Munich Things to Do Tips by hundwalder

Sk. Michael kirche Karlsplatz (Stachus) Review

Construction on sk. Michael kirche ( church ) was started in 1583 and completed in the early part of the Baroque period. The exterior architecture is typical of Bavarian architecture of the period.

The bronze sculpture show is of the archeangel Michael ( father Adam ) subduing his adversary Satan ( aka Lucifer, Beelzebub, the devil, son of the morning, old scratch, etc. ) during the war in heaven. The sculpture which is located near the main church entrance, is a very well crafted eye catcher.

Several very high ranking Bavarians were entombed in this church, including mad king Ludwig ll, whose body was found mysteriously floating in a nearby lake after he drained the national treasury constructing his fairy tale castles. His castles are now some the most popular tourist attractions in Bavaria.

Address: Neuhauser strasse 6

Directions: Neurhauser strasse is the main pedestrian mall in altstadt Muenchen.

Karlsplatz ( Stachus ) fountain & palaces. Karlsplatz (Stachus) Review

The large fountain partially shown in the photo was crafted in Karlsplatz prior to the 1972 Olympic games. People cool off in the fountain on hot Summer days. However, there were no takers on this unusually cold morning in late May, when the temperature was stightly above the freezing mark. Karlsplatz was named in honor of an unpopular beaurocrat Karl Theodor. The locals later starting calling the square Stachus, after a popular biergarten proprieter. The name stuch ( pun intended ).

The magnificent palace shown behind ( on the west side ) of the square is Justizpalast, which as you probably guessed, means palace of justice. ( Isn't learning German fun ? ) Construction on Justizpalast began in 1891 and was completed 7 years later. The architectural style can best be described as neo-Ranaissance, although Baroque and Rokoko elements are also evident. The columns on the four corners of the palace are topped with interesting pinnacles. The statues around the top balcony are ancient symbols of justice. The copper roof is discolored by heavy oxidation and could use a little refreshing. With that in mind judge Hundwalder gives the palace a score of 8.2. The palace still houses Bavaria's highest court. Fortunately, I idid not get to see first hand how the system works, although I probably came close a couple of times.

The neo-Renaissance dome you see behind the court palace is the main dome of the Hauptbahnhof, which is Muenchen's gigantic but fascinating train station ( a city within a city ). From there you can easily journey most anywhere in Europe.

Achtung ! Leave yourself a lot of time to catch your train unless you are greatly skilled at forced marching.

Address: Karlsplatz ( excuse me! Stachus )

Directions: Located on the edge of altstadt Muenchen, very near the hauptbahnhof, or central train station. You can see the station's dome in the photo.

Karlstor gate to altstadt Muenchen. Karlstor Review

Karlstor gate which now serves as an fascinating gate to altstadt, has one central Gothic arch entrance for vehicular traffic, and two small Gothic arch pedestrian entrances. The small arches are contained within the twin crenelated defense towers. The gate was built nearly 700 years ago. The gate was contained in the defense ramparts that at one time completely surrounded the city. Unfortunately Karlstor gate was so heavily refurbished and polished up that it no longer looks like a medieval 700 year old gate, but moe like something in Disneyland.

The palace at the right of the gate is clearly of Baroque architecture, but does not display the flambouyant style of the period. It has two identical hexagonal towers with characteristic Bavarian onion or bulbous domes. The gate marks the start of Neuhauserstrasse ( new house street ).

This photo was shot early on an unusually cold Monday morning in late May of 2004. Crews were thoroughly cleaning up the mess left by the crowds the night before. Muenchen is definately a tidy and very clean city, unlike U.S. cities. The signs showing the ' U ' and ' S ' symbols indicates that the adjoining escalator leads to both the U bahn ( subway ) and S bahn ( above ground train ) station of Karlsplatz. The sparkling train station is like a small city, containing a great assortment of shops.

Address: Muenchen altstadt

Directions: Very close to the Hauptbahnhof, which is Muenchen's gigantic central train station.

Old Augustinian kirche now has different uses Karlsplatz (Stachus) Review

Based on its early Baroque exterior architecture, I would estimate the the Augustinian kirche ( church ) near Karlsplatz to be about 400 years old. As Bavarians lost their fervant religious zeal, the demand for churches decreased. The upper floors of this magnificent church were converted into a museum of hunting and fishing, which you can visit if you are in to that sort of thing. The main floor contains a great restaurant, a deli, and other businesses. The old Baroque and modern architecture of the building blend harmoniously. Stop in or just admire it from the outisde as I did.

Address: Neuhauser strasse

Directions: Neuhauser strasse near the Karlsplatz city gate. U or S bahn to Karlsplatz station.

Guten morgen Muenchen. Frauenkirche Review

All eight clocks ( the Bavarians insist upon knowing what time it is ) on the bell towers of domkirche zu unserer lieben ( Frauenkirche ) issued a sober reminder to me that it was indeed 8:30 AM and time to hurry back to nearby Hauptbahnhof, catch the S-bahn to Muenchen flughafen to catch my super bargain flight back to Charlotte. My legendary 13 day adventure through central Europe and the Adriatic seabord was finished much too soon.

Construction on Frauenkirche, commonly known as the dom ( cathedral ) started in 1468. The twin bell towers were completed about 60 years later. This was an incredible accomplishment considering that this great city had less than 15,000 population at the time. The immense dom dominates Muenchen altstadt. The architectural style is early Renaissance, although there are many Gothic arches in the interior and the upper sections of the 100 meter high towers. The bell towers are capped with copper domes shaped like a sultan's crown. They are heavily oxidized giving them their green colour. Even a little Romanesque style is evident.

The interior is plain compared with most Catholic cathedrals of the era, but there are many excellent wooden carvings ( which Bavaria is well known for ) of saints and the apostles.

Address: center of altstadt

Directions: The bell towers are hard to miss from altstadt