Other Sights

The Prinzregententheater, with its splendid facade incorporating Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) and Neo-Classical forms, was designed by Max Littmann and built in 1900-01. Initially it was the Richard Wagner Festival Theater and later became a playhouse. After the destruction of the Nationaltheater in the Second World War the Bavaria State Opera found refuge here.At the end of the 1980s the Theater was renovated at considerable expense. Reconstruction of the orchestra pit and the main stage has been delayed owing to the cost. The interior of the Theatre was modeled to a large extent on its great predecessor in Bayreuth. The decorative painting was executed by the artist Ludwig Mössel. The amphitheater-like auditorium offers excellent viewing.Richard Wagner MonumentA statue of Richard Wagner (1913) by Waderé stands on grass next to the Prinzregententheater.

The Silver Salon on the first floor of the Altes Hackerhaus is the sole surviving example of an interior from an upper class Munich home in the late 19th C. (around 1885). The magnificent period-piece was uncovered during restoration work in 1982, and afterwards renovated. The luxurious decor was originally commissioned by Mathias Pschorr jun., whose family had owned the property since 1794. The principal rooms were furnished in accordance with the style of the time, the salon in Neo-Roccoco, newly returned to fashion after being revived in the furnishing of Schloss Linderhof (1874-78) for King Ludwig II. The same two Munich firms of Radspieler and Pössenbacher employed at Schloss Linderhof were engaged to decorate the Silbersalon.The model for the salon was the "silver" décor of François Cuvilliés' Amalienburg.

St Anne's Church in Munich, once attached to a convent for gentlewomen, which is now a girls' secondary school, was built by Johann Baptist Gunetzrhainer in 1732-35. During the Second World War it was destroyed by bombing, leaving only the outer walls and the facade, but was rebuilt in its original form in the 1950s.The facade, with a wide middle section flanked by narrower lateral sections, is broken up by pilasters on tall bases.The interior, consisting of a porch (with gallery), a square nave, short transepts and a rectangular chancel, is divided into bays by wide arches and roofed with shallow domes. It is attractively decorated in pink, blue, white and gold.The altars have been reconstructed, incorporating figures which survived the bombing. The high altar has a painting by Joseph Ruffini of the Virgin and Child with St Anne; in front is a "Last Supper" with life-size figures (18th century).On the righthand side altar is a painting by Balthasar Augustin Albrecht, "Glorification of St François de Sales"; on the lefthand side altar a "Visitation" by Georges Desmarées.The stucco-work by Egid Quirin Asam has been restored; the frescoes, in tones of gray, by his brother Cosmas Damian have been repainted (chancel: "Homage of the Angels"; nave: "Glorification of St Anne and the Virgin"; porch: "Angels' Concert").

The Bayerische Börse (Bavarian Stock Exchange) in Munich, a palatial turn-of-the-century edifice, was opened in 1896. The size of its quoted list (with more than 4000 fixed interest stocks alone) makes the Exchange one of the largest institutions of its kind in Germany, in addition to which it is the "home" Börse of such well-known companies as BMW, Siemens AG, Allianz Versicherungen AG, the Münchner Ruckversicherungs AG, Löwenbräu AG, and other major firms.The Visitors Service welcomes some 40,000 members of the general public every year, all keen to have a taste at first-hand of the hectic activity on the trading floor.The Neo-Baroque building with its complicated ground-plan was erected in 1896-98, the magnificence of Albert Schmid's design being a worthy acknowledgment of the financial power of the Exchange. With splendid facades on three sides the Börse forms the principal link between the Karlsplatz/Stachus and Lenbachplatz.

The Feldherrnhalle (1841-44), a 20m/65ft open loggia designed by Friedrich von Gärtner and modeled on the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence, closes the vista at the south end of Ludwigstrasse in Munich. Its bronze figures are by Anselm Sickinger and Francesco Sanguinetti.Commissioned by King Ludwig I as a tribute to the Bavarian army, the loggia boasts bronze statues of the Bavarian generals Tilly (1559-1632) and Wrede (1767-1838) executed from drawings by Ludwig Schwanthaler. The Bavarian Army Memorial commemorates the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. The two lions on the steps were the work of W. Ruemann (1906); one is popularly said to be growling at the Residenz, the other to be keeping its mouth shut towards the church. After the failure of Hitler's attempted putsch and the subsequent "March to the Feldherrnhalle", the building became a Nazi rallying-point. Today its excellent acoustics make it a popular venue for musicians and singers.

All Saints, formerly the cemetery church of St Peter's parish, was built about 1478 by Jörg von Halspach (known as Ganghofer), architect of the Frauenkirche. Secularized after the closing of the cemetery in 1789, it is now the church of Munich's Ukrainian Catholic community.The Gothic building, oriented to the south, is constructed of brick without plaster or other facing. The semicircular apse dates from the Baroque remodeling of the church in 1620.Notable features of the interior: painting on the high altar, "The Virgin appearing to St Augustine" by Johann Rottenhammer (17th c.); tabernacle of the school of J. B. Straub (1770); fragment of a Gothic fresco of Christ in a mandorla above the east doorway (now walled up); wooden Crucifix by Hans Leinberger (1520) above the west doorway; monument ("Raising of Lazarus") to the banker Goetz by Hans Krumper (1627).

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.

Towards the end of the 16th C. Heinrich Schön the Elder built a stronghold for Duke William V, the Wilhelminische Veste, on a site in Munich previously occupied by 54 burghers' houses. His successor, Duke (later the Elector) Maximilian Philipp, made this his residence, and it became known as the Maxburg (Max's Castle). Of the original structure only the tower on the north front survives.While following the general plan of the Maxburg, the modern building which replaced the castle after the Second World War preserves nothing of the spirit of the original. It is occupied today by the police and criminal justice authorities.In the courtyard is a fountain (1955) by Joseph Henselmann, "The Moses Fountain", depicting the Prophet standing on a tall crag striking water from the rock.

The 16th C. Asam Haus in Munich was acquired in 1733 by Egid Quirin Asam, who decorated it with lavish stucco ornamentation, giving plastic form to the South German technique of Lüftlmalerei (painted decoration on the exterior walls of houses). The themes of the decoration are mankind's artistic activity and the sensuous world (lower half), and Heaven as conceived by Christianity and by classical antiquity (upper half).

The first line of the Munich Underground (U-Bahn) was opened in 1971. It is made up of 6 lines with 72.7km of track, 67.1km of which are underground. There are 76 stations. The system has a zonal fare structure.The has a rolling stock of 468 cars. During peak hours in the central area trains run every 2-3 minutes and off-peak every 5 mins.

The Cuvillies Theater in Munich is a Rococo style theater that dates back to 1753. Much of the interior decoration was rescued after WW II. The theatre is undergoing restoration.

Villa Lenbach in Munich features paintings from the "Blue Rider" art movement.

Johanneskirche is a church in the Haidhausen district of Munich containing one of the few cycles of early 20th C. stained glass that survived the wars.

The Planetarium der Bayerischen Volkssternwarte opened in 1972 and contains a Goto E-5. Its dome measures 5 meters.

This scenic rail route features beautiful mountain scenery.

This scenic rail route features beautiful mountain scenery.