Traveling in Munich you will marvel at the amazing sights and places of this beautiful city. As Munich is very compact and small with a good and reliable transport system, it is an easy city to travel around. Munich is really a mix of architectural beauty. Preserving their roots by rebuilding many of their prehistoric buildings, Munich is mixed with the past and the present of Germany's history. Rich in art and culture you will find world famous museums such as the Deutsches Museum which is one of the oldest and largest science museums in the world.
Munich is situated in the Upper Bavaria- north of the northern edge of the Alps. Along with one end being the Alps and the other morainic hills, in between are oceans of glacier ice. The panorama of Munich is green with numerous parks, such as one of the globe's largest urban public parks, the Englischer Garten, where one can enjoy the peaceful serenity of nature.
Munich experiences warm, wet and cold climates. While summers are generally warm and wet, thunderstorms could be experienced. Because of the Alps, southerly winds crossing the Alps can bring warm Fohn conditions during any of the seasons, but will only be experienced for a few days. Rain and snow can be experienced any time of the year.
PLACE TO VISIT
Marienplatz - The Marienplatz is the traditional heart of Munich. Its Mariensäule
(Marian column) was built in 1638 as a reminder the city had been spared during
Swedish occupation. It is not exceptionally different from any number of plague columns
scattered around central Europe. What really draws a crowd on Marienplatz, though, is the
Glockenspiel in the façade of the Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall). The summer tourist
crowds gawk at the Glockenspiel figures enacting the Schäfflertanz (coopers' dance), a
ritual originally performed to celebrate the end of the plague in Munich. The Rathaus was
built in Flemish Gothic style between 1867 and 1908 by Georg Joseph Hauberissere. If
you are interested in shopping, go here and follow the main shopping street down to
Karlsplatz (Stachus), a major tram/U-Bahn/S-Bahn stop. Major chainstores, such as H&M
can be found there.
Neues Rathaus/Glockenspiel - During the summer, a curious sight appears
every morning in Marienplatz. Hundreds of tourists begin craning their necks skyward
(and it's obvious they are tourists, because the locals are all darting back and forth
between the halted masses trying to cross the square and get their errands done!) to see
the Glockenspiel work its magic on the front facade of the Neues Rathaus (New City Hall).
As the automated clockwork figures come out to dance, the bells play and the tourists
gape. But the Glockenspiel is truly a piece of art - it was built of handmade parts long
before automation was the buzzword of the day, and it's still entrancing. There is also a
view point in one of its towers
Mariensäule - Is a golden statue located in the middle of Marienplatz. The statue was
built in honor of the Virgin Mary to celebrate the sparing of the city from the Swedes.
Asamkirche - Rococo architect and sculptor Egid Quirin Asam built this amazingly
ornate church right next door to his own house. His brother, Cosmas Damian, did all the
frescoes. The church is dedicated to St John Nepomuk, a Bohemian monk was thrown
into the river Vltava from Charles Bridge in Prague at the behest of Wenceslaus, King of
Bohemia. The Asamkirche, completed in 1746, glitters like a row of diamonds and is best
seen by candlelight, especially at the yearly Christmas Eve service, replete with Bavarian
singers in the choir stall.
Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) - The Frauenkirche is topped by two
copper onion-domed towers recognizable from a distance. Instead of adding sculptural
ornamentation in carved stone to the exterior like other typical Gothic churches, the
Frauenkirche differs from all contemporary churches in its plain brick simplicity. The
church was completed in 1488. The legendary Teufelstritt, or devil's footstep, stems from
the large amount of light inside the Frauenkirche that seems to come from nowhere
thanks to the large columns that block the view of the windows. According to legend, Jörg
of Halspach made a deal with the devil that he could build a church that had a spot where
not a single window could be seen from. From the vestibule, looking down the center
aisle (as long as the high Baroque altar covered the windows at the very back of the
church) there appeared to be no windows at all. The devil stamped his foot in a fit of
pique, leaving his "footprint" on a paving stone immediately inside the entrance. The
stone is readily visible because it is mustard yellow rather than red and grey like the other
tiles. Right to the entrance is a monumental tomb of Emperor Ludwig IV of Bavaria, the
work of Hans Krumpper.
Michaelskirche - The largest Renaissance church north of the Alps was built
between 1583-1599 thanks to Duke Wilhelm V, called The Pious. Despite nearly
bankrupting Bavaria, Munich was left with an amazingly beautiful structure that houses an
extremely unified iconographic program. "Iconographic program" is just an art term for the
overall organized progression of religious images that corresponds to a theme. In the
church crypt are the tombs of many members of Wittelsbach dynasty, including that of the"mad king" Ludwig II.
Deutsches Museum - One of the greatest scientific and technical museums in the
world, and one of the absolute "must see's" of Munich; if science and technology nterest
you at all you should not leave it out. Topics range from aviation to breweries, from
computer sciences to bridge building. There are many guided tours on specific themes
and different languages inside the museum. Plan to spend plenty of time. There's a
planetarium and two branch offices in different locations which show vehicles that found
no place in downtown Munich. Wheelchair friendly. € 7.50 for an adult, € 3 for students
Munich as planned. The Development of the City from 1158 to
2008 – the exhibition presents the development and growth of the city covering the time
span from its founding in 1158 up to the present. The historical, eco-nomic and cultural
significance of this devel-opment is illustrated in six exciting sections. Paintings, prints
and drawings, photographs etc. augment the presentation.
A copy of the famous 16th century Jakob Sandtner model and a new model showing the
contemporary city of the year 2000 are highlights and on show till February 17,2008.
Photography Museum – in our three galler-ies contemporary German
photography, a large monographic or thematical special exhi-bition and a permanent
exhibition from our collection are on show.
Musical Instruments – 1.600 instruments from Africa, Asia, America and Europe
and a special section showing a dozen automatic musical instru-ments including the
important and famous “Stern-Orchestrion”.
Evening concerts and free Sunday matinées at 11 o’clock transform our showrooms into
a sound museum. Special tours available. Check into our special monthly programme of
musical events.
Film Museum – important international films dating from the earliest era of cinema
up to contemporary works are presented in our newly renovated film theatre. The
complete oeuvre of important German film makers (from F.W. Murnau to Wim Wenders,
from Fritz Lang to Herbert Achternbusch) as well as motion picture classics can be found
in our
collections. With projects such as the recon-struction of the estate of Orson Welles, the
Film Museum Munich has earned an out-standing international reputation.
Theatinerkirche - is located to the north of the city center on Odeonsplatz. The
church is beautifully ornate and is probably the must eye catching building, because its
architecture departs dramatically from the rest of Munich's buildings. The church was built
as a thanks to God for the birth of Maximilian II Emanuel, the son of Wittelsbach ruler,
Ferdinand Maria.
Englischer Garten - at over twice the size of New York's Central Park and dating
back to 1789, Englischer Garten begins at the very center of Munich just north of the
Residence museum and Odeonsplatz, and continues north just over 5km. The park is
divided into two distinct sections by a small city expressway called Mittlerer Ring. The
southern section starts near Odeonsplatz and the Residenz Museum, and runs north,
parallel to the student quarter of Schwabing.
Alte Pinakothek - (Old Painting Gallery) contains hundreds of great European
masterworks dating from the fourteenth to the eighteenth centuries, including the largest
Rubens collection in the world. The Alte Pinakothek recently underwent a major four-year
closing and renovation. You can easily reach it by taking the Tram 27 and getting out at
Pinakotheken. Admission: Adults €5.50, Concessions €4; €1 on Sundays!
Glyptothek - The Glyptothek is another of King Ludwig's large collections is
contained in the Glyptothek: one of the greatest Greek and Roman sculpture collections in
all of Germany. The collection is based around a core of sculptures, the Aeginetes,
excavated by English and German explorers at the island temple on Aegina early in the
nineteenth century. It was built by imperial architect Leo von Klenze for the king and
completed in 1830. Though almost entirely destroyed in World War II, the museum was
heavily renovated and opened again to the public in 1972. There is a very nice cafe also
located here that extends to the lovely courtyard weather permitting. Admission: Adults€3.50 ; Free entry on Sundays!.
31 Connollystraße - This is located in the former Olympic village, there is a small
marker that idicates that this building was the site of the Black September hostage
situation, and site where several Israeli Olympic team members were murdered.
Schloss Nymphenburg - Was a smaller residential palace, now is the biggest
baroque palace in Germany. It is possible to enter the the palace for a price, however,
considering that few rooms open to the public and that there a few furnishings it is not
worth the entrance price. Despite the unimpressive palace the gardens are free and are
an amazing place to relax. Benches and paths can be found through out the garden.
Several buildings and are scattered through out the palace gardens. Some of these
buildings can also be entered for a small fee,
Pfarrkirche Herz Jesu - This modern roman-catholic church has ben erected
between 1997 and 2000, after the previous church had ben destroyed by a fire in 1994.
Right now, this is one of themost frequently visited churches in munich. The church
consists in a large cuboid with a blue, 14 meter high facade. The facade can be opened
completely, like a gigantic gate. However, this happens only on high holidays.
HOW TO REACH
By car - Highways from many directions lead to Munich, however they often get
congested at peak times and on weekends, especially during the ski season. For day
trips to Munich, it's probably best to leave your car in a Park&Ride car park
By plane - Munich International Airport is the second biggest German airport and has
two terminals. Terminal 2 is used by Lufthansa and its partner airlines from Star Alliance.
All other airlines use the older Terminal 1. The Munich airport is located outside of Munich
in a northeasten suburb. Due to the increased number of flights the airport has expanded
and now offers connections to all domestic airports and most international airports in the
world. If you are unable to fly to Munich directly, travellers can arrange a transfer via
Frankfurt. Flight time from Frankfurt to Munich is about 35 minutes.
Munich Airport has been named the winner of the "Best Airport in Europe" award for the
third year in a row in an international survey of close to eight million passengers
worldwide. Passengers also ranked Munich #4 in the worldwide rankings behind Asian
hubs Hong Kong International Airport, Seoul Incheon and Singapore Changi airports in
the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2007.
By train - Most major European cities connect to Munich by rail. Munich's
Hauptbahnhof (main station) is conveniently located in the center of Munich. The
Deutsche Bahn uses Munich as one of its main German hubs and has good connections
to neighboring countries (Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Italy) and to all
southern German cities.
There are both a day (9:28) and a night (23:45) train to Budapest (Hungary). Arriving in
Munich at 06:17 or 20:34.
There are both a day (11:30) and a night (23:20) train to Venice (Italy). The two pair trains
arrive in Munich at 20:26 and 6:30.
The main station is west of Marienplatz (two S-Bahn stations) or a short walk away from
the city center. The main station also has a traveler-friendly infrastructure including
several restaurants, a tourist's bureau and a Deutsche Bahn ticket and travel agency
office.
