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