MUNICH


Doug-About
Munich is the capital and principal city of  the German state of Bavaria and the third largest city in Germany  (after BERLIN and HAMBURG).  
Munich is situated in the southern part of the country in the valley of the Isar River, a tributary of the Danube, about 48 km north of the foothills of the Alps.  
The city has an area of 310 sq km and a predominantly Roman Catholic population.  
The city's name is derived from Munichen, which means "home of the monks." 
Munich was established in 1157 when HENRY THE LION, duke of Bavaria, granted trade, coinage, and customs privileges to a market centre established by monks near their monastery, probably founded in 750.  

Contemporary City
Munich is the seat of the Bavarian state government and a major transportation, commercial, and industrial centre.  
The city is famous for its beer, but machinery, automobiles, furniture, clothing, optical instruments, and electronic equipment are more significant manufacturers. 
Craft industries such as glass staining, wood carving, and silver and bronze founding are well known.  
Publishing and filmmaking are important, as are the fashion and high technology industries.  
Munich is also one of Europe's leading financial and wholesale trade centres. 
Tourism is an important source of income.  
Travel within the city is facilitated by a subway system.  
Munich has numerous cultural, artistic, and educational institutions.  
The GLYPTOTHEK is a world-famous sculpture museum;  the Alte Pinakothek contains an excellent collection of German and Flemish paintings;  the National Museum of Bavaria houses an important art collection;  and the Deutsches Museum is the largest technological museum in Europe.  
The National Theater has an excellent reputation.  
The Ludwig Maximilian University, founded in 1472 and located in Munich since 1826, is among Germany's best.  

Munich's Oktoberfest, a beer festival, is celebrated in October.  
The oldest part of the city, dating from the 12th to 14th centuries, was built in the form of an irregular semicircle around the original settlement on the left bank of the Isar.  
Its centre is the Marienplatz, with the former town hall, a Gothic structure dating from 1470s and the nearby Frauenkirche, built between 1468 and 1488 and restored following damage in World War II.  
The wall surrounding the old city was torn down in the late 18th century, but three of the 14th-century gates were left standing:  Karlstor, Sendligertor, and Isartor.  
The huge palace of the dukes and kings of Bavaria, built from the 15th to the 19th century, is now maintained as a museum. Munich experienced extensive building during the 19th and 20th centuries, but because many of these structures are neoclassical, they blend in with earlier buildings.  

History
Although Munich began to grow as a commercial centre during the 12th century, the city's rise to prominence began in the 13th century, when the WITTELSBACH family, who ruled Bavaria from 1180 to 1918, made Munich their capital.  
Following a disastrous fire in 1327, Holy Roman Emperor LOUIS IV oversaw the rebuilding of much of the city.  
In 1806, Munich became the capital of the Kingdom of Bavaria.  
Under King LOUIS I, Munich once again experienced much growth, but the many new neoclassical structures blended harmoniously with earlier buildings.  
LOUIS II brought Richard WAGNER to Munich, which became a leading musical and artistic centre.  
Following the abdication of the Wittelsbach kings at the end of World War I, Munich was the site of severe revolutionary fighting, especially after the assassination of Socialist premier Kurt EISNER, when workers attempted to establish a Communist government in April 1919.  
The Nazi party was founded in Munich, and Adolf HITLER attempted to launch a coup there in 1923.  
The MUNICH CONFERENCE, which approved the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia, took place in the city in 1938.  
Munich suffered heavy Allied bombing during World War II, but by 1960 most rebuilding had been completed. 
Munich hosted the 1972 Olympic Games, an event marred by the kidnapping and murder of most of the Israeli team by Palestinian terrorists.
 
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