A special thank you to my Munich friends.
© Hermann-Josef Emons Verlag All rights reserved Layout: Eva Kraskes, based on a concept of Lübbeke | Naumann | Thoben Maps: Regine Spohner English translation: David Andersen Photographs: © Rüdiger Liedtke, except: Page 49 Höllenreiner’s Karussell Verleih; Page 63 Deutsches Museum; Page 135 Mercedes-Benz München, Advent calendar: Tommy Lösch for Idee & Concept GmbH Printing and binding: B.O.S.S Druck and Medien GmbH, Goch Printed in Germany 2013 ISBN 978-3-89705-116-7 First edition For the latest information about emons, read our regular newsletter: order it free of charge at www.emons-verlag.de
Foreward Did you know that the famous German author, Thomas Mann, had a brown bear and that you can come within touching distance of this very same bear today in Munich? Did you know that Michael Jackson will stay forever on the Isar; that Munich has another zoo besides Hellabrunn, and a house with more than 1,000 plaster figures? That you can have hallucinations in Fröttmaning, an amazing evening in a theater canteen, or dine surrounded by shells and frescos? You can have your genetic fingerprint decoded, marvel at 500 living reptiles, encounter the 19th century German poet Heinrich Heine in the Poets’ Garden, see Shakespeare in a garden or simply stare intently at the stars. All of that is exciting Munich, well off the beaten track of the usual mainstream city tours. There are windows and benches that offer extraordinary and compelling views, fountains, monuments, and side streets that most people thoughtlessly stroll past but that all represent important pieces of Munich’s history. Small, hidden castles and palaces, spectacular venues, off-beat neighborhoods, avant-garde sculptures – all little gems in the shadow of the Frauenkirche and Hofbräuhaus. Places you just won’t find in classic travel guides. This book will take people who live in Munich and people who think they know Munich to places that will astound them, places they never reckoned with. Just when you think you know every corner of the city and everything important in it, you’ll find it is still full of a hundred little and big surprises. Well, 111 surprises to be exact. 111 places in Munich that hold surprises even for insiders that will astound them and put a smile on their face.
111 Places 1_ The Abbey Church of St. Anna The first Rococo church in Munich and Old Bavaria | 10
2_ The Academy’s New Building New and daring next to old and staid | 12
3_ The Aids Memorial The immune deficiency disease made »visible« | 14
4_ The Airport of the New Trade Fair City Visible signs of a new era in aviation | 16
5_ The Allerheiligen-Hofkirche And then spend a quiet moment in the picturesque Cabinet Garden | 18
6_ The Alpine Museum’s Garden An idyllic spot on Prater Island in the middle of the Isar | 20
7_ The Amphitheater in the English Garden Outdoor theater surrounded by sheep | 22
8_ The Atrium in the LMU Flyers against Nazi terror | 24
9_ The Art Pavilion The modern and the whimsical behind Neptunbrunnen | 26
10_ The Art Subway Station The appetizer makes you hungry for what’s above it | 28
11_ The Baroque St. Michael’s Church Johann Baptist Zimmermann in Berg am Laim | 30
12_ The Beer Garden at Platzl Peaceful oasis in the midst of the crowd | 32
13_ The Beer Garden in the Augustiner Stammhaus Picturesque inner courtyard, mussel shells and Isar pebbles | 34
14_ The Bogenhausen Cemetery Buried among great artists | 36
15_ The Bomb Attack Memorial The darkest day in 200 years of the Oktoberfest | 38
16_ The Borstei Visionary residential building after the First World War | 40
17_ The Bronze Boar The talisman in front of the Jagd- und Fischereimuseum | 42
18_ The Bust of Rupert Mayer The honoring of an upstanding man | 44
19_ The Café in Valentin-Karlstadt Musäum Off-beat humor on two floors and in the tower | 46
20_ The Carousel at the Chinese Tower A touch of Oktoberfest beneath shady chestnut trees | 48
21_ Carl Spitzweg’s Resting Place The painter of the »Poor Poet« in the old Südfriedhof cemetery | 50
22_ The Circus Krone Zoo Animals kept in indoor and outdoor enclosures right in the city | 52
23_ The Console Heads Coachman Krenkl and friends on the Karlstor | 54
24_ The Conviva in Blaues Haus The Kammerspiele’s canteen | 56
25_ The Deutsche Eiche Gay meeting place with a long tradition | 58
26_ The Dichtergarten The place to meet Heinrich Heine | 60
27_ The DNA-Laboratory in the Deutsches Museum Solve a crime using genetic fingerprints | 62
28_ The East-West Church of Peace The most lovable illegally constructed building in Munich | 64
29_ The Eisbach Surfers Hanging ten next to the Haus der Kunst | 66
30_ The Elisabethmarkt Like shopping in the country – only a little more expensive | 68
31_ The Forschungsbrauerei Special beers in the southeastern part of Munich | 70
32_ The Fürstengruft The grave of the Swan King in the pedestrian zone | 72
33_ The Galopprennbahn Leisure time, golf, and fast horses on Munich’s exciting racetrack | 74
34_ The Georg Elser Memorial The would-be Hitler assassin constructed his bombs on Türkenstrasse | 76
35_ The Grünwald Castle Hunting lodge, prison, powder magazine, and museum | 78
36_ The »Harmlos« How a Greek youth got a new name | 80
37_ The Head of Bavaria And, below it, is the Hall of Fame (Ruhmeshalle) | 82
38_ The Herz Jesu Kirche Church of the Sacred Heart – It doesn’t always have to be neo-classicist | 84
39_ The Hofgarten Fountain Machinery Fresh water out of ancient pipes | 86
40_ The Home of Lenin The revolutionary tretise »What Is to Be Done?« was written here | 88
41_ The Horse Market and the Cattle Market Horsing around in the inner city | 90
42_ The Hostel Houses Live where the poor used to live | 92
43_ The Hubertusbrunnen Originally the fountain house stood somewhere else | 94
44_ The Huge Aviary in Tierpark Hellabrunn Fluttering and flying as high as the sky | 96
45_ The Inner Courtyard in the Alte Münze The Bavarian Heritage Authority in the best of all settings | 98
46_ The International Youth Library A bit of internationality in medieval Blutenburg | 100
47_ The Israelite Cemetery Hidden and enchanting | 102
48_ The Japanese Teahouse Japanese-German friendship at the 1972 Olympics | 104
49_ The Klagebalken on Oberwiesenfeld The Wailing Beam – Memorial to the victims of the Munich massacre | 106
50_ The Kurt Eisner Memorial The spot where the founder of the Free State of Bavaria was murdered | 108
51_ The Lamps of Ingo Maurer Light and design in Westfriedhof subway station | 110
52_ The Last Judgment The second largest fresco in the world | 112
53_ The Lodenfrey Factory Where the typical Bavarian Loden jackets were once sewn and ironed | 114
54_ The Mae West Sculpture A new landmark in the east of Munich | 116
55_ The Magdalenenklause (Magdalene Hermitage) Artificial ruins in Nymphenburg Park | 118
56_ The Mann Family’s Brown Bear The »Buddenbrooks« in the Literaturhaus | 120
57_ The ManUtd. Memorial The Munich Air Disaster of soccer’s elite | 122
58_ The Maria Einsiedel Natural Outdoor Pool Drift along in the waters of the Isar | 124
59_ The Marienklause Prayer and repentance on the steep riverside cliffs | 126
60_ The Marionette Theater Grand performances (not only) for the little ones | 128
61_ The Maulwurfshausen Model Playfully mastering everyday life | 130
62_ The Memorial Tomb of Franz von Lenbach Munich’s prince of painters in Westfriedhof cemetery | 132
63_ The Mercedes-Benz House Gallery of the silver toy cars | 134
64_ The Metzgerzeile Tasty things to eat in Munich’s parlor | 136
65_ The Michael Jackson Memorial »Jacko« lives on, on Promenadeplatz | 138
66_ The Milch Häusl Organic snack bar and mini beer garden | 140
67_ The Monacensia Munich’s literary memory | 142
68_ The Monaco Franze The eternal ladies’ man still haunts his favorite lair | 144
69_ The Monkey Tower The legend of the monkey and little Ludwig | 146
70_ The Mühlbach River Where the Munich’s old city streams can be seen | 148
71_ The Municipal High-rise Munich’s last paternoster is still running here | 150
72_ The Musikhochschule The Munich Agreement was signed here in 1938 | 152
73_ The Neighborhood along the Westermühlbach Where life and living in the city are supposedly going to be improved | 154
74_ The Nepalese Pagoda and the Thai Sala Asiatic culture way off in Westpark | 156
75_ The Observatory A paradise for hobby astronomers | 158
76_ The Old Main Synagogue A memorial stone commemorating former Jewish life | 160
77_ The Old Northern Cemetery Family circus in the realm of the dead | 162
78_ The Paving Stones in Drückebergergasse Here you could avoid giving the Nazi salute | 164
79_ The Pfälzer Weinstube High spirits in royal residence | 166
80_ The Plaque for the Wittelsbach Palace The Gestapo once rampaged where BayernLB now has its headquarters | 168
81_ The Plaster of Paris Figures Unbelievable things in the Cultural Institute building | 170
82_ The Platform on Top of Old Peter Panorama view from Munich’s oldest church | 172
83_ The Prater Power Plant New energy for the Isar | 174
84_ The Registry Office on Mandlstrasse The most beautiful place to say »I do« | 176
85_ The Rescue Center for Reptiles On a first name basis with crocodiles, caimans, and alligators | 178
86_ The Schelling Salon Table tennis and billiards in an unusual corner pub | 180
87_ The Schloss Suresnes No one has a nicer residence than the Catholic Academy | 182
88_ The Schmied-von-Kochel-Monument Sendling’s Night of Murder and the marks it left | 184
89_ The Sckell Column For the man who saw gardens and lakes where there were none | 186
90_ The Sculpture in the Linde Group’s Courtyard The silver gas molecule by Christopher Klein | 188
91_ The Spice Store of Mister Schuhbeck There’s something for the senses on Platzl | 190
92_ The Stadium on Grünwalder Strasse Cult site of major soccer triumphs | 192
93_ The Stairs in the Bavarian State Library Sublime ascent into the intellectual universe | 194
94_ The Statue of Count von Montgelas The »Old Boy« totally modern | 196
95_ The St. Boniface’s Abbey Unconventional features and a hidden monastery | 198
96_ The Stone Bench Actually, this is where the Temple of Apollo was supposed to be | 200
97_ The Sunken Village A bit of yesterday between Allianz Arena and Grosslappen | 202
98_ The Sweat Bath in the Müllersche Volksbad Relax in a fantastic Art Nouveau bath house | 204
99_ The Tivoli Power Plant Industrial culture in a green landscape | 206
100_ The Track of the Devil The mysterious footprint in the Frauenkirche | 208
101_ The Training Grounds of FC Bayern Watch the stars train | 210
102_ The University Riding School Galloping through the English Garden | 212
103_ The Walking Man A Schwabing man at eye level with the tips of the poplar trees | 214
104_ The Wallner at the Grossmarkthalle It’s a treat to eat where everything is really fresh | 216
105_ The Wall Paintings in the Hofgarten Arcades Episodes from the history of the Wittelsbachs | 218
106_ The Waterfall in the English Garden The roar between Eisbach and Schwabinger Bach | 220
107_ The Wedekind Fountain This is where the Schwabing riot started | 222
108_ The White Rose in the Palace of Justice A permanent exhibit commemorating the resistance group | 224
109_ The Wiener Markt You can sit down and enjoy yourself on Wiener Platz | 226
110_ The Window in the Brandhorst Museum A view outside that you will never forget | 228
111_ The Wooden Bridge over the Isar The footbridge from the rear of Hirschau to St. EmmeramsmĂźhle | 230
1__ The Abbey Church
of St. Anna The first Rococo church in Munich and Old Bavaria It is hard to say which draws one to this corner of the city, the cozy St. Anna Platz with its little restaurants and cafés and its many places to sit outside or the eponymous abbey church with its own extraordinary charm. The church, consecrated in 1737, is considered a masterpiece of southern German Rococo. It is a little overshadowed by the parish church of St. Anna built by Gabriel von Seidl that dominates the square, but once discovered, it cannot be easily forgotten. The church conceived by Johann Michael Fischer has seen turbulent times. It was disassembled in 1802 as part of the great secularization, the brotherhood of the Hieronymites was driven off and the monastery dissolved. St. Anna was made Munich’s third parish church, after St. Peter’s and the parish church of Our Dear Lady. In 1827, the abbey church was taken over by Franciscans at the insistence of Ludwig I. When it became too small for the growing population, the parish church of St. Anna was built on the opposite side in 1892. The abbey was heavily damaged when it was hit by a bomb in 1944, leaving only the shell of the abbey church intact. Rebuilding work began immediately after the war. The rococo façade was restored to its original form. The reconstruction of the interior lasted until 1979. And the shining architectural achievement was given new life. In Fischer’s time, dispensing with right angles was completely new and an oval-shaped interior was a sensation. And all of it was decorated by the lavishly restored altar pictures and frescos by Cosmas Damian Asam and Johann Baptist Straub. Compared to that, the relic of St. Anthony of Padua (1195 – 1231) the Franciscans brought to St. Anna’s in 1827 that they had received as a gift from Louis IV, the Bavarian, in 1330 was just an added bonus. 10
Adresse St. Anna Platz 21, 80538 Munich (Lehel) | Transport U4 / 5 to Lehel | Opening times daily 6am – 7pm | Tip Recommended: the delicatessen (Feinkostladen) and the »Gandl« Restaurant on St. Anna Platz, tel. 089 / 29162525.
2__ The Academy’s New Building New and daring next to old and staid The Bavarian kings always had a sense for beauty, put a lot of money into the arts, and usually surrounded themselves with the best artists and architects. The Academy of Fine Arts Munich (Akademie der Bildenden Künste) was originally founded in 1770 as a »Drawing school respective Painter and Sculptor Academy« by Elector Max III Joseph. The Munich Academy always functioned as both an educational institution and an artist community, and as well as an advisor in artistic matters for the culturally-obsessed royal court and the state government. After almost ten years of construction, the elongated, neo-Renaissance-styled Art Academy, with its central stairway and curved driveway ramps, finally opened in 1886. It was designed by Gottfried von Neureuther and is situated on Akademiestrasse directly alongside the Siegestor. For its 300 students, it marked the border to Schwabing, the old artists’ quarter. Along with its counterparts in Düsseldorf and Paris, the Academy was soon counted among the most renowned art schools in Europe. Franz von Stuck, Wilhelm von Kaulbach, and Franz von Lenbach taught here; Wilhelm Busch, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Elisabeth Ney, and Lovis Corinth were among its students. But the imposing Victorian building, as mighty as it seemed, was soon bursting at the seams. Eventually the situation changed with the long discussed and spectacularly executed expansion program by the Viennese architectural office of Coop Himmelb(l)au, which had won the competition against some 178 architectural offices. In October 2005, the university took possession of the new, architecturally ingenious and technically highly complex building with its roof and sides completely glazed and a central inner courtyard that extends over all the floors. Following the old academy building’s thorough renovation in 2008, around 700 students now enjoy nearly optimal conditions for study and work. 12
Address Akademiestrasse 2 – 4, 80799 Munich (Maxvorstadt) | Transport U3 / 6 to Universität | Opening times Old building: Mon – Fri 7am – 9pm, Sat 10am – 5pm. New building: Mon – Fri 7am – 8pm | Tip On show in the Academy Gallery in the mezzanine of the Universität U-Bahn Station, Professor Huber Platz 1, are works predominantly by students of the Academy. The architectural offices of Coop Himmelb(l)au also built the BMW Welt, which opened in 2007, with its futuristic roof construction on Petuelring.
3__ The Aids Memorial The immune deficiency disease made »visible« Standing right next to Sendlinger Tor is a blue tower, the Aids Memorial of the city of Munich. The Munich city council decided in the summer of 2000 to erect a memorial to the people who have died of the immune deficiency disease since 1981. »AIDS – for the deceased – for persons with HIV – for their friends – for their families – 1981 till today« stands written on the column that is meant to resemble the columns in the Sendlinger Tor subway station, once constructed as a positive symbol of the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. After a design competition among many notable artists, the Aids Memorial, the first of its kind in Germany, was unveiled on July 17, 2002. Over 50,000 people have died in Germany of HIV infection since the start of the Aids epidemic. And Munich was always at the center of events. Although not nearly as many infected people die as they did years ago, the problem remains. »With the Aids Memorial by Wolfgang Tillman, Munich is bringing the subject of Aids out of the underground and placing it right in the middle of the city«, wrote Thomas Niederbühl, city councilman and the initiator of the memorial. At least 5,000 people with HIV live in Munich and each year two to three hundred newly infected are added to this number. The column is not just meant to be a memorial to keep alive the memory of the many who died in Munich, it also aims to evoke the social debate of the 1980s »in which special Bavarian Aids policies relied on coercive measures, tests, discrimination against the infected, and attacks against the gay community.« The Munich Aids memorial at Sendlinger Tor in the middle of Munich’s hustle and bustle deserves a brief pause for reflection since Aids has in no way been eliminated simply because it is no longer constantly in the headlines. 14
Address Sendlinger Tor Platz, 80333 Munich (historic center) | Transport U3 / 6 to Sendlinger Tor | Tip The Sendlinger Tor is one of the three surviving city gates of Munich’s historic old city, along with the Karlstor and the Isartor. Parts of the medieval city wall can still be found here.
4__ The Airport of the New Trade Fair City Visible signs of a new era in aviation It doesn’t take much imagination to see that Munich’s most important airport, for decades the hub of the south with twelve million passengers annually, was once located on the grounds of the new Trade Fair City Riem. Riem Airport was opened in 1939, conceived to resemble BerlinTempelhof. Munich’s previous airport was Oberwiesenfeld Airfield, but it was too small from the beginning and had to be closed after 30 years. At the time of its opening, Riem Airport was among the most modern in the world. It was almost completely destroyed by Allied bombing in 1945, but only three years later, it became the first German airport after the war to be turned over completely to civil air traffic. Despite continual lengthening of the runways, at the end just short of three kilometers long, and additional arrival and departure terminals, Riem was bursting at the seams. On May 17, 1992, the lights were turned off in Riem. After decades of planning and years of construction, Munich Airport moved – in a single night – into the new Munich Airport in Erdinger Moos. Most of the old airport buildings were torn down, but two important ones were placed under heritage protection and can still be seen today. The red brick tower and, to its left, the old, 13-meterhigh arrival terminal building, the so-called Wappenhalle (Coat-ofArms Hall), now used for rock and techno events. Its some 20 exhibition halls and about 40 trade shows annually make the Munich Fair, which was moved from Theresienhöhe to Riem in 1998, one of the most modern of its kind in Germany. With its Riem Arcades and the Federal German Garden Show, along with dozens of residential and office units, Trade Fair City Riem was developed in 2005 out of the site of the old airport. 16
Address Am Messesee 2, 81823 Munich (Riem) | Transport U2 to Messestadt West | Tip Do not miss Gran Paradiso, a work of art by Stephan Huber, in Messesee Lake. Scale models of bizarre Alpine mountain peaks can be seen on the six shelves of a monumental shelf rack. Huber also created the Hanging Fountain sculpture in Terminal A of the new Munich airport.
5__ The Allerheiligen-Hofkirche And then spend a quiet moment in the picturesque Cabinet Garden It’s hard to decide which is more fascinating: the restored Allerheiligen-Hofkirche or the little Cabinet Garden that lies between it and the Cuvilliés Theater. The church and the garden are, at any rate, both little hidden gems that still are always overshadowed by the residence and its overflowing excess of major attractions Inspired by his trip to Italy and classical church architecture, King Ludwig I had the Allerheiligen-Hofkirche built by the architect Leo von Klenze between 1826 and 1837. The interior with its dome, not visible from the outside, was originally decorated with colorful frescos by the painter Heinrich Maria von Hess. The church was largely destroyed in the Second World War; the roof and vaulting – and therefore the frescos – laid in ruins. Actually, the ruins were supposed to be carted away but a temporary restoration was decided on in the 1970s and 1980s. In 2000, a remodeling of the former Catholic church followed. A restoration of the paintings was dispensed with and the reddish brick walls convey an unplastered, unfinished character. Equipped with a modern sound system, the church, which seats 400 persons, is one of Munich’s most intensively used concert halls, usually for performances of music by the State Opera. The Cabinet Garden can be entered through a small gate in the garden wall facing Marstallplatz. It is open to everyone and is also used during cultural events as a garden foyer. It can be entered directly from the church by a stairway. In the center of the garden is a stretch of water circulating over colored tesserae framed by blue lilies, fragrant roses, and magnolias. At the end of the garden’s center path are plane trees and a classic fountain. The Cabinet Garden with its modern design is indead a pleasure garden in every sense of the word. 18
Address Residenzstrasse 1, 80333 Munich (historic center) | Transport U3 / 6 to Marienplatz; U3 / 4 / 5 / 6 to Odeonsplatz; Tram 19 to Nationaltheater; Bus 100 to Odeonsplatz | Opening times open daily Apr 1 – Oct 18, 9am – 6pm, Oct 19 – Mar 31, 10am – 5pm, | Tip Take a look at Marstallplatz with the Marstall, the former royal riding school. Once neglected, this square is slowly gaining an identity of its own. Recommended: the restaurant »Brenner«.
6__ The Alpine Museum’s Garden An idyllic spot on Prater Island in the middle of the Isar There he sits, a hiker, on a stone bench overgrown with foliage, studying a map. He’s dressed in knee breeches, hat, heavy shoes, and next to him is his backpack. The life-size »Wanderer« by Michael Friedrichsen has been sitting in the garden of the German Alpine Association on Prater Island since the early 1980s. And while the aluminum sculpture continues to try to figure out where he is, visitors to this gently sloping, snug little garden can make themselves comfortable in one of the deckchairs that are available free of charge. To spend a short, relaxing hour here with a drink from the museum’s café beats any time spent at a health camp – and, on top of that, in downtown Munich. The Alpine Museum opened in 1911 in the rooms of the former Café Isarlust on the southern point of Prater Island, was closed for close to a half century due to the war, and was fully renovated and reopened in 1996. It shows everything that has to do with the history of Alpinism, and has a large library on the subject of mountains and mountain climbing. Prater Island itself, some 500 meters long and 100 meters wide, can be reached via a number of small bridges and footbridges, and is one of the two islands with buildings on the Isar. The other is Museum Island with the Deutsches Museum. In 1810, the shrewd innkeeper Anton Gruber opened the »Praterwirtschaft«, a pleasure park reminiscent of the Prater in Vienna, with a dance pavilion and a carousel. The people of Munich loved their »Praterinsel«. When their interest subsided, liqueur maker Anton Riemerschmid took over the island in 1869 and produced his liqueurs there until 1984, including the legendary, bilious, green herb liqueur »Escorial«. In the mid-1990s, artists moved into the classicist buildings. Today, Prater Island is used by an event agency as an event location. 20
Address Praterinsel 5, 80538 Munich (Lehel) | Transport U4 / 5 to Lehel; S1 / 2 / 4 – 8 to Isartor; Tram 17 to Mariannenplatz | Opening times The garden is always open. Museum: Tue – Fri 1pm – 6pm, Sat, Sun 11am – 6pm | Tip Not far from Prater Island is possibly Germany’s most beautiful art nouveau indoor public pool, the Müllersche Volksbad. Right behind it is the Muffatwerk. The Muffathalle is one of Munich’s most popular concert halls.
7__ The Amphitheater in the English Garden Outdoor theater surrounded by sheep »Man is only completely man where he plays« (Friedrich Schiller), announces a brass plate in German that is embedded in the floor in the back of the amphitheater in the English Garden, meaning that plays are also actually performed there – in an open-air theater on a 25x40 meter clearing with a grass stage, a spot for the orchestra, and three rows of grass banks with reinforced, stepped edges for seating. The Munich theater producer Dr. Pankraz Baron von Freyberg and the theater group he founded, the »Blütenring«, with the added support of an comitted circle of friends, were the ones who had the inspiration in the middle of the 1980s to resurrect the idea of an amphitheater in the English Garden. As part of its colorful inauguration with Johann Nestroy’s »Lohengrin« and a nighttime pageant, the new amphitheater was given over to the Free State of Bavaria on July 13, 1985. Ultimately, the »Blütenring Ensemble« performed many plays here under the direction of Freyberg. The idea for a new amphitheater in the English Garden was based on the first theater of this type built in 1793 close to Martius Bridge at the corner of Königinstrasse, placing it in the southern part of the garden, where there were theatrical performances, fireworks, and Bengali light shows. The theater, whose repertoire is not known, existed until 1807. The new amphitheater is open today to all Munich theater groups. The grounds are primarily used by the »Münchner Sommertheater«, a group of young freelance actors. Every July, a classical comedy is presented. Several thousand people from all over Munich make a pilgrimage to the English Garden during the theater season, many armed with picnic blankets and bottles of red wine. And yet the theater remains an inside tip. In wet weather, the performances take place on the stage of the remodeled carriage house of the Freimanner Mohr Villa, Situlistrasse 73 – 75. 22
Address Northern part of the English Garden, 80805 Munich (Freimann) | Transport U6 to Alte Heide, then along Crailsheimstrasse to the English Garden | Opening times Theatrical performances begin 9pm, end 12:15am, entrance free. There are no ticket sales or reservations. Weather hotline 0173 / 8612403 | Tip It is worth going to the northern end of the English Garden to visit the official residence of the gamekeeper and organizer of the royal hunts built in 1810.
8__ The Atrium in the LMU Flyers against Nazi terror If you stand in the atrium of the Ludwig Maximilian University and reflect for a moment on the history of student resistance against the Nazis, you can picture the flyers floating down from over the balustrade of the top floor as they did on the afternoon of February 18, 1943. The horror is almost palpable that Hans and Sophie Scholl must have felt when the custodian, an SA man, discovered the long-sought masterminds of the Weisse Rose (White Rose) resistance group and you can imagine how triumphant the man felt when he captured them and was able to turn them over to the Gestapo in Wittelsbach Palais. From June 1942 to February 1943, the young students led by Hans Scholl and Alexander Schmorell were constantly risking their lives by continuing to distribute new flyers and writing on walls calling for resistance to Nazi terror and the war. Following a short trial, and only four days after their apprehension in the university’s atrium, the death sentence was pronounced by the President of the National People’s Court, Roland Freisler, who had just arrived from Berlin in the Munich Palace of Justice. Sophie Scholl, Hans Scholl and their friend Christoph Probst were beheaded by guillotine the same day in Stadelheim. After a second trial, the students Alexander Schmorell and Willi Graf, as well as the university professor Kurt Huber, were also murdered. A white stone rose and a relief with the names and pictures of all its members is in the university’s main building commemorating the Weisse Rose. In 1997, a memorial, a »Denkstätte Weisse Rose«, with personal memorabilia of the resistance group, was installed. A bronze bust of Sophie Scholl by the sculptor Nicolai Tregor went on display in 2007. Since 2005, there has been a floor sculpture showing the flyers set in the ground outside of the university’s main building. 24
Address Geschwister Scholl Platz 1, 80539 Munich (Maxvorstadt) | Transport U3 / 6 to Universität | Opening times all day | Tip There are two special cafés near the university worth visiting, the Uni-Lounge at Geschwister Scholl Platz 1 in the former school horse stables and on the other side of Ludwigstrasse, on Professor Huber Platz, the Café an der Uni, where you can also sit outside.
9__ The Art Pavilion The modern and the whimsical behind Neptunbrunnen When people who know art in Munich say that the Art Pavilion (Kunstpavillon) in the »old botanical garden« is something like the gateway to Munich’s artists’ mile, there is a reason, since it isn’t far from the concentrated blast of art in Maxvorstadt and in Schwabing with their Pinakotheks, galleries, and collections. How nice that here we have around 200 square meters of always carefully curated, manageable selections of art. It’s worth looking inside. One room, one look, one impression. The Art Pavilion offers an exhibit platform for contemporary artists. For some time now, the members of the sponsoring organization, Pavilion, primarily artists from Munich who manage the art room, have not been the only ones to exhibit there. Any local or foreign artists can apply for the three week-long exhibitions. There are performances and events between the exhibitions. All categories and forms of expression in fine arts, media, and performance art are allowed. The use of the Art Pavilion costs the exhibiting artist absolutely nothing. There is no commission due with the sale of an object. The Art Pavilion is also used for discussion forums and symposiums. The »Seerosenpreis« is presented there annually. It is a prize named after the »Seerose«, a former Schwabing artists’ café, honoring the lifework of Munich artists whose work is closely associated with the city. Originally, the Art Pavilion was on Elisenstrasse, across from the Palace of Justice. It was relocated in 1937 as part of the redesigning of the old botanic gardens (the new botanic garden was already laid out in 1914 outside the gates of the city in Nymphenburg) on the site of the glass palace erected in 1854 for the International Industrial Exhibition which burned down in 1931. It served as the studio of the Nazi sculptor appointed by Hitler to the Munich Academy, Josef Thorak. 26
Address Sophienstrasse 7a, 80333 Munich (Maxvorstadt), tel. 089 / 597359 | Transport U4 / 5 to Karlsplatz (Stachus) | Opening times Tue – Sat 1pm – 7pm, Sun 11am – 5pm | Tip The municipal Art Gallery »Lothringer 13« (formerly »Artists’ Workshop«) in Lothringer Strasse 13 is a platform for the current Munich art community.
10__ The Art Subway Station The appetizer makes you hungry for what’s above it Before you come out into the open at the Königsplatz subway station and into the middle of Munich’s Art Area, with its one-of-a-kind concentration of museums and galleries, you are provided a first-class preview. A very special museum was created in 1994 directly above the subway train platforms, in a previously unused underground space, the so-called »Kunstbau«. This empty, 110 x 14 meter space was included in the construction of the subway station at Königsplatz for technical reasons and was converted by architect Uwe Kiessler into a now indispensable hall of art managed by the municipal gallery in the Lenbachhaus. Since then, exciting art events have been presented in this long, windowless »White Box«, from large-scale installations and special expositions on specific themes to exhibits of classic modern and contemporary artists. When the Lenbachhaus was closed due to extensive renovations, works by Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) were temporarily on show in the Kunstbau. The Lenbachhaus (originally the private villa of the »prince of painters« Franz von Lenbach and designed in Florentine style by Gabriel von Seidl) and the Kunstbau on Königsplatz are connected by Museumplatz. The »Platz« was created in 2002, and is a place where projects by contemporary artists are shown at irregular intervals. Since 2005, the Lenbachhaus has had a second artistic branch, the »Kubus«, in the new Petuelpark (Klopstockstrasse 10), the green space created when the Mittlerer Ring was tunneled under, with an art exhibit room, café, and the »Generationengarten« between SchwabingNord and Milbertshofen. The Kubus shows exhibits of contemporary artists which change every three months. 28
Address Königsplatz / U-Bahn mezzanine floor, 80333 Munich (Maxvorstadt) | Transport to Königsplatz, access on mezzanine floor of U-Bahn entrance. Tram 27 to Karolinenplatz; Bus 100 (museum line) to Königsplatz | Opening times Tue – Sun 10am – 6pm | Tip The U-Bahn station Königsplatz, with its many replicas and facsimiles of world-famous works of art from the nearby Glyptothek and the National Collection of Antiquities.