Munich - Gärtnerplatz Theater

(Local Name: Gärtnerplatztheater) The Gärtnerplatz Theater is, after the National Theater, Munich's second opera house (opera, ballet), and is also the only theater in the city which puts on classical operettas and modern musicals.

Erected in 1864-65 on a triangular site where two streets converge, Franz Michael Reifenstuel's theater is a triumph of design. Both the architecture and decoration of the building are Late Neo-Classical in style.

The loss of the rich interior decoration as a result of renovation in 1937, together with the removal of cornices, gables, round-arch windows and other decorative features from the exterior, had reduced this once splendid "Temple of the Muses" to a shadow of its former self. Today, after restoration of the interior in 1968-69 and of the sumptuous original facade in 1980-81, the theater has recovered its earlier magnificence.