MUNICH

German Mnchen, capital and largest city of the Land (state) of Bavaria and the third largest city in Germany (after Berlin and Hamburg). Munich is by far the largest city in southern Germany. It lies about 30 miles (48 km) north of the edge of the Alps and along the Isar River, which flows through the middle of the city. Munich, or Mnchen (Home of the Monks), traces its origins to the Benedictine monastery at Tegernsee, which was probably founded in AD 750. In 1157 Henry the Lion, duke of Bavaria, granted the monks the right to establish a market where the road from Salzburg met the Isar River. A bridge was built across the Isar the following year, and the marketplace was fortified. In 1255 Munich became the home of the Wittelsbach family, which had succeeded to the duchy of Bavaria in 1180. For more than 700 years the Wittelsbachs would be closely connected with the town's destiny. In the early 14th century the first of the Wittelsbach line of Holy Roman emperors, Louis IV, called the Bavarian, expanded the town to the size at which it remained up to the end of the 18th century. Under the Bavarian elector Maximilian I (15971651), a powerful and effective ruler, Munich increased in wealth and size and prospered until the Thirty Years' War. It was occupied by the Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus in 1632, and in 1634 a plague epidemic killed off one-third of its population. The third Wittelsbach who left his mark on the community was Louis I, king of Bavaria from 1825 to 1848. It was he who planned and created modern Munich, and it was his architects who established the city's characteristic appearance in the public buildings they designed. The 19th century was Munich's greatest period of growth and development. Protestants became citizens for the first time in what had been until then a purely Roman Catholic town. The city's population of 100,000 in 1854 grew to 500,000 by 1900. Munich's cultural importance in Europe was enhanced when Louis II, by his championing of the composer Richard Wagner, revived its fame as a city of music and the stage. The rule of the Wittelsbach dynasty finally ended with the abdication of Louis III in November 1918, and in the aftermath of World War I, Munich became a hotbed of right-wing political ferment. It was there that Adolf Hitler joined the National Socialist (Nazi) Party and became its leader. The beer cellar where he held meetings that led to the Putsch (rising) against the Bavarian authorities in November 1923 can still be seen. In World War II Munich suffered heavily from Allied bombing raids, which destroyed more than 40 percent of its buildings. The old town, clustered around the ancient crossroads of the marketplace in the Marienplatz, has increasingly become a business centre and has lost much of its ancient character. Among the old buildings that still stand are three of the seven town gatesKarls, Sendlinger, and Isar, all dating from the 14th century. Other medieval buildings include Munich's cathedral, the Church of Our Lady (Frauenkirche; built 146888), whose massive cupola-capped towers are conspicuous landmarks; and the Old Town Hall (147080) in the Marienplatz. Nearby is St. Peter's Church (1169), Munich's oldest church, which was completely destroyed in World War II but subsequently rebuilt in its original form. The former arsenal of the town at Jakobsplatz is now the municipal museum. The oldest of the Wittelsbach residences, the Alter Hof (Old Court), has retained its medieval appearance. The present Residenz (Residence) dates from the 16th century, but the style of every period up to the 19th century was tried out on it with superb effect; the building was destroyed in World War II but has been reconstructed. Another survival from this early period is St. Michael's Church (158397), which is considered to be the most important Renaissance church in Germany and one of the most beautiful in central Europe. Despite these older buildings, the old town is predominantly Baroque and Rococo. Italian models inspired the late 17th-century Theatine Church, the early 18th-century Trinity Church (Dreifaltigkeitskirche), and an 18th-century Marianist church, the Brgersaal. St. Michael's Church at Berg am Laim, the Asam Church (also called St. John of Nepomuk Church), and the Cuvillis Theatre at the Residenz were completed between 1746 and 1777. The last-named structure, a magnificent Rococo theatre built for the Wittelsbach court, was destroyed in World War II, but much of its interior decoration was saved, and the theatre was reconstructed. Outside the town walls were built summer castles: Schleissheim and Nymphenburg, the latter with its hunting lodge, the Amalienburg Pavilion, a Rococo masterpiece. Several palaces built by the Bavarian landed gentry and court nobility at the same time also survive. The New Town Hall (built 186774) was enlarged during the turn of the century. Munich received the first great impetus to expand beyond the old town from the magnificent building program undertaken by Louis I in the 19th century. Between the Victory Gate (Siegestor) and the Hall of Generals (Feldherrnhalle), he had the monumental Ludwigstrasse built, along which he constructed the state library, the Ludwigs Church, and the University of Munich. Other projects commissioned by Louis were the King's Square (Knigsplatz) with the Glyptothek (Sculpture Gallery), a museum that houses a collection of ancient and modern sculpture; the Propylen, a magnificent gateway in the style of the Propylaea at Athens, Greece; and the Alte Pinakothek (Old Picture Gallery), which contains one of Europe's great collections of paintings. Louis's son Maximilian II (reigned 184864) built the broad Maximilienstrasse and the Maximilianeum, which now houses the Bavarian Parliament (Landtag). In the past Munich suffered economically because of its distance from seaports and from the coal mines of the Ruhr region. But this situation improved when fuels other than coal came into general use. Munich shifted from heavy to light industry, to the manufacture, for example, of precision instruments and optical and electrical appliances, as well as the production of food, cosmetics, and clothing. The city has several of the largest breweries in Germany and is famous for its beer and its annual Oktoberfest celebration. Munich is a major tourist destination and a convention centre. Book publishing and printing and television production are also important. The city is a centre of the banking and financial industry and also has one of the largest wholesale markets in Europe for fruit, vegetables, and animal produce. Munich is connected by rail to all the main cities of Germany and Austria, and Autobahnen (expressways) from Stuttgart, Nrnberg, and Salzburg converge on the city. Franz Josef Strauss Airport, located 17 miles (27 km) northeast of Munich, opened in 1992. A modern subway has been built in the city. The University of Munich was moved from Landshut to Munich in 1826 by Louis I. Among the city's other important educational establishments are the Technical University of Munich, founded in 1868, and academies of art, music, philosophy, military studies, and film and television. Munich has long been a centre for the arts. Music, especially opera, has flourished. In addition to the Bavarian State Opera Company and the Munich Philharmonic and other orchestras, there are the Bavarian State Dramatic Company and numerous private theatres. Important libraries include the Bavarian State Library, the University Library, and the library of the Deutsches Museum (a science library). Munich has some outstanding museums and art galleries. The Alte Pinakothek houses the art treasures accumulated by the Wittelsbach family since the 16th century. Its collections of Renaissance-era German and Dutch paintings and Flemish Baroque paintings are especially strong, with many masterpieces by Albrecht Drer, Peter Paul Rubens, and Anthony Van Dyck. In addition to the Alte Pinakothek and the Glyptothek, there are the Neue Pinakothek (New Picture Gallery), which houses Munich's main collection of 19th- and 20th-century art; the Bavarian National Museum, which contains German art and applied art since the Middle Ages; and the Residenz Museum, which has paintings, sculpture, furniture, and ceramics. The Deutsches Museum on an island in the Isar River is a huge and comprehensive museum of science, engineering, and technology. There are also the State Gallery of Modern Art and numerous small art galleries. Pop. (1995 est.) city, 1,244,676.