| Page Views: 314 Last Visit to Munich: - | Munich, Germany by al_mary - last update: Oct 26, 2005 |
The settlement was founded as Munichen, Latin Monacum, Monachium,
in 1158 by Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, and half a century later it was
granted city status and fortified. The city grew around a bridge, that Henry
initially built over the river 'Isar'.
To force traders to use his bridge and of course charge them for doing so,
he destroyed a nearby bridge owned by bishop Otto von Freising - Freising.
Therefore the bishop and Henry quarreled about the city before the emperor
at a Reichstag held in Augsburg. In 1180, with the trial of Henry the Lion, Ott
of Wittelsbach became Duke of Bavaria. His heirs, the Wittelsbach dynasty
would rule Bavaria until 1218. In 1255, the dukedom of Bavaria was split in
two, and Munich became the ducal residence of Upper Bavaria.
In 1327, the entire city was destroyed by fire but was rebuilt some years later
by Louis IV, the ruling Holy Roman Emperor of the time ......
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|  | Historical
1632 the city was occupied by Gustav II Adolph
of Sweden during the Thirty Years' War and
following 1705 it was under the control of the
Habsburg family for some years.
The city was growing very quickly and was one
of the largest cities in continental Europe.
In 1806, it became the capital of the new
Kingdom of Bavaria, with the state's parliament,
the Landtag.
Many of the city's finest buildings belong to this
period and were built under the reigns of the
Kings Ludwig I and Maximilian II.
These buildings include the Ruhmeshalle and
those on Ludwigstraße and Königsplatz, built
by architects Leo von Klenze and Friedrich von Gärtner,
the "Bavaria" statue by Ludwig Michael von Schwanthaler.
In 1882 electric lighting was introduced to Munich.
After World War I, the city was at the center of much
unrest. In November 1918, the Communists took
power establishing the Bavarian Soviet Republic,
Münchner Räterepublik, which was put down on
May 3, 1919 by the militarist Freikorps, many of
whom were later drawn to Adolf Hitler and National
Socialism.
The city was very heavily damaged by allied bombing
during World War II. After American occupation in 1945,
Munich was completely rebuilt following a meticulous
and, by comparison to other war-ravaged German
cities, a rather conservative plan which preserved its
pre-war street grid ......
Click On Photo To Enlarge
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Oktoberfest
The first Oktoberfest was actually part of a
marriage celebration when, in October of
1810, Bavarian King Max Joseph gave a
big time wedding for Crown Prince Ludwig,
later to become King Ludwig I, with the
Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen.
It culminated with a series of horse races and
gave rise to the tradition of the October festival,
and in the following year, became an annual
affair commemorating this grand wedding
forevermore. The Oktoberfest we know today,
evolved over time and incorporated a number
of different traditions.
For the Opening day ceremonies, promptly at
11 a.m. a parade enters the grounds on the
Wies'n headed by the Münchner Kindl, the little
Munich city's coat of arms.
The mayor arrives in a festive coach followed
by civic dignitaries and horse-drawn brewer's
carts decorated with flowers.
This colorful ceremony with elaborate floats,
beer bands and men, women and children
wearing traditional costumes, lederhosen and
dirndls dates back to 1887. More than 7,0000
people participate in the four-mile long parade.
At noon the parade winds its way to the
"Schottenhammel" tent which is the oldest private
tent at "Oktoberfest."
It is here that the mayor will tap the first keg of beer
and declare, "o'zapft is" - the keg is tapped ......
Click On Photo To Enlarge
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ | | | Bavarian Beer - Bavarian Pretzel |
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| Pros: | "Oktoberfest" | | Cons: | "None We Could Find" | | In A Nutshell: | "A Historical City Worth A Visit" |
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