going out
The Sonnenstrasse is located in the center. This is also referred to as Partymeile. The density of bars, clubs and discos is high. In line with this is the Glockenbachviertel district. This hip neighborhood is full of bars and small clubs. Schwabing, further north, used to be the entertainment district par excellence, but has lost some of its strength. There are still many pubs and some clubs here. You can eat out anywhere in the city, but the best part is eating in a beer garden or brauhaus. These can be found spread all over the city. Some well-known ones are the Augustinerkeller, the Hofbrauhaus and the Chinesiser Turm.
Around Munich
There are several interesting sights around Munich. Historic castles and monasteries, beautiful lakes and romantic towns and villages. You can read about some sights that are easily accessible from Munich in the following article: Sights around Munich
How do you get there?
Munich can be reached from the Netherlands in various ways. By car it is about an 8-hour drive from Amsterdam. Lufthansa and KLM fly directly from Schiphol to Munich Franz Josef Strauß Airport. This airport is located approximately 30 km north of Munich. The city can be reached by two different S-bahn. The city is also easily accessible by train. There is a direct night train from Amsterdam to Munich every day. During the day you can get to Munich via Frankfurt with a transfer.