Munich : A Day Trip

17th November 2011. Written by Xin Li.
Munich, Germany
With only a few hours to spare, we decided to explore the city regardless of the rainy weather. The city of Munich was found in 1158 by Henry the Lion, duke of Saxony and Bavaria. The city was probably infamous for being the ‘birthplace’ of National Socialism which saw its eventual destruction by intense Allied bombings during the war.

However, beyond that dark past of Munich, the modern city retained much of its historic charm thanks to its efforts to conserve and rebuilt its past. Thus today, you could see a Munich filled with parks and beautiful European architecture.

We headed straight to the heart of Old Munich from Munchen Hauptbahnhof.

We passed by Karlsplatz, more commonly called Stachus. It is next to the Justizpalast.

We walked past the Karlstor, at Karlsplatz side of Neuhauser Strasse.

Located along this street is a wild boar statue named “Das Schwein”, the brother of the famous “Il Porcellino”. It is said that rubbing its nose grants you good luck!

Munich Frauenkirche is one of the most iconic buildings in Munich. The cathedral’s full name is Dom zu unserer lieben Frau, “Cathedral of Our Dear Lady”. The cathedral was constructed in late Gothic Style and was severely damaged during the war. The design of the domes was modeled after the Dome of Rock in Jerusalem.

Another iconic sight in Munich is the Glockenspiel of the Neues Rathaus located at Marienplatz. The clock dates back to 1908 and we were lucky to witness the Glockenspiel in action at 5 pm. It chimes and re-enacts two stories from the 16th century every day at 11 am or 12 pm and 5 pm in summer.

The clock’s “performance” gathers quite a crowd even though it was drizzling. We spot fellow Singaporeans too!

The Marienplatz where the Neues Rathaus is located is named after the Mariensaule, a Marian column erected in 1638 to celebrate the end of the Swedish occupation in the Thiry Years’ War.

Further you will see Heilinggeistkirche, a Gothic Hall Church the dates back to the 14th century. The church was also severely damaged during the war. Its lantern dome is signature of churches in Munich.

At the end of the street, Tal, stood the Isartor, located at the Isartorplatz. It is one of the four main gates of the medieval city wall and one of the three remaining Gothic town gates. The gate was named after the River Isar which flows a distance away from it.

A Maggie Kitchen along Tal.

Traffic police giving out fines.

Stop for a moment of facebook update?

Munich
Official website to get information on Munich’s sights and attractions.
http://www.muenchen.de/int/en/tourism.html

Bavaria
Munich is situated in the region known as Bavaria in Germany. The website offers information of other cities and attractions in Bavaria.
http://www.bavaria.by/