A revolution was on its way after five long winters of war. It was on November 8th. 1918 that King Ludwig III. was forced to abdicate under the pressure of the republican politician Kurt Eisner and the leftwing opposition. It was the declared ambition to end the war immediately and to transform the political system into a parliamentarian democracy. Surprisingly all the goals could be achieved without serious resistance and in a peaceful way.
This tour will focus on the history of Munich around 1900, the spirit of the time prior to World War I. and the way it changed due to political and social catastrophes.
The “Alte Pinakothek” is one of the world’s major art galleries and presents European masterpieces from the Middle Ages through to the 18th century. Founded by King Ludwig I, it celebrated its 175th anniversary in 2011. The then pioneering architecture by Leo von Klenze presents works by masters such as Albrecht Dürer and Peter Paul Rubens in all their impressive beauty.
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Art Nouveau (Jugendstil) is an epoch in art history and is named “Jugendstil” after the illustrated cultural magazine “Die Jugend”, which was founded in Munich in 1896. Renowned artists contributed to Bavaria’s capital city becoming one of the centres of art nouveau. Numerous buildings in the city still bear witness today to this scandalous style which worshipped beauty and radically challenged older traditions.
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“Art Nouveau” is known in Germany under the name “Jugendstil”. Renowned artists contributed greatly to make Munich an important location and even center of art nouveau. Numerous buildings in the city still bear witness of this revolutionary, “scandalous” style, which radically challenged older traditions.
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The Asamkirche right in the Old Center is one of Munich‘s most impressive churches. Its builders, the brothers Cosmas Damian and Egid Quirin Asam, used every inch of the tiny interior to show their breathtaking craftsmanship. Gold-plated figures, ingenious stucco and fresco: The curtain rises to a truly divine spectacle of baroque magnificence.
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Augsburg counts among Germany’s oldest towns and was founded by Roman emperor Augustus in 15 B.C. With its 2000-year-old history it is no wonder the „city of the Fuggers“ has plenty of sights and attractions to offer.
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Munich’s cityscape today still features numerous impressive examples of Baroque art – castles, churches and palaces. This architectural style, which originated from Italy, was dominant for several decades towards the end of the 17th century. You will be introduced to the Baroque era in architecture, musical history and painting in „Italy’s most northern city”.
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This museum at Nymphenburg Castle shows more than 1,000 exhibits from the Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory, which was founded in the 18th century. The collection is based on samples assembled by Albert Bäuml, an entrepreneur and director of the Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory. Among the highlights are the delicate figurines of the Commedia dell’arte by Franz Anton Bustelli which take today’s beholder back into 18th-century court life.
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Located in Prinzregentenstrasse, the National Bavarian Museum houses collections of art and cultural history of European standing, from the Romanesque era to the 20th century. They are primarily of Southern German, Bavarian and Munich origin. Among the highlights are wood sculptures in gothic style by Tilmann Riemenschneider and delicate porcelain figurines by Franz Anton Bustelli. The museum‘s collections of nativity scenes are also famous well beyond regional boundaries.
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This fascinating moated castle complex with the St. Sigismund castle chapel is a masterpiece of Late Gothic. It was built as a hunting lodge in the 15th century by the Wittelsbach Duke Albrecht III. It is surrounded by the River Würm and has a circular rampart, fortified towers and a moat.
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The old centre of the former village is by the old parish church of St. Georg and was first mentioned as early as the 8th century. Since the late Wilhelminian era, an extensive and prestigious residential development has been built, starting from Prinzregentenstrasse, soon to become a hotspot of Munich society. Places of interest include the Angel of Peace by Maximilian Park, the Prince Regent Theatre, the Villa Stuck and the Hildebrand House.
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The „Museum of Phantasy“ is the legacy of artist and collector Lothar Günther Buchheim, whose personal and unique mixture of expressionist art is on show here. A memorial of 20th century art, ideally presented at the banks of Lake Starnberg in the extravagant architecture by Günter Behnisch.
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Since the consecration of the High Altar on 13th May 1778, the Community Hall has also been unofficially called the Community Hall Church. The church is architecturally unique in that it is divided into an Upper and Lower Church. In the Lower Church is the tomb of the blessed Father Rupert Mayer, who courageously preached against National Socialism.
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On this very atmospheric cultural history and culinary tour, you can experience Munich at Christmas time, with mulled wine stands and the fragrance of roast almonds in the heart of the city. On a walk through the Christmas market, including the many stands with nativity sets, you will hear poems and stories about the traditional Munich “Christkindlmarkt”.
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Take your seats, please! This varied and informative coach tour is a convenient and easy way to learn about Munich’s chequered history and see the city’s principal sights.
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Every day hundreds of spectators admire the Glockenspiel at the Munich townhall with the „Schäffler“ (barrel makers) dancing their famous dance. What do you know about the „Schäfflertanz” and its history? Learn more about living traditions and typical customs which create Munich’s very special flair and lend the city its unmistakable character.
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The Cuvilliés Theatre (formerly known as the Residence Theatre) is considered to be Germany’s major Rococo theatre. It is today located in the so-called Apothekenstock (Apothecary Block) of the Munich Residenz and is one of the leading buildings designed by François de Cuvilliés. The theater with its Rococo splendour, where in 1781 the world premiere of Mozart’s Idomeneo was staged, takes you into the world of baroque royal opera.
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Cycle gently or with bravado on attractive routes to see Munich’s sights.
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Dachau has not only a scenic old centre with St. Jacob’s Church and the Wittelsbach Castle, it was also home to an artists‘ colony. Carl Spitzweg painted here as well as Max Liebermann and Lovis Corinth, all inspired by the town, its rural hinterland and the seemingly endless view from the castle.
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You have always wanted to see an original “Wolpertinger”, the famous mythical creature? Then come to the Museum of Hunting and Fishing in Munich’s pedestrian area! The exhibition provides comprehensive information on Bavaria’s hunting history.
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The German Museum was founded by Oskar von Miller and is built on an island in the River Isar. With its extensive range of some 28,000 exhibits from about 50 fields of science and technology, it is the largest museum of its kind in the world. The spectacular exhibition bears witness to mankind’s age-old pursuit of knowledge and progress and also includes modern developments such as nano technology.
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After 1933, the Obersalzberg above Berchtesgaden was converted to Adolf Hitler’s secondary seat of government. An elaborately and carefully designed documentary enables the visitor to learn, at the historic site, about the Nazi dictatorship and the dark history of the Obersazberg and the Kehlsteinhaus.
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A branch of the National Bavarian Museum is today housed in the former ballrooms of Lustheim Palace in the grounds of Schleissheim Castle. It contains the largest collection of 18th century Meissen porcelain outside Dresden, donated by industrialist Prof. Dr. Ernst Schneider. In the splendour of Lustheim castle the delicate pieces unfold all their beauty and tell of the economical and non-material importance of the „White Gold“ to Europe’s baroque courts.
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This church was designed by Giovanni Antonio Viscardi and built in Bavarian Baroque style between 1711 and 1718. During the Second World War, this was the only church in Munich’s city centre which was not damaged by bombing.
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The English Gardens are among the world’s largest and most beautiful city parks. Whatever the season, this historic park tempts visitors to undertake a tour of discovery, walking along the many paths, across green lawns, passing the surfers on Eisbach, climbing up to the Monopteros for a view of the city and relaxing in the beer garden by the Chinese Tower.
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As on old Bavarian settlement and former ducal city Erding has a rich history to offer. Today it is district capital and, located between Munich and the airport, as modern as you could ask for.
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The Allianz Arena, built by the architectural team of Herzog & de Meuron, was opened in May 2005 and will delight the heart of every football fan. Not only the Munich football clubs of FC Bayern München and, up until 2017, of TSV 1860 play their home games in this stadium, which can accommodate just under 70,000 spectators. On this tour, you can look behind the scenes at this state-of-the-art World Championship stadium.
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Munich as a city of football. The Bavarian capital and football go together, for both professionals and amateurs. This tour is a highlight for all lovers of sports and offers informed answers to everything that a football fan always wanted to know. Look forward to background infos and amusing anecdotes about FC Bayern München and TSV 1860.
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Frauenchiemsee (Fraueninsel) in Lake Chiemsee is accessible by boat only, and no more than a few people live there permanently. The island has been dominated by the 1200-year-old nun convent which still exists. The monastery complex, including rests of Carolingian buildings, tells about the monastery’s long history and secluded life on this idyllic little island.
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The Cathedral of Our Lady, the “Frauenkirche”, is the cathedral church of the Archbishop of Munich and Freising and Munich’s primary landmark. Its twin towers topped with their characteristic onion domes, so-called “Welsh Domes”, are visible from a great distance. A visit to the Cathedral is an essential part of every city tour.
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The Cathedral Hill in Freising reminds of the very beginnings of Bavaria in the early middle ages. 1250 years ago missionary bishop Bonifatius laid the foundations of the diocese of Freising and the first ecclesiastical organisation. The cathedral hill with cathedral and romanic crypta, episcopal residence and diocesan museum invite to a journey through time of Christianity and religious art in Southern Bavaria.
Weihenstephan is another of Freising’s significant sites. The former wictine monastery complex now houses a historical brewery and a museum.
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The Glyptothek Museum and State Antiquities Collection are located on Königsplatz. The Glyptothek Museum presents a prolific collection of ancient Greek and Roman statues and sculptures. The Antiquities Collection is one of Germany’s largest museums of Greek, Etruscan and Roman art.
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The changing world of Munich: Once a deprived quarter and later site of numerous breweries and beer gardens, the Haidhausen of today is one of Munich‘s most thriving quarters. Follow the history of this former suburb on this tour and see all the places of interest in Haidhausen. Not only for Munich experts.
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The Church of the Holy Spirit is one of Munich’s oldest church buildings and located in the direct vicinity of the “Viktualienmarkt” food market. It was converted to Baroque and then to Rococo style. Its interior is decorated with high-quality frescoes and stucco work by the Asam brothers.
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Herrenchiemsee in Lake Chiemsee: Monks dwelled there once, before bishops ruled the land. Then King Ludwig II discovered the remote island which soon became one of his favourite places. He bought the island and planned and built Schloss Herrenchiemsee, the most magnificent of his castles, truly a second Versailles.
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This modern church in Munich-Neuhausen was built between 1997 and 2000 after its predecessor had been destroyed by fire. It is of great interest for admirers of modern architecture, not least because of its futuristic cube shape with a 14-metre high blue glass front and transparent sides.
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No other district of Munich has so many different faces: Palaces and farmers houses, upscale residential homes and working-class quarters, idyllic village scenery and main roads. The connecting road between the city palace of the royal family in Munich and the summer palace Nymphenburg runs through Neuhausen. This walking tour will take you to the heart of the old village Neuhausen. You will hear stories about famous locals and visit the oldest church (Winthirchurch) as well as the futuristic looking Herz-Jesu-Church. This church is famous for its transparent structure and by now can be found in very many books on modern architecture.
Codes of remembrance. Jews had lived in Munich since the Middle Ages. The rise of National Socialism brought years of defamation, eviction, deportation and extermination. Today, Jewish life has returned to the centre of the city, in the Jewish Cultural Centre, synagogue and Jewish Museum.
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Andechs monastery, founded in 1455, is one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Old Bavaria. Visitors and pilgrims who climb up to the „Holy Mountain“ not only seek retreat for the soul in the famous pilgrimage church in Rococo style, but also refreshment for the body with the specialties of the monastery brewery.
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1200 years ago Benedictine monks settled here in the prealpine land and left a lasting impact on the whole region. Though they have left long ago, we still get to admire the impressive monastery complex which is dominated by the Basilica and parish church St. Benedikt, a masterwork of Baroque splendour.
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Ettal abbey, founded in 1330 by emperor Ludwig „the Bavarian“, lies quaintly within the landscape of the Graswangtal near Oberammergau. In the centre of the Baroque monastery complex is the Church, an octogon richly ornamented with stucco work of the Wessobrunn school.
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The former Benedictine monastery Wessorbunn is more than 1200 years old. From this place the first prayer in German language, written shortly after 800, was passed down to us. Later the Wessobrunn workshops produced a large number of eminent plasterers and artists, whose works gained fame well beyond Wessobrunn.
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In 1933 the Nazis opened the first concentration camp in Dachau near Munich. More than 40.000 captives lost their lives there. To this day the Dachau concentration camp is an epitome of Nazi terror, inhumanity and unspeakable suffering. The museum and memorial site not only deal with the tragic and horror of this place but also explains how the difficult legacy of the Nazi past has been dealt with since the end of WW II.
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The landscape around Lake Chiemsee is among the most attractive Bavaria has to offer. It was shaped not only by nuns and monks who settled here as early as the 8th century. Ludwig II’s Herrenchiemsee palace, a „second“ Versailles, was his most ambitious project which celebrates splendour and the monarchy. The Old Castle, however, is a historic site of Democracy: In 1948 the constitutional convention discussed the first draft of the German Grundgesetz there.
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In the Berchtesgadener land, at the feet of the steep, soaring Watzmann mountain, lies the Königssee. Emerald green and bottomless, the Königssee is one of the most beautiful lakes in Bavaria. Its landmark is the pilgrimage church St. Bartolomä which can only be reached by boat. The wild, untamed nature was an inspiration not only for the writer Ludwig Ganghofer. The Wittelsbach Monarchs and the Prince Regent Luitpold were avid hunters in the region, to which the royal Jagdschlösschen in the vicinity of St. Bartolomä still bears witness.
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Austrian Empress Sisi spent her childhood at Lake Starnberg, and it was also here that King Ludwig II mysteriously found his death. Writers and artists were inspired by the scenic beauty and the culture of the surrounding towns. Nowadays the lake not only attracts those who want to track down the rich history. It also offers ample opportunities for sports, recreation and art.
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History is everywhere in the former residential town of the Wittelsbach dynasty. Numerous churches, monasteries, fortifications and, above all, Castle Trausnitz remind of Landshut’s heyday, when the Bavarian dukes resided here. Every four years the people of Landshut reenact the magnificent wedding celebrations that took place here in 1475, when Duke Georg der Reiche married Hedwig of Poland and tens of thousand eminent guests celebrated over days.
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The museum gained international renown largely through the world’s most comprehensive collection of works of „der Blaue Reiter“ (the Blue Rider). Around 1900, this Munich group of artists which included, among others, Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, August Macke, Gabriele Münter und Alexej Jawlensky, looked for new ways of art and expression in rejection of the artistic establishement of their time. Both revolutionary and challenging, their master pieces are shown to advantage in the recently redesigned Lenbachhaus.
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Linderhof palace is situated near Oberammergau and Ettal Abbey. It is the only of Ludwig II’s castles that was finished during his lifetime. Here he could lose himself in the music of Richard Wagner, to which he rendered homage in several buildings in the park and the famous Venus Grotto.
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Whether a “village with a million residents”, the “international city with a soul” or a modern metropolis – this tour shows Munich’s contemporary architecture, innovative design and art in public areas. A guide to the city in its progress from the 20th to the 21st century.
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