Munich

Munich (German: München) is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, the city had a population of 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Located on the river Isar north of the Alps, Munich is known for its rich history, beautiful architecture, and cultural importance.

The city was first recorded in 1158 and has played a key role in Bavarian and German history. It became the capital of the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1806 and developed into a center for arts, culture, and science. Munich has also been an important site for major events, including the 1972 Summer Olympics and the annual Oktoberfest, the world's largest Volksfest.

Today, Munich is a major hub for science, technology, and business. It is home to famous companies like BMW, Siemens, and Allianz SE, as well as research universities and scientific institutions. The city is known for its high quality of life, beautiful architecture, and many cultural venues.

History

Main article: History of Munich

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Munich.

Munich began as a small settlement of monks in the 12th century, named after them. The river Isar nearby was important for trade, and the area saw settlements from ancient times, including the Celts and Romans.

Henry the Lion founded Munich around 1158 to control salt trade routes. The city grew, gaining importance and status over the centuries. It became the capital of Bavaria in 1506 and saw many changes through the years, including wars, fires, and the rise and fall of rulers.

In more recent times, Munich became a center for art, culture, and industry. It hosted the 1972 Summer Olympics and has grown into one of Germany's most important cities, known for its technology, economy, and annual Oktoberfest celebrations.

Geography

Munich is located in Upper Bavaria, about 50 km north of the Alps. The city sits at an altitude of around 520 meters and is crossed by the Isar and Würm rivers. It lies in the Northern Alpine Foreland, an area with fertile fields and sandy soil.

Munich has an oceanic climate with warm summers and cold winters. The city experiences more rain and snow than many other German cities due to its location near the Alps. July is the warmest month, while January is the coldest. Climate change is affecting Munich, leading to warmer temperatures and more extreme weather events. The city is working on plans to adapt to these changes.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Munich

Munich has grown a lot over the years. In 1700, only about 24,000 people lived there. By 1852, the population had doubled to 100,000, and it kept growing. In 1901, over 500,000 people called Munich home, and by 2022, the city had more than 1.5 million residents, making it Germany’s third-largest city.

Many people from other countries live in Munich. In late 2023, there were over 1.5 million people in the city, and about 477,855 of them were foreign nationals. Some of the largest groups come from Turkey, Croatia, Italy, Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, and Austria. Today, many people in Munich do not follow any particular religion. About 31.8% are Catholic, 11.4% are Protestant, and smaller groups follow other faiths, including Muslim traditions.

Foreign residents by citizenship, 2023

Country	Population
Turkey	39,757
Croatia	36,934
Italy	28,723
Greece	24,684
Bosnia and Herzegovina	24,729
Ukraine	24,744
Austria	19,185
India	17,417
Romania	16,793
Poland	16,530
Serbia	14,869
Bulgaria	14,561
Kosovo	13,274
China	13,259
Russia	12,022
Spain	10,135
Afghanistan	10,128
France	10,088
Iraq	9,165
Hungary	7,014
United States	6,789
Vietnam	6,350
North Macedonia	4,633
Syria	4,545
Albania	4,106
Nigeria	3,648
United Kingdom	3,694
Portugal	3,472
Somalia	3,240

Government and politics

Munich is the capital of Bavaria and an important political center. It is home to the Landtag of Bavaria, the State Chancellery, and many state departments. Important offices such as the Federal Finance Court of Germany, the German Patent Office, and the European Patent Office are also located in Munich.

The current mayor of Munich is Dieter Reiter from the Social Democratic Party of Germany. He was elected in 2014 and re-elected in 2020. Munich’s city council helps govern the city together with the mayor. The city is divided into 25 administrative boroughs, each with its own identity and community.

Architecture

Main article: Architecture of Munich

Munich has many important buildings and places. In the Old Town, you can find Marienplatz with the Old Town Hall and New Town Hall. There is also the Peterskirche, the oldest church in the city center, and three old gates from the medieval walls: the Isartor, Sendlinger Tor, and Karlstor. The Frauenkirche is the main Catholic church, and the Michaelskirche is a large Renaissance church.

There are also beautiful palaces like Schloss Nymphenburg, which is open to visitors. The Munich Residenz is a huge old palace that is now a museum. Modern buildings include several tall towers, such as the HVB Tower and the BMW Headquarters, located near the Olympic Park. Munich continues to grow with new housing plans to provide more homes for its people.

Parks

Friedrich Ludwig von Sckell designed the Englischer Garten, one of the largest urban parks in the world, between 1789 and 1807. He also redesigned the gardens at Nymphenburg Palace and the Botanischer Garten München-Nymphenburg.

Munich has many other beautiful green spaces, including the Olympiapark, the Westpark, and the Ostpark. The city's oldest park is the Hofgarten, which dates back to the 16th century. The Hirschgarten was once the largest beer garden in the city, founded in 1780.

Sports

Main article: Sport in Munich

Munich is a city with many sports teams and events. The most famous football (soccer) team is FC Bayern Munich, which is very successful in Germany and around the world. Munich also hosted some matches during the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

The city has other sports too, like basketball with FC Bayern Munich Basketball and ice hockey with EHC Red Bull München. Munich hosted the 1972 Summer Olympics and has many running events such as the Munich Marathon. There are also many places to swim, including indoor and outdoor pools and artificial lakes. River surfing is popular in Munich, especially at the Eisbach standing wave.

Culture

Language

Main article: Bavarian language

German is spoken and understood in and around Munich. The German language has many dialects, and "Standard German" or "High German" is learned in schools and spoken among Germans, Austrians, and in some parts of Switzerland. Bavarian dialects are recognized as regional languages and continue to be spoken alongside Standard German.

Museums

The gothic Morris dancers of Erasmus Grasser are exhibited in the Munich City Museum in the old gothic arsenal building in the inner city.

In 1903 Oskar von Miller assembled a group of engineers and industrialists, who chartered the Deutsches Museum. The Museum was built with the financial support of the German business and imperial nobility community, as well as the blessing of Wilhelm II, German Emperor. The Deutsches Museum had its grand opening in 1925 and now operates three locations.

The city has several important art galleries, most of which can be found in the Kunstareal. The Lenbachhaus displays works of the movement Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider). The Neue Pinakothek and the Pinakothek der Moderne exhibit contemporary art. The Alte Pinakothek contains works of European masters between the 14th and 18th centuries.

Music

Munich is a major international musical centre and has played host to many prominent composers including Orlande de Lassus, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Carl Maria von Weber, Richard Wagner, Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, Max Reger and Carl Orff. Some of classical music's best-known compositions have been created in and around Munich.

Opera

Richard Wagner premiered Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in Munich in 1870–1871. The National Theatre Munich is now the home of the Bavarian State Opera and the Bavarian State Orchestra.

Orchestra

The modern Gasteig centre houses the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra has its primary concert venue in the Herkulessaal in the Munich Residenz.

Pop and electronica

Munich was the centre of Krautrock in southern Germany. Munich also played a significant role in the development of electronic music. Other notable musicians and bands from Munich include Konstantin Wecker, Willy Astor, Spider Murphy Gang, Münchener Freiheit, Lou Bega, Megaherz, FSK, Colour Haze and Sportfreunde Stiller.

Theatre

The Munich Kammerspiele is one of the most important German-language theaters.

Schwabing

At the turn of the 20th century Schwabing was a preeminent cultural metropolis. It was an epicenter for both literature and the fine arts.

Biedermeier

The Biedermeier era was named after a character that regularly appeared in the satire magazine Münchner Fliegende Blätter.

Prinzregentenzeit

Celebrity literary figures worked in Munich especially during the final decades of the Kingdom of Bavaria.

Weimar Republic

The period immediately before World War I saw continued economic and cultural prominence for the city. Munich remained a centre of cultural life during the Weimar Republic.

Post-war literature

After World War II, Munich soon again became a focal point of the German literary scene.

Fine arts

From the Gothic to the Baroque era, the fine arts were represented in Munich by many notable artists.

Cinema

Munich was home to many of the most important authors of the New German Cinema movement. In 1919, the Bavaria Film Studios were founded, which developed into one of Europe's largest film studios.

Festivals

The Coopers' Dance is a guild dance of coopers originally started in Munich. The Starkbierfest celebrates Munich's "strong beer". The Frühlingsfest celebrates and serves the new local spring beers. The Auer Dult combines a market and a German style folk festival. The Kocherlball commemorates all servants. The Tollwood Festival showcases fine and performing arts. The Oktoberfest is the largest beer festival in the world. The Christkindlmarkt started to evolve in the 14th century.

Cuisine and culinary specialities

Munich cuisine is a part of the broader Bavarian cuisine. Munich Weißwurst was invented in the city in 1857.

Beers and breweries

Munich is known for its breweries and Weissbier. Helles is the most popular contemporary Munich beer.

Circus

The Circus Krone based in Munich is one of the largest circuses in Europe.

Nightlife

Nightlife in Munich is located mostly in several boroughs. The Feierbanane is a party zone along Sonnenstraße. In the 1960s and 1970s, Schwabing was considered a center of nightlife in Germany. Since the mid-1990s, Kunstpark Ost hosted many clubs. Munich has the highest density of music venues of any German city.

Education

Munich is a top place for learning and discovery. The city has many famous schools and universities. Two big ones are LMU Munich and the Technical University of Munich (TUM). LMU Munich began in 1472 and moved to Munich in 1826, while TUM started in 1868. There are also special schools like the Munich School of Philosophy and the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München for music and theater.

Munich also has many important research centers. The Max Planck Society and the Fraunhofer Society, both big research groups, have their main offices in the city. Other research places include the Ifo Institute for Economic Research and the European Southern Observatory.

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Munich has many friends in cities around the world. These are called twin towns or sister cities. Munich is twinned with Edinburgh in Scotland since 1954, Verona in Italy since 1960, Bordeaux in France since 1964, Sapporo in Japan since 1972, Cincinnati in the United States since 1989, Kyiv in Ukraine since 1989, Harare in Zimbabwe since 1996, and Beersheba in Israel since 2021. These partnerships help the cities learn from each other and work together on projects.

Economy

Munich has a very strong economy and is one of the best places for businesses in Germany. It has the lowest unemployment rate among big German cities and ranks third in terms of total economic output. Many important companies have their headquarters in Munich, including well-known names like BMW, Siemens AG, and McDonald's.

The city is also a key center for finance, publishing, and technology. It is home to major insurance companies, large newspapers like the Süddeutsche Zeitung, and important film studios. Many technology startups and international companies also choose Munich as their base.

Quality of life

Most people in Munich live very well. Experts often list the city as one of the best places to live in the whole world. Munich has a strong economy with many jobs in technology, medicine, and publishing. The city also has clean air, though some areas need better air quality. Because so many people want to live there, Munich's population has grown quickly in recent years.

Transport

Munich has an extensive public transport system with an underground metro, trams, buses, and high-speed rail. In 2015, public transport was used by 38 percent of travelers in Munich. The city is a major transportation hub, featuring the second-largest airport in Germany and a high-speed railway connecting it to Berlin in about 4 hours. Flixmobility, which provides intercity coach services, is based in Munich.

Munich’s public transport network includes the Munich U-Bahn, Munich S-Bahn, trams, and buses, overseen by the Munich Transport and Tariff Association. The Munich tramway, operating since 1876, is the oldest public transport system in the city. Cycling is also popular, with many bicycle lanes and a modern bike hire system available. Munich Central Train Station is a key transportation hub, serving about 450,000 passengers daily and connecting the city to major destinations across Europe. The city is also well-connected by Autobahn networks, linking it to cities such as Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Frankfurt, and Berlin. Munich International Airport is the second-largest airport in Germany, serving around 46 million passengers each year.

Around Munich

Munich is surrounded by many smaller towns and beautiful lakes. Nearby towns such as Dachau, Freising, Erding, Landshut, and Moosburg are part of the larger Munich area, which includes about 6 million people.

South of Munich, there are many lovely lakes like Lake Starnberg, Ammersee, Chiemsee, Walchensee, Tegernsee, Schliersee, Simssee, Staffelsee, Wörthsee, Kirchsee, and the Osterseen. These lakes are favorite spots for swimming, boating, and other fun activities.

• Lake Starnberg
• Ammersee
• Chiemsee
• Walchensee
• Tegernsee
• Großer Ostersee
• Kirchsee
• Simssee
• Wörthsee

Notable people

See also: List of honorary citizens of Munich

Munich has been home to many famous people throughout history. Some well-known individuals were born in the city, contributing to its rich cultural heritage. Others have lived in Munich and made significant impacts in various fields such as arts, sports, and science. The city continues to attract people from around the world who help shape its vibrant community.