Munich

Basic data:

Population::	1,294,680 (12/31/2006)
Area:	310.43 km²
State:	Bavaria
Administrative district:	Upper Bavaria
Circle:	District-free city of Munich

Geography:

Munich is located in the foothills of the Alps between the Limestone Alps and the Danube. The 55 km wide Munich Plain is an inclined plane with a height difference of 300 meters. In the Munich city area, the difference in altitude between the highest point on the Warnberg in the south at 579 m above sea level and the extreme north in northern Schwarzholzl in the Feldmoching district with the lowest point at 482 m above sea level is a good 100 meters.

The urban area is 13.7 km in length from the Isar from southwest to northeast flowed through. On its river islands are the Museum Island with the German Museum and the nearby Prater Island.

The city center is criss-crossed by a number of city streams that were created along the Isar. In the north of the Munich city area there is the Kleinhesseloher See in the English Garden, the lake in the Olympic area and the three-lake plateau (consisting of Lerchenauer, Fasanerie and Feldmochinger See).

The greatest extension of the urban area is 20.7 km in a north-south direction and 26.9 km in an east-west direction.

Climate:

Munich lies in the transition area between the humid Atlantic and the dry continental climate. Due to the Alps as a central European and the Danube as a regional weather divide, which essentially determine the climate, the weather is relatively changeable.

The Föhn brings the irregular warm and dry air currents from the south to Munich all year round. This is responsible for the famous Bavarian blue sky and a very good view of the Bavarian Alps.

City structure:

25 boroughs

history:

Munich is a relatively young city. It was first mentioned in a document in 1158 as Villa Munichen by Henry the Lion. In order to benefit from the rich salt trade to Augsburg, he built a bridge over the Isar near a monastic settlement around St. Peter`s Church on the site of today`s Ludwigsbrücke near the Isar Islands. At the same time, he had the Bishop of Freising`s bridge near Oberföhring, further north, demolished. With this prank, Munich obtained the right to market, mint and pay customs duties from Emperor Barbarossa at a Reichstag in Augsburg in the same year.

Almost twenty years later, in 1175, Munich was granted city status and the first fortifications were built. In 1255 the small market town became the residence of the part-duchy of Bavaria-Munich, later even four Bavarian part-duchies.

In 1328, when Duke Ludwig IV became Emperor of Germany, he chose Munich as his residence. The city was significantly expanded with a new second wall ring. In 1468 the foundation stone was laid for the new Marienkirche "Frauenkirche", which took only twenty years to build.

With 13,500 inhabitants in 1504, Munich became the sole capital of the Duchy of Bavaria. Wilhelm V founded the Hofbräuhaus in 1589. In 1623, Munich became an electoral residence. In 1789, under Karl Theodor, the English Garden was laid out in the floodplains of the Isar and the medieval city fortifications were demolished

Munich only developed into a big city at the end of the 18th century when, in 1806, Munich became the capital of Napoleon`s kingdom of Bavaria.

On October 12, 1810, at the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig, who later became King Ludwig I, and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen, the tradition of the "October" celebrations began.

Under the reign of King Ludwig I of Bavaria (1825-1848), Munich developed into a well-known art city. Just one year after taking up his government duties, he brought the University of Landshut to Munich. The Ludwigstrasse, the Königsplatz and the expansion of the residence were created with the classicist architects Leo von Klenze and Friedrich von Gärtner.

Between 1886 and 1912, Munich experienced an economic and cultural upswing during which the Prinzregentenstrasse and the Prinzregententheater were built. Around the turn of the century, Schwabing flourished as an artists` quarter. The city grew and housed 170,000 people in 1871 and 500,000 in 1901.

After the monarchy was abolished at the end of the First World War, the Soviet Republic was proclaimed in Munich, but it failed and instead Munich developed into a breeding ground for National Socialist activities and became the seat of the NSDAP. In 1939 the assassination attempt on Hitler in the Bürgerbräukeller failed. Munich suffered badly from World War II. In 1945, 90% of the historic old town and 50% of the city as a whole was destroyed.

The reconstruction was based on the historic townscape. 1954 was the official start of Bavarian television. Munich has developed into a high-tech location thanks to the settlement of numerous companies in the service sector such as the media, insurance companies and banks. Thanks to the important museums (e.g. Old, New and Pinakothek der Moderne, Deutsches Museum), tourism also experienced an upswing, so that Munich could celebrate its millionth resident on December 15, 1957.

In 1972 Munich was the venue of the XX. Summer Olympics, which were overshadowed by a hostage situation by Palestinian terrorists that killed all the hostages, several Palestinians and a police officer. During this time, the city center was transformed into a pedestrian zone and public transport with subways and suburban trains, some of which extend far into the surrounding area, was massively expanded.

Since the 1990s, the city has experienced a second period of founding, which produced increasingly sophisticated architecture.

The new Munich Franz Josef Strauss Airport was opened in 1992 just outside of Munich. In 1998, the Messestadt Riem was established on the old Munich-Riem airport grounds, and the Federal Horticultural Show (BUGA 2005) was set up on its grounds in 2005.

The Herz-Jesu-Kirche was inaugurated in 2000 and two years later the third Pinakothek, the "Pinakothek der Moderne" was opened. 2005 was the first kick-off in the new "Allianz Arena" stadium, where the opening game of the soccer World Cup took place a year later.

Munich has relatively few skyscrapers. Among the architecturally most interesting were the BMW high-rise at the Olympic Park and the adjacent futuristic BMW World, which opened in October 2007, the Hypo-Haus in Arabellapark

The relatively few high-rise buildings that Munich has approved are located outside of the city center, with the exception of the old technical town hall from the 1920s. Architecturally the most interesting are the BMW high-rise at the Olympic Park, next to which the futuristic BMW World was opened in October 2007, as well as the Hypo-Haus in Arabellapark and the Highlight Towers in the north of Schwabing, which were completed in 2004. The currently tallest skyscraper is Uptown Munich at 146 m.

Sights:

Marienplatz

New town hall with carillon

Old Town Hall

Hofbrauhaus

Frauenkirche

St. Peter (Old Peter)

German Museum

Olympic Park with Olympic Tower

English Garden

Nymphenburg Palace and Botanical Garden

Oktoberfest

Bavaria statue

Old Pinakothek, New Pinakothek, Pinakothek der Moderne

BMW Building and BMW Headquarters

Allianz Arena