Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: Muenchen

Next to Koenigsplatz is St. Bonifaz Abbey, founded (and funded!) by Ludwig I, whose tomb is inside this church. To ensure the economicly stability, Ludwig bought the former Andechs abbey (see there), with it´s farmlands, brewery etc. and bestowed it to St. Bonifaz. Now Andechs is a priorate of St. Bonifaz. The whole area here was bombed during WWII and the abbey was totally destroyed. The church we see today, is a reconstruction. Outside it still has the historistic "byzantine" style of the 19th. century, inside it is airy and modern.

Munich´s population reached 100.000 in 1852, 250.000 in the 880s, 500.000 in 1901. The tax-income grew accordingly - and the need of city planning. One of the new prestigious boulevards built in the 19th century leads to Koenigsplatz, - a copy of the Acropolis in Athens. Ludwig I was "hellenophil", his son Otto later became the first greek king. So in the middle of the place is a 1:1 copy of the Propylaia gateway. Now this is the center of Munich's gallery and museum quarter. As you see on that advertising pillar on the left grand austrian artist Maria Lassnig has an exhibtition.

"Sendlinger Strasse" - early evening. In the background the tower of the town-hall. The most remarkable building is the Asam-church on the left. Brothers Cosmas Damian Asam (1686-1739) and Egid Quirin Asam (1692-1750) were the undisputed bavarian masters of the late Baroque. Kind of popstars of Rococo. They lived in the house left of the church and when they had the chance to buy the adjacent plot (only 176m²), they did - and built their own private church. It is like a sample case of their abilities. Meanwhile it is of course open to the public, but closed early evenings.

A view from my hotel-room onto the eastern side of the central train-station. In front is the "Arnulf-Strasse", behind that the parking for taxis and police-vehicles. The hotel was easy to find, as it had "H O T E L" on the front. My room was next to the L.

The interior of the gothic chapel within the Blutenburg castle, built 1488, seems somehow untouched. It was never looted, never burnt down. The castle and it´s chapel were just "forgotten" for many years.

In the middle of Munich is a very small hill. On the foot of that is the "Viktualien-Markt", a popular market not only for for gourmets but also for "early drinkers", as the beer-garden there opens at 9am. On top of the hill you see Munich´s oldest parish church Saint Peter. Munich was for centuries just a village with small monastery. The name "Muenchen" derives from latin "apud Munichen" , what translates to "at the monks".

Blutenburg castle - just west of Munich. Place of a romantic and tragic love story. Here lived around 1432/35 Albrecht, only son of Duke Earnest of Bavaria, and his wife Agnes Bernauer, daughter of a humble craftsman. This was not an arranged marriage, they obviously fall in love to each other - and had married secretly. After some years Albrecht´s father considered the liaison unbefitting his son’s social standing. They clashed over the matter and finally - in the absence of his son - the father arranged to have Agnes condemned for witchcraft and drowned in the Donau River in 1435. Emperor Sigismund stepped in, to cool down the situation between father and son - and in the end, Albrecht bowed his head and married, just a year after Agnes´ death, Anna of Brunswick, the daughter in law, his family wanted to have.

A short walk from "Viktualenmarkt" we reached "Marienplatz", named after the pillar with the golden statue in the middle. Overtowering the place is the new town-hall, built in neogothic style in the second half of the 19th century. The central tower hosts one of the biggest carillons in Europe and at full hours all tourist gather here, to listen. In the back are the two big towers of the Frauenkirche ("Cathedral of Our Blessed Lady")

The "Frauenkirche" is a huge church built from red bricks. The towers are 98m high, being the highest structures in Munich. Buildings exceeding this height are sofar prohibited by the local authorities. The church replaced a romanesque-one, when the architect Joerg von Halsbach started to build in 1468 - and completed it within only 20 years. It is gigantic and can hold about 20.000 people. The population of Munich may have been 12.000 (or even less) at that time the hurch was built. There were always rumors, that Mr. von Halsbach had a deal with the devil, who supported him.

When the church was completed, the devil came with his friends, the winds. He asked them, to stay outside, entered the church to finish the deal with Mr. von Halsbach. The deal was, that in return of the devil´s support, the architect had to build a windowless church. From this place, you cannot see any sidewindows. The devil fouriously stamped his foot and so left his footstep. Then he vanished. He forgot his friends outside, so still today, there are always winds going around the church.