 |
|
| |
|
||||
 Munich (German: München Missing image
History
In 1327, the entire city was destroyed by fire but was successfully rebuilt some years later by Louis IV, the ruling Holy Roman Emperor of the time. In 1632 the city was brought under the control of Gustav II Adolph of Sweden during the Thirty Years' War, but in 1705 it was recaptured and brought under Habsburg rule. The city's first academic institution, the Bavarian Academy of Sciences, was founded in 1759. By this time, the city was growing very quickly and was one of the largest cities in mainland Europe. In 1806, it became the capital of the Bavarian monarchical state, with the state's parliament (the Landtag) sitting in the city along with the new archdiocese of Munich and Freising. Twenty years later another prestigious educational institution, the Landshut University, also based itself in Munich. Many of the city's finest buildings belong to this period, all of which come under the Maximilian style of architecture, named after the reigning king of the day, Maximilian II. These buildings include the Ludwigstraße, the Ruhmeshalle, and the Königsplatz built by architects Leo von Klenze and Friedrich von Gärtner, and the "Bavaria" statue, built by Schwanthaler. In 1882 electric lighting was introduced to Munich, and the city hosted Germany's first exhibition of electricity. Nineteen years later the Hellabrunn Zoo opened in the city. After World War I, the city was at the center of much unrest. In November 1918, Communists took power establishing the Munich Soviet Republic (Münchner Räterepublik) which was put down on May 3 1919 by the right wing Freikorps many of whom were later drawn to Adolf Hitler and National Socialism. In 1923 Hitler and his supporters, who then were concentrated in Munich, staged the Beer Hall Putsch, an attempt at overthrowing the Weimar Republic and gaining power for himself. The revolt was, however, a failure, resulting in Hitler's arrest and the crippling of the Nazi Party, which was virtually unknown outside Munich. However, the city would again become one of the strongholds of the Nazis, when they took power in Germany in 1933. Because of its importance the Nazis also called it Hauptstadt der Bewegung ("capital of the movement"), which indeed it was, with the headquarters of the NSDAP based there. Many Führerbauten ("Führer-buildings") were built around the Königsplatz, and some have survived to this day. Missing image Munich_skyline.jpg Munich: Frauenkirche and Town Hall steeple In 1938, the Munich Agreement was signed in the city, ceding the mostly German speaking Sudetenland, previously a part of Czechoslovakia, to Germany. It was signed by representatives of Germany, Italy, France and Britain. A year later, in 1939, Georg Elser attempted, but failed, to assassinate Hitler with a bomb in Munich -- an event which could have changed the course of history. Munich was the city where the White Rose (German: Die Weiße Rose), a group of students that formed a resistance movement from June 1942 to February 1943, was based. They were arrested following a distribution of leaflets in Munich University by Hans and Sophie Scholl. The city was very heavily damaged by Allied bombing during World War II. After American occupation in 1945, Munich was rebuilt to what was even in the Nineteen Fifties considered to be a rather conservative, in relation to other war-damaged cities in Germany, but meticulous masterplan. In other words keeping mostly to the pre-World War Two street-plan. Munich was the site of the 1972 Summer Olympics, during which Israeli athletes were murdered by Palestinian terrorists (see Munich massacre). SightsMunich is a popular tourist destination and has been described as Germany's "second city". The city has several important art museums, among them the Alte Pinakothek, Neue Pinakothek, and the Pinakothek der Moderne. Before World War I, it was also the site of the Blaue Reiter group of artists. Other famous tourist attractions include the English Garden (Englischer Garten - a formal garden park roughly in the center of the city that contains a nudist area, beautiful jogging tracks and much more), the Deutsches Museum (Science Museum), and the Rathaus-Glockenspiel, an ornate clock with moving figures atop the town hall. Perhaps Munich's most famous attraction is the Oktoberfest, a 2-week-long fair with many rides and several very large tents. The Oktoberfest was first held October 12, 1810 in honor of the marriage of crown Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. The festivities were closed with a horse race and in the following years the horse races were continued and later developed into what is now known as the Oktoberfest. Despite its name, Oktoberfest actually begins in September, and is usually timed to end on the first Sunday in October. Other famous buildings in Munich include the Frauenkirche (Cathedral of Our Lady) and the Olympiaturm ("Olympic Tower"), a radio and TV broadcasting station. The Frauenkirche is the most famous building in the city center. This is Munich's central cathedral and is famous for its twin towers which are topped with brass minaret-type structures. At first glance the two towers appear to be the same height but in actual fact one is slightly taller than the other. Unlike most buildings in Munich's old town, the towers of the Frauenkirche (but not the church itself) survived the war intact, making them more than 400 years old. The towers are apparently somewhat unstable, as there are large signs at the tower base warning visitors to keep away from the base of the tower in thunderstorms or high winds. (The Frauenkirche's towers are also the measurement for a new rule which limits the height of new buildings to the same height. This rule was passed by the people of Munich in a referendum ("Bürgerentscheid") against the will of the political parties in the cities parliament ("Stadtrat") who fear that this can harm the city's attractiveness to investors. This provides for an odd view of the city from the top of Peterskirche or one of the other central churches: one sees no skyscrapers downtown, but several dotted on the horizon, where the official city limits end, with the Hypovereinsbank building being the primary example.)  The Olympiaturm (Olympic Tower) was built for the 1972 Summer Olympics which were held in Munich and during which terrorist gunmen from the Palestinian "Black September" group took hostage members of the Israeli Olympic team. A rescue attempt by the West German government was unsuccessful and resulted in the deaths of the Israeli hostages, 5 of the terrorists, and one German police officer. Several games of the 1974 Soccer World Cup were also held in the city and in 2006 it will again be host to several games, including the opening match of the next FIFA Soccer World Cup. The 2006 World Cup, however, will not take place in the traditional Olympia Stadium, but in Munich's new soccer stadium, the Allianz Arena. Around MunichLying on the plain of the Voralpenland, the Munich agglomeration sprawls unhindered by geography. Several smaller traditional Bavarian cities are today part of the Munich suburbia and are worth a visit when the main Munich sights are exhausted. Sights EconomyMunich was one of the centers of the new economy in Germany, and even today important future industries like biotechnology or Internet are strongly represented in the "Weltstadt mit Herz" (cosmopolitan city with heart). The city is home to the global headquarters of German insurance companies Allianz AG and Münchener Rück, the car manufacturer BMW, the technology firms Siemens AG and Infineon Technologies , as well as the German headquarters of McDonald’s and Microsoft. In addition to this, Munich is also the world's second largest site for publishing houses behind only New York City. MiscellaneousThe current mayor of Munich is Christian Ude of the SPD (Social-democratic Party of Germany). This is extraordinary because most of the rest of Bavaria is governed on the communal level by members (mayors, etc.) of the CSU (Christian Social Union). The figure on Munich's coat-of-arms is the Münchner Kindl, the child of Munich. TransportationMunich airport, named after Franz Josef Strauß, is Franz Josef Strauß International Airport. The airport can be reached by suburban train lines S1 and S8. Munich has a large public transport system including Subways, Suburban trains, trams and buses. The local transportation is supervised by the Munich Transport and Tariff Association (Münchner Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund, MVV). More information on MVV (http://www.mvv-muenchen.de). Colleges and universities
Sister cities
External links
|
||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright 2008 WordIQ.com - Privacy Policy
::
Terms of Use
:: Contact Us
:: About Us This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Munich, Germany". |