MUNICH

1. MUNICH The city's motto is "München mag Dich" Munich likes you

2. GERMANY In July 2007, Munich had 1.34 million inhabitants; 300,129 of those did not hold German citizenship. The city has strong Turkish and Balkan communities. The largest groups of foreign nationals were Turks (43,309), Albanians (30,385), Croats (24,866), Serbs (24,439), Greeks (22,486), Austrians (21,411), and Italians (20,847). 37% of foreign nationals come from the European Union. With only 24,000 inhabitants in 1700, the population doubled about every 30 years. For example, it had 100,000 people in 1852 and then 250,000 people in 1883; by 1901, the figure had doubled again to 500,000. Since then, Munich has become Germany's third largest city. In 1933, 840,901 inhabitants were counted and in 1957, Munich's population passed the 1 million mark.

3. MUNICH

4. HISTORY The year 1158 is assumed to be the foundation date, which is only the earliest date the city is mentioned in a document. The document was signed in Augsburg. By that time the Guelph Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, had built a bridge over the river Isar next to a settlement of Benedictine monks—this was on the Salt Route and a toll bridge. Almost two decades later in 1175 Munich was officially granted city status and received fortification. In 1180, with the trial of Henry the Lion, Otto I Wittelsbach became Duke of Bavaria and Munich was handed over to the Bishop of Freising. Wittelsbach's heirs, the Wittelsbach dynasty, would rule Bavaria until 1918. In 1240, Munich was transferred to Otto II Wittelsbach and in 1255, when the Duchy of Bavaria was split in two, Munich became the ducal residence of Upper Bavaria. Duke Louis IV was elected German king in 1314 and crowned as Holy Roman Emperor in 1328. He strengthened the city's position by granting it the salt monopoly, thus assuring it of additional income. In the late 15th century Munich underwent a revival of gothic arts—the Old Town Hall was enlarged, and a Munich's largest gothic church, now a cathedral—the Frauenkirche—constructed in only twenty years, starting in 1468.

5. GEOGRAPHIE Munich lies on the elevated plains of Upper Bavaria, about 50 km (31.07 mi) north of the northern edge of the Alps, at an altitude of about 520 m (1,706.04 ft) ASL. The local rivers are the Isar and the Würm. Munich is situated in the Northern Alpine Foreland. The northern part of this sandy plateau includes a highly fertile flint area which is no longer affected by the folding processes found in the Alps, while the southern part is covered with morainic hills. Between these are fields of fluvio-glacialout-wash, such as around Munich. Wherever these deposits get thinner, the ground watercan permeate the gravel surface and flood the area, leading to marshes as in the north of Munich.

6. CULTURE The city is an inspiring mix of historic buildings and impressive architecture, since Munich reconstructed the ruins of their historic buildings but also created new landmarks of architecture. A survey, conducted by the Society's Center for Sustainable Destinations for the National Geographic Traveler, chose over 100 historic places around the world and ranked Munich as the 30th best destination. At the centre of the city is the Marienplatz—a large open square named after the Mariensäule, a Marian column in its centre—with the Old and the New Town Hall. Its tower contains the Rathaus-Glockenspiel. Three gates of the demolished medieval fortification have survived to this day—the Isartor in the east, the Sendlinger Tor in the south and the Karlstor in the west of the inner city. The Karlstor leads up to the Stachus, a grand square dominated by the Justizpalast (Palace of Justice) and a fountain.

7. PARKS Munich is a green city with numerous parks. The EnglischerGarten, close to the city centre and covering an area of 3.7 km² (larger than Central Park in New York), is one of the world's largest urban public parks, and contains a nudist area, jogging tracks and bridle-paths. It was designed and laidby Benjamin Thompson, Count of Rumford, for both pleasure and as a work area for the city's vagrants and homeless. Nowadays it is entirely a park with a Biergarten at the Chinese Pagoda. Other large green spaces are the modern Olympiapark, Westpark, and the parks of Nymphenburg Palace (with the BotanischerGartenMünchen-Nymphenburg to the north), and Schleissheim Palace. The city's oldest park is the Hofgarten, near the Residenz, and dating back to the 16th century. Best known for the largest beergarden in the town is the former royal Hirschgarten, founded in 1780 for deer which still live there. aid out

8. NymphenburgPalace Twolargebaroquepalaces in Nymphenburg and Oberschleissheimarereminders of Bavaria'sroyal past. SchlossNymphenburg (NymphenburgPalace), some 6 km north west of the citycentre, issurrounded by animpressive park and isconsidered to be one of Europe's most beautifulroyalresidences. 2 km north west of NymphenburgPalaceisSchlossBlutenburg (BlutenburgCastle), anoldducal country seat with a late-Gothicpalacechurch. SchlossFürstenried (FürstenriedPalace), a baroquepalace of similarstructure to Nymphenburg but of much smallersize, was erectedaround the same time in the south west of Munich. The secondlargebaroqueresidenceisSchlossSchleissheim (SchleissheimPalace), located in the suburb of Oberschleissheim, a palacecomplexencompassingthreeseparateresidences: AltesSchlossSchleissheim (the oldpalace), NeuesSchlossSchleissheim (the newpalace) and SchlossLustheim (LustheimPalace). Most parts of the palacecomplexserve as museums and art galleries. DeutschesMuseum'sFlugwerftSchleissheimflightexhibitioncentreislocatednearby, on the Schleissheim Special Landing Field.

9. Hofbräuhausand Oktoberfest The Hofbräuhaus am Platzl, arguably the most famous beer hall worldwide, is located in the city centre. It also operates the second largest tent at the Oktoberfest, one of Munich's most famous attractions. For two weeks, the Oktoberfest attracts millions of people visiting its beer tents ("Bierzelte") and fairground attractions. The Oktoberfest was first held on 12 October 1810 in honour of the marriage of crown prince Ludwig to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. The festivities were closed with a horse race and in the following years the horse races were continued and later developed into what is now known as the Oktoberfest. Despite its name, most of Oktoberfest occurs in September. It always finishes on the first Sunday in October unless the German national holiday on 3 October ("Tag der deutschenEinheit"-Day of German Unity) is a Monday or Tuesday-then the Oktoberfest remains open for these days.

10. Culinaryspecialities The Weißwurst ('white sausage') is a Munich speciality. Traditionally eaten only before 12:00 noon – a tradition dating to a time before refrigerators – these morsels are often served with sweet mustard and freshly baked pretzels. Leberkäs, Bavarian baked sausage loaf, often served with potato salad, is another delicacy of the region. The most famous soup might be the Leberknödel Soup. Leberknödel is a bread dumpling seasoned with liver and onions. Schweinsbraten(pot roasted pork) with Knödel (dumplings made from potatoes and/or white bread) and Kraut (cabbage) or a Schweinshaxe (pork knuckle) are served as lunch or dinner. Beuscherl, a plate of lung, heart and spleen is also served with dumplings. Popular as dessert is the Apfelstrudel (apple) strudel with vanilla sauce, the Millirahmstrudel a cream cheese strudel, Dampfnudeln (yeast dumplings served with custard) or Auszogene, a fried pastry shaped like a large donut but without a hole. And there is also the famous Prinzregententorte created in honour of the prince regent Luitpold.

11. BAVARIA Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of the country. With an area of 70,548 square kilometres (27,200 sq mi), it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany. Bavaria is Germany's second most populous state (after North Rhine-Westphalia) with almost 12.5 million inhabitants, more than any of the three sovereign states on its borders. Bavaria's capital is Munich. One of the oldest states of Europe, it was established as a duchyin the mid first millennium. In the 17th century, the Duke of Bavaria became a Prince-electorof the Holy Roman Empire. The Kingdom of Bavaria existed from 1806 to 1918, and Bavaria has since been a free state (republic). Modern Bavaria also includes parts of the historical regions of Franconia and Swabia.