Northeast, Munich

Hildebrand House in Munich, now occupied by the Monacensia Library, was built in 1897-98 (at much the same time, therefore, as Stuck Villa). It was the Bogenhausen studio and home of the sculptor Adolf von Hildebrand (1847-1921), among whose best known works is the Wittelsbach Fountain in the Lenbachplatz. The house, with dormer windows and staircase tower on the garden side, was designed by Hildebrand himself, clearly drawing inspiration from south German Baroque.In addition to a comprehensive manuscript section, the Munich Library's Monacensia collection includes unpublished works by writers, artists and scientists active in the Bavarian capital. Several illustrious names appear among them, e.g. Ludwig Thoma, Ludwig Ganghofer, Frank Wedekind and Klaus Mann. Some of Hildebrand's sculptures also remain in the house.

The Angel of Peace, prominently situated on the upper east embankment of the Isar, was erected by the city of Munich in 1895-99 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Peace of Versailles (which ended the 1870-71 Franco-Prussian War) and in honor of the Bavarian Army.The monument consists of a 23m/75ft Corinthian column surmounted by a gilded bronze figure of an angel, modeled in fact on Nike, the Greek Goddess of Victory at Olympia. At the foot of the column a double staircase leads down to an open temple portico and terrace with a fountain, designed by W. Zimmermann in 1891.Heinrich Düll, Georg Pezold and Max Heilmeier were the sculptors, Joseph Buhlmann supervising the construction. Originally cast in 1786, the angel was beautifully restored in 1981-83.

The Amalienpassage cuts through a block to the rear of the University, between Amalienstrasse and Türkenstrasse. It was constructed in 1975-77 by a group of architects following a new concept of urban planning: a gray and unattractive area to the rear of the street frontages was to be opened up, replanned and redeveloped for housing. Although at first the demolition of older property and its replacement by new building at high density met with some resistance, the Amalienpassage is now widely accepted as a successful example of the rehabilitation of the old city center and has become a popular place for the people of Munich, with shops, cafes and restaurants bringing animation to its three linked courts.

The Great Hall, beautifully restored a few years ago, is the loveliest feature of the Ludwig-Maximilian-Universität. Built in 1909 it was designed by German Bestelmeyer, a highly respected architect in his day, to replace a much smaller building by Friedrich von Gärtner. The mosaics depicting the sun god Helios, and the medallions by the artist Wilhelm Koeppen, a pupil of Franz von Stuck, are exceptional.In front of the arcading on the north side stand two tall granite monoliths bearing figures of Prometheus and Hercules by Ulfert Janssen - note the motto "Nil sine magno vita labore dedit mortalibus" (Life grants nothing to the mortal without great effort).

Arabellapark, a commercial/industrial quarter at the northern end of the smart Bogenhausen district of Munich, was developed during the 1970s and 80s, creating some thousands of new jobs.The highly distinctive Hypo-Haus, around which cluster other futuristic buildings clad in glass and eloxal, including branches of several large industrial concerns (e.g. Siemens), is now a dominant feature of the city's skyline.Big hotel chains are also well represented in Arabellapark, their huge "concrete palaces" - some architecturally more successful than others - catering for tourists as well as for the many visiting business people.

Leopoldstrasse continues the line of Ludwigstrasse northward from the Siegestor to the square known as the Münchener Freiheit and beyond. It is both a major traffic artery and a favorite promenade for the inhabitants of Schwabing. Numerous cafes tempt the passer-by to linger; and on summer evenings, by the light of candles and oil-lamps, artists, students and miscellaneous hawkers offer for sale a wide variety of arts and crafts, trinkets and trash: water-colors and oil-paintings, leather goods, articles in silver-ware, carvings and other items of varying degrees of utility.

The Academy of Art in Munich, founded in 1770, which provides training in painting, graphic art, sculpture and art education, lies at the Siegestor.This extended range of buildings (230m/755ft in length) with projecting wings, was built between 1874 and 1885 by Gottfried von Neureuther, in the style of the Italian High Renaissance. In a manner typical of the architecture of the Gründerzeit (the period of rapid expansion in the early 1870s) the design is concerned only to achieve an effect of imposing grandeur on the main (south) front.

This monumental building, more than 170m/560ft long, in Maximilianstrasse, was built between 1856 and 1864 for the Upper Bavarian government. The architect responsible, Friedrich Bürklein, embellished his design with arcades, projections, low towers and a number of novel features.The building was badly damaged in the Second World War, only the original facade surviving. The rest was reconstructed in a new form after the war.Facing the Regierung stands the Völkerkundemuseum.