München - Karlsplatz (Stachus)

The Karlsplatz, outside the Karlstor, was laid out in 1791 after the demolition of Munich's old town walls. It was named after the unpopular Elector Karl Theodor, but is familiarly known to the people of Munich as the Stachus, a name the origin of which is uncertain. It may derive from the "Stachusgarten", an eating house which, from 1755, stood on the site now occupied by the Kaufhof department store; or, alternatively, from the "Stachuschützen", marksmen who used to practice on a crossbow range near the Botanische Garten.

As a result of the development of the Altstadtring (the ring of boulevards round the Old Town) the Karlsplatz lost much of its original layout, gaining instead the doubtful reputation of being one of the busiest traffic intersections in Europe. During the 1960s the Stachus underwent further costly redevelopment when a multistory complex was built incorporating the S- and U-Bahn stations, a shopping level, restaurants, a pedestrian underpass and parking lot.

The elegant semi-circle of Neo-Baroque business houses on the east side of the square was the work of Gabriel Seidl, completed in about 1900. Restoration is in progress. The fountain was added in 1972.