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MUNICH (Ger. Munchen)

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Originally appearing in Volume V19, Page 7 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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MUNICH (Ger. Munchen) , a See also:city of See also:Germany, See also:capital of the See also:kingdom of See also:Bavaria, and the third largest See also:town in the See also:German See also:Empire. It is situated on an elevated See also:plain, on the See also:river See also:Isar, 25 M. N. of the See also:foot-hills of the See also:Alps, about midway between See also:Strassburg and See also:Vienna. Owing to its lofty site (1700 ft. above the See also:sea) and the proximity of the Alps, the See also:climate is changeable, and its mean See also:annual temperature, 49° to 500 F., is little higher than that of many places much farther to the See also:north. The annual rainfall is nearly 30 in. Munich lies at the centre of an important network of See also:railways connecting it directly with Strassburg (for See also:Paris), See also:Cologne, See also:Leipzig, See also:Berlin, See also:Rosenheim (for Vienna) and See also:Innsbruck (for See also:Italy via the See also:Brenner pass), which converge in a central station. Munich is divided into twenty-four municipal districts, nine-teen of which, including the old town, See also:lie on the See also:left See also:bank of the Isar, while the suburban districts of Au, Haidhausen, Giesing, Bogenhausen and Ramersdorf are on the opposite bank. The old town, containing many narrow and irregular streets, forms a semicircle with its See also:diameter towards the river, while See also:round its periphery has sprung up the greater See also:part of See also:modern Munich, including the handsome See also:Maximilian and See also:Ludwig districts. The walls with which Munich was formerly surrounded have been pulled down, but some of the See also:gates have been left. The most interesting is the Isartor and the Karlstor, restored in 1835 and adorned with frescoes. The Siegestor (or See also:gate of victory) is a modern See also:imitation of the See also:arch of See also:Constantine at See also:Rome, while the stately See also:Propylaea, built in 1854-1862, is a See also:reproduction of the gates of the Athenian See also:Acropolis.

Munich owes its architectural magnificence largely to See also:

Louis I. of Bavaria, who ascended the See also:throne in 1825, and his successors; while its collections of See also:art entitle it to See also:rank with See also:Dresden and Berlin. Most of the modern buildings have been erected after celebrated prototypes of other countries and eras, so that, as 'has been said by Moriz See also:Carriere, a walk through Munich affords a picture of the See also:architecture and art of two thousand years. In carrying out his plans Louis I. was seconded by the architect See also:Leo von Klenze, while the See also:external decorations of See also:painting and See also:sculpture were mainly designed by See also:Peter von See also:Cornelius, Wilhelm von See also:Kaulbach and See also:Schwanthaler. As opportunity offers, the narrow streets of the older city are converted into broad, straight boulevards, lined with palatial mansions and public buildings. The hygienic improvement effected by these changes, and by a new and excellent See also:water See also:supply, is shown by the mortality averages—4o•4 per thousand in 1871-1875, 30.4 per thousand in 1881-1885, and 20.5 per thousand in 1903-1904. The architectural See also:style which has been principally followed in the later public buildings, among them the See also:law courts, finished in 1897, the German bank, St See also:Martin's See also:hospital, as well as in numerous private dwellings, is the See also:Italian and See also:French See also:Rococo, or See also:Renaissance, adapted to the traditions of Munich architecture in the 17th and 18th centuries. A large proportion of the most notable buildings in Munich are in two streets, the Ludwigstrasse and the Maximilianstrasse, the creations of the monarchs whose names they See also:bear. The former, three-quarters of a mile See also:long and 40 yds. wide, chiefly contains buildings in the Renaissance style by See also:Friedrich von Gartner. The most striking of these are the palaces of See also:Duke Max and of See also:Prince Luitpold; the Odeon, a large See also:building for concerts, adorned with frescoes and See also:marble busts; the See also:war See also:office; the royal library, in the Florentine palatial style; the Ludwigskirche, a successful reproduction of the Italian Romanesque style, built in 1829-1844, and containing a huge See also:fresco of the Last See also:Judgment by Cornelius; the See also:blind See also:asylum; and, lastly, the university. At one end this See also:street is terminated by the Siegestor, while at the other is the Feldherrenhalle (or See also:hall of the marshals), a copy of the Loggia dei See also:Lanzi at See also:Florence, containing statues of See also:Tilly and See also:Wrede by Schwanthaler. Adjacent is the See also:church of the Theatines, an imposing though somewhat over-ornamented example of the Italian Rococo style; it contains the royal See also:burial vault. In the Maximilianstrasse, which extends from Haidhausen on the right bank of the Isar to the Max-See also:Joseph Platz, See also:King Maximilian II. tried to introduce an entirely novel style of domestic architecture,formed by the See also:combination of older forms.

At the See also:

east end it is closed by the Maximilianeum, an extensive and imposing edifice, adorned externally with large sculptural See also:groups and internally with huge paintings representing the See also:chief scenes in the See also:history of the See also:world. Descending the street, towards the See also:west are passed in See also:succession the old buildings of the Bavarian See also:national museum, the See also:government buildings in which the Composite style of Maximilian has been most consistently carried out, and the See also:mint. On the north See also:side of the Max-Joseph Platz lies the royal See also:palace, consisting of the Alte Residenz, the K6nigsbau, and the Festsaalbau. The Alte Residenz See also:dates from 16or to 1616; its apartments are handsomely fitted up in the Rococo style, and the private See also:chapel and the See also:treasury contain several crowns and many other interesting and valuable See also:objects. The Festsaalbau, erected by Klenze in the Italian Renaissance style, is adorned with mural paintings and sculptures, while the Konigsbau, a reduced copy of the Pitti Palace at Florence, contains a See also:series of admirable frescoes from the Niebelungenlied by See also:Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld. Adjoining the palace are two theatres, the Residenz or private See also:theatre, and the handsome Hoftheater, accommodating 2500 spectators. The Allerheiligen-Hofkirche, or See also:court-church, is in the See also:Byzantine style, with a Romanesque See also:facade. The Ludwigstrasse and the Maximilianstrasse both end at no See also:great distance from the Frauenplatz in the centre of the old town. On this square stands the Frauenkirche, the See also:cathedral church of the See also:archbishop of Munich-See also:Freising, with its lofty See also:cupola capped towers dominating the whole town. It is imposing from its See also:size, and interesting as one of the few examples of indigenous Munich art. On the adjacent Marienplatz are the old town-hall, dating from the 14th See also:century and restored in 1865, and the new town-hall, the latter a magnificent modern See also:Gothic erection, freely embellished with statues, frescoes, and stained-See also:glass windows, and enlarged in 1900-1905. The See also:column in the centre of the square was erected in 1638, to commemorate the defeat of the Protestants near See also:Prague by the Bavarians during the See also:Thirty Years' War.

Among the other churches of Munich the chief See also:

place is due to St See also:Boniface's, an admirable copy of an See also:early See also:Christian See also:basilica. It is adorned with a See also:cycle of religious paintings by Heinrich von See also:Hess (1798-1863), and the See also:dome is supported by sixty-four monoliths of See also:grey Tyrolese marble. The See also:parish church of Au, in the Early Gothic style, contains gigantic stained-glass windows and some excellent See also:wood-See also:carving; and the church of St See also:John in Haidhausen is another See also:fine Gothic structure. St See also:Michael's in the Renaissance style, erected for the See also:Jesuits in 1583-1595, contains the See also:monument of See also:Eugene See also:Beauharnais by See also:Thorwaldsen. The facade is divided into storeys, anc the See also:general effect is by no means ecclesiastical. St Peter's is interesting as the See also:oldest church in Munich (12th century), though no trace of the See also:original basilica remains. Among newer churches the most noticeable are the Evangelical church of St See also:Luke, a Transitional building, with an imposing dome, finished in 1896, and the Gothic parochial church of the Giesing suburb, with a See also:tower 312 ft. high and See also:rich interior decorations (1866-1884). The valuable collections of art are enshrined in handsome buildings, mostly in the ,Maximilian suburb on the north side of the town. The old Pinakothek, erected by Klenze in 1826-1836, and somewhat resembling the Vatican, is embellished externally with frescoes by Cornelius and with statues of twenty-four celebrated painters from sketches by Schwanthaler. It contains a valuable and extensive collection of pictures by the earlier masters, the chief treasures, being the early German and Flemish See also:works and the unusually numerous examples of See also:Rubens. It also affords See also:accommodation to more than 300,000 engravings, over 20,000 drawings, and a large collection of vases. Opposite stands the new Pinakothek, built 1846-1853, the frescoes on which, designed by Kaulbach, show the effects of See also:wind and See also:weather.

It is devoted to works by painters of the last century, among which Karl Rottmann's See also:

Greek landscapes are perhaps the most important. The See also:Glyptothek, a building by Klenze in the Ionic style, and adorned with several groups and single statues, contains a valuable series of sculptures, extending from See also:Assyrian and See also:Egyptian monuments down to works by Thorwaldsen and other modern masters. The celebrated Aeginetan See also:marbles preserved here were found in the See also:island of See also:Aegina in 1811. Opposite the Glyptothek stands the See also:exhibition building, in the Corinthian style, it was finished in 1845, and is used for periodic exhibitions of art. In addition to the museum of See also:plaster casts, the Antiquarium (a collection of Egyptian, Greek and See also:Roman antiquities under the roof of the new Pinakothek) and the Maillinger collection, connected with the See also:historical museum, Munich also contains several private galleries. Fore-most among these stand the See also:Schack See also:Gallery, bequeathed by the founder, See also:Count Adolph von Schack, to the See also:emperor See also:William II. in 1894, rich in works by modern German masters, and the Lotzbeck collection of sculptures and paintings. Other structures and. institutions are the new buildings of the art association; the See also:academy of the plastic arts (1874-1885), in the Renaissance style; and the royal See also:arsenal (Zeughaus) with the military museum. The Schwanthaler museum contains See also:models of most of the great sculptor's works. The immense scientific collection in the Bavarian national museum, illustrative of the See also:march of progress from the Roman See also:period down to the See also:present See also:day, compares in completeness with the similar collections at See also:South See also:Kensington and the Musee de See also:Cluny. The building which now houses this collection was erected in 1894-1900. On the walls is a series of well-executed frescoes of scenes from Bavarian history, occupying a space of 16,000 sq. ft. The ethnographical museum, the See also:cabinet of coins, and the collections of fossils, minerals, and See also:physical and See also:optical See also:instruments, are also worthy of mention.

The art See also:

union, the oldest and most extensive in Germany, possesses a See also:good collection of modern works. The chief place among the scientific institutions is due to the academy of See also:science, founded in 1759. The royal library contains over 1,300,000 printed volumes and 30,000 See also:manuscripts. The See also:observatory is equipped with instruments by the celebrated Josef See also:Fraunhofer. At the See also:head of the educational institutions of Munich stands the university, founded at See also:Ingolstadt in 1472, removed to See also:Landshut in 1800, and transferred thence to Munich in 1826. In addition to the four usual faculties there is a fifth—of See also:political See also:economy. In connexion with the university are medical and other See also:schools, a priests' See also:seminary, and a library of 300,000 volumes. The See also:polytechnic See also:institute (Technische Hochschule) in 1899 acquired the See also:privilege of conferring the degree of See also:doctor of technical science. Munich contains several gymnasia or See also:grammar-schools, a military academy, a veterinary See also:college, an agricultural college, a school for architects and builders, and several other technical schools, and a conservatory of See also:music. The general See also:prison in the suburb of Au is considered a See also:model of its See also:kind; and there is also a large military prison. Among other public buildings, the crystal palace (See also:Glas-palast), 765 ft. in length, erected for the great exhibition of 1854, is now used, as occasion requires, for temporary exhibitions. The See also:Wittelsbach palace, built in 1843-1850, in the Early See also:English Pointed style, is one of the residences of the royal See also:family.

Among the numerous monuments with which the squares and streets are adorned, the most important are the See also:

colossal statue of Maximilian II. in the Maximilianstrasse, the equestrian statues of Louis I. and the elector Maximilian I., the See also:obelisk erected to the 30,000 Bavarians who perished in See also:Napoleon's expedition to See also:Moscow, the Wittelsbach See also:fountain (1895), the monument commemorative of the See also:peace of 1871, and the marble statue of Justus See also:Liebig, the chemist, set up in 1883. The English See also:garden (Englischer Garten), to the north-east of the town, is 600 acres in extent, and was laid out by Count See also:Rumford in imitation of an English See also:park. On the opposite bank of the Isar, above and below the Maximilianeum, extend the Gasteig promenades, commanding fine views of the town. To the south-west of the town is the Theresienwiese, a large See also:common where the popular festival is celebrated in See also:October. Here is situated the Ruhmeshalle or hall of fame, a Doric See also:colonnade containing busts of eminent Bavarians. In front of it is acolossal See also:bronze statue of Bavaria, 170 ft. high, designed by Schwanthaler. The botanical garden, with its large See also:palm-See also:house, the Hofgarten, surrounded with arcades containing frescoes of Greek landscapes by Rottmann, and the Maximilian park to the east of the Isar, See also:complete the See also:list of public parks. The See also:population of Munich in 1905 was 538,393. The permanent See also:garrison See also:numbers about 10,000 men. Of the population, 84% are Roman See also:Catholic, 14% Protestants, and 2% See also:Jews. Munich is the seat of the archbishop of Munich-Freising and of the general See also:Protestant See also:consistory for Bavaria. About twenty See also:newspapers are published here, including the Allgemeine Zeitung.

Some of the festivals of the Roman Church are celebrated with considerable pomp; and the See also:

people also cling to various national fetes, such as the Metzgersprung, the Schaffiertanz, and the great October festival. Munich has long been celebrated for its See also:artistic handicrafts, such as bronze-See also:founding, glass-staining, silversmith's See also:work, and wood-carving, while the astronomical instruments of Fraunhofer and the mathematical instruments of Traugott Lieberecht von Ertel (1778-1858) are also widely known. See also:Lithography, which was invented at Munich at the end of the 18th century, is extensively practised here. The other See also:industrial products include See also:wall-See also:paper, railway plant, machinery, gloves and artificial See also:flowers. The most characteristic See also:industry, however, is See also:brewing. Four important markets are held at Munich annually. The city is served by an extensive electric See also:tramway See also:system. History.—The See also:Villa Munichen or See also:Forum ad monachos, so called from the monkish owners of the ground on which it See also:lay, was first called into prominence by Duke See also:Henry the See also:Lion, who established a mint here in 1158, and made it the See also:emporium for the See also:salt coming from Hallein and See also:Reichenhall. The Bavarian See also:dukes of the Wittelsbach house occasionally resided at Munich, and in 1255 Duke Louis made it his capital, having previously surrounded it with walls and a See also:moat. The town was almost entirely destroyed by See also:fire in 1327, after which the emperor Louis the Bavarian, in recognition of the See also:loyalty of the citizens, rebuilt it very much on the See also:scale it retained down to the beginning of the 19th century. Among the succeeding rulers those who did most for the town in the erection of handsome buildings and the See also:foundation of schools and scientific institutions were See also:Albert V., William V., Maximilian I., Max Joseph and See also:Charles See also:Theodore. In 1632 Munich was occupied by Gustavus See also:Adolphus, and in 1705, and again in 1742, it was in See also:possession of the Austrians.

In 1791 the fortifications were razed. Munich's importance in the history of art is entirely of modern growth, and may be dated from the acquisition of the Aeginetan marbles by Louis I., then See also:

crown prince, in 1812. Among the eminent artists of this period whose names are more or less identified with Munich were Leo von Klenze (1784-1864), Joseph See also:Daniel Ohlmuller (1791-1839), Friedrich von Gartner (1792-1847), and Georg Friedrich Ziebland (18o0-1873), the architects; Peter von Cornelius (1783-1867), Wilhelm von Kaulbach (1804-1874), Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1794-1872), and Karl Rottmann, the painters; and Ludwig von Schwanthaler, the sculptor. Munich is still the leading school of painting in Germany, but the romanticism of the earlier masters has been abandoned for See also:drawing and colouring of a realistic See also:character. Karl von See also:Piloty (1826-1886) and Wilhelm See also:Diez (1839-1907) long stood at the head of this school. See Mittheilungen See also:des statistischen Bureaus der Stadt Munchen (vols. i.–v., 1875–1882); Soltl, Munchen mit seinen Umgebungen (1854); Reber, Bautechnischer Fiihrer durch See also:die Stadt Munchen (1876) ; Daniel, Handbuch der Geographie (new ed., 1895); Prantl, Geschichte der Ludwig-Maximilian Universitat (Munich, 1872) ; Goering, 3o Jahre Munchen (Munich, 1904) ; von See also:Ammon, Die Gegend von Munchen geologisch geschildert (Munich, 1895) ; Kronegg, Illustrierte Geschichte der Stadt Munchen (Munich, 1903); the Jahrbuch See also:fur Munchener Geschichte, edited by Reinhardstottner and Trautmann (Munich, 1887-1894) ; Aufleger and Trautmann, Alt-Munchen in Bild and Wort (Munich, 1895) ; Rohmeder, Munchen als Handelsstadt (Munich, 1905) ; H. Tinsch, Das Stadtrecht von Munchen (See also:Bamberg, 1891) ; F. Pecht, Geschichte der munchener Kunst See also:im 19 Jahrhundert (Munich, 1888) ; and Trautwein, Fi hrer durch Munchen (Both ed., 1906). There is an English See also:book on Munich by H. R. Wadleigh (1910).

End of Article: MUNICH (Ger. Munchen)

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