Munich

We join a free walking tour in Marienplatz. It’s led by a British girl named Liz and she’s experienced and interesting and talks good and loud. She offers the tour for free and counts on tips from satisfied participants. She walks us around for more than three hours.

In Marienplatz (or Mary’s Place), dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the most striking feature is the New Town Hall. It’s older than the old town hall, (it was built in the 1500’s), having survived the bombs of WW II. Follow that?

The New Town Hall

The square was dedicated to Mary after she was credited with saving the town from the plague. It was thought at the time that cats were responsible for transmitting the plague, so every cat in Munich was destroyed. The rats were thrilled and began reproducing at a prodigious rate. And who was really spreading the plague? Finally, having discovered their error Munich quickly imported more than a few cats from Italy and balance was restored.

How did any of this concern the Virgin Mary? One of the nobles had ridden away to hide in the forest and returned when the plague was routed. People questioned his motives until he said he had been in the forest praying to Mary to save the city. To save face he erected an elaborate gold-plated statue in the center of the square.

In the middle of the town hall’s central tower is a glockenspiel that plays for about 10-15 minutes while life-sized mechanized figures enact a small story, (which includes a jousting match on horseback). This happens three times a day, at 11, at noon and at 5pm. At these times the square fills with people staring up and when the music begins, a murmur of anticipation runs through the crowd. Some people bring chairs.

Glockenspiel Figures

There are two symbols of Munich. The lion and the monk. The German name for the city: Munchen means “of monks”.

The lion comes from Henry the Lion a knight who was rewarded for his bravery with a gift of land from the king. He used his land to establish the city, arranging to make it a stop on the salt route. The salt trade was a considerable moneymaker and Munich flourished.

 

Munich's Seal

The Cathedral of Munich, the Church of Our Lady is said to have been built by the devil. It was erected in 20 years, which was an unheard of achievement. The story goes that the devil visited the church while it was under construction, walking in through the front door. He found it to be dark, dank and filled with rats. He thought it would be a lovely place for devil-worship so he made a deal with the architect. If no more windows were added to the plans he would send his devilish assistants to make certain the cathedral would be completed quickly. When it was finished he visited again, entering this time through a side door. He walked into a space flooded with light. He then summoned the architect and asked what had happened. Simply this: when the church is entered through the front doors columns block each and every window, giving the appearance that they don’t exist. When entering through the side doors every window is visible and they are huge. They had existed all along. The devil got so angry he stomped his foot in frustration and his footprint is still visible in the vestibule floor. (Others contend it’s the footprint of the architect, but who are you going to believe?)

 

The Devil's Footprint

This is the church of the former Pope Benedict.

The church was bombed during WWII and almost completely destroyed. The towers remained intact, intentionally left unscathed by the American and British bombers because they used them for navigation when they flew over the city. This was also why the New Town Hall was spared.

The people of Munich anticipated that their city would be bombed, after all Hitler rose to power here. They made detailed documentation of buildings and architectural features and were able to very accurately reconstruct their city after the war even though 80% of Munich was reduced to rubble.

Outside the church is a miniature model of Munich’s old town. It serves as a guide for the blind. All of its labels are in Braille.

Old Town in Braille

Old Saint Peter’s Church is the oldest in Munich. It’s built on the ruins of a church from 1050. Traditionally, the churchyard is used to bury the congregation’s dead, but the land around the church was sold to make way for ‘progress’ and the bodies were moved. Some of the richer patrons objected to having to travel too far to visit the graves of their loved ones, so headstones were erected on the outer walls of the church.

Tombstones on the Wall

The Viktualienmarkt, or food market is a huge public market right in the center of things. Tented booths sell fresh produce, flowers and other delectables. It’s a permanent part of the city environment open every day except Sunday. There’s a city run beer garden in the market and it rotates selling beer from each of Munich’s seven breweries. You can bring your own food to a beer garden, so people browse the market, put together a picnic and eat in the beer garden. Kids too.

The Munich Maypole stands in the market. The Maypole is a Bavarian tradition and every city has one. It’s a pictorial representation of each city’s characteristics and attractions. Around the first of May the poles are often stolen and held for ransom.

 

Munich's Maypole

The Hofbrauhaus is one example of the beer gardens that flourish in Munich. Beer mugs are passed down from generation to generation. Locals keep their mugs in lockers at their favorite drinking spot. To become a regular and have a chair reserved for you requires attendance three times a week for fifteen years. “Cheers” in German is “prost” and you must look into the eyes of the person you are toasting…nothing serious, just a glance and acknowledgement.

FYI, Augustiner is the favorite beer in Munich. It’s not exported, because they drink it all right here.

The population of Munich is 1.5 million. During Oktoberfest up to 7 million more people show up. Because the weather is better. the festival is held mostly in September.

There are memorials throughout the city reminding people of what happened here when Hitler was in power. They are subtle and can be easily missed like the wall where a plaque once was that commemorated the Nazi revolution. The plaque was removed, but the space where it stood remains purposefully empty, haunting.

 

Empty Wall

German students are required to visit two concentration camps before they graduate high school.

At the Bavarian war memorial two lions stand guard. One with his mouth open looks towards the royal palace and the monarchy, the other with closed mouth looks towards a church and Catholicism.  The message being: speak out against the powers that be, question them, but never your church. Hmmm.

 

Mouth Open

Mouth Closed

The tour ends outside a yellow church. It was built by a man who had seven daughters. He promised to build this church if he was granted a son. Bingo! Yellow on the outside, the entire church interior is pure stark white marble. 

All For a Son

We cap the tour with an Augustiner, sausage, sauerkraut and (guess what?) German potato salad.