Munich

:For the 2005 Steven Spielberg film, see Munich (film)

Sights

Munich is a popular tourist destination and has been described as Germany's "secret capital".

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The city has several important art museums, most of them can be found in the Kunstareal as the Alte Pinakothek, the Neue Pinakothek, and the Pinakothek der Moderne. Before World War I, it was also the site of the Blaue Reiter group of artists, many of which can be seen at the Lenbachhaus. A profound collection of Greek and Roman art is provided by the Glyptothek and the Antike Staatsammlung.

Related Topics:
Museum - Kunstareal - Alte Pinakothek - Neue Pinakothek - Pinakothek der Moderne - World War I - Blaue Reiter - Lenbachhaus - Glyptothek - Antike Staatsammlung

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Other famous tourist attractions include the English Garden (Englischer Garten - a garden park roughly in the center of the city that contains a nudist area, jogging tracks and bridle-paths), the Deutsches Museum (a science museum), and the Rathaus-Glockenspiel, an ornate clock with moving figures atop the town hall. Perhaps Munich's most famous attraction is the Oktoberfest, a 2-week-long fair with many rides and several very large tents. The Oktoberfest was first held October 12, 1810 in honor of the marriage of crown Prince Ludwig I of Bavaria 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, Oktoberfest actually begins in September. It lasts two weeks and always finishes on the first Sunday in October unless the German national holiday on the 3rd of October ("Tag der deutschen Einheit" - Day of German Unity) is a monday or tuesday - then the Oktoberfest still opens for these days.

Related Topics:
Englischer Garten - Nudist - Deutsches Museum - Rathaus-Glockenspiel - Clock - Oktoberfest - October 12 - 1810 - Prince Ludwig I of Bavaria - Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen

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The Frauenkirche ("Dom zu unserer Lieben Frau" - Cathedral of Our Lady) is the most famous building in the city center. This is Munich's central cathedral and is famous for its twin towers which are topped with brass onion domes. At first glance the two towers appear to be the same height but in actual fact one is slightly taller than the other. Unlike most buildings in Munich's old town, the towers of the Frauenkirche (but not the church itself) survived the war intact, making them more than 400 years old. The Frauenkirche's towers (109 meters or 358 feet) are also the measurement for a new rule which limits the height of new buildings to the same height in the city. This rule was passed in November 2004 by the people of Munich in a referendum organized by Georg Kronawitter, a former SPD mayor, against the will of the political parties in the city's parliament ("Stadtrat") who feared that it would harm the city's attractiveness to investors.

Related Topics:
Frauenkirche - Our Lady - Onion domes

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The Olympic Park with its stadium was built for the 1972 Summer Olympics which were held in Munich. The Olympic buildings are famous for their design, which was inspired by dew-covered cobwebs. Visitors can be elevated on top of the Olympic Tower (Olympiaturm), which is also an important radio and TV broadcasting tower.

Related Topics:
1972 Summer Olympics - Olympiaturm

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The 2006 World Cup, however, will not take place in the traditional Olympic Stadium, but in Munich's new soccer stadium, the Allianz Arena.

Related Topics:
2006 World Cup - Olympic Stadium - Allianz Arena

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Other

• Königsplatz
• Hofbräuhaus
• Schloß Nymphenburg (Nymphenburg Palace)
• Schloß Oberschleißheim (Oberschleissheim Castle)
• BMW Headquarters
• Arabella High-Rise Building

Around Munich

Lying on the plain of the Voralpenland, the Munich agglomeration sprawls unhindered by geography. Several smaller traditional Bavarian cities are today part of the Munich suburbia and are worth a visit when the main Munich sights are exhausted.

Related Topics:
Voralpenland - Agglomeration - Geography

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• Dachau
• Erding
• Fürstenfeldbruck
• Freising
• Garching bei München
• Starnberg