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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: MOS-NAN |
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MUNICH (Ger. Munchen) , a city of Germany, capital of the kingdom of Bavaria, and the third largest town in the German Empire. It is situated on an elevated plain, on the river Isar, 25 M. N. of the foot-hills of the Alps, about midway between Strassburg and Vienna. Owing to its lofty site (1700 ft. above the sea) and the proximity of the Alps, the climate is changeable, and its mean annual temperature, 49 to 500 F., is little higher than that of many places much farther to the north. The annual rainfall is nearly 30 in. Munich lies at the centre of an important network of railways connecting it directly with Strassburg (for Paris), Cologne, Leipzig
Munich is divided into twenty-four municipal districts, nine-teen of which, including the old town, lie on the left bank of the Isar, while the suburban districts of Au, Haidhausen, Giesing, Bogenhausen and Ramersdorf are on the opposite bank. The old town, containing many narrow and irregular streets, forms a semicircle with its diameter towards the river, while round its periphery has sprung up the greater part of modern Munich, including the handsome Maximilian and Ludwig districts. The walls with which Munich was formerly surrounded have been pulled down, but some of the gates have been left. The most interesting is the Isartor and the Karlstor, restored in 1835 and adorned with frescoes. The Siegestor (or gate of victory) is a modern imitation of the arch of Constantine at Rome, while the stately Propylaea, built in 1854-1862, is a reproduction of the gates of the Athenian Acropolis. Munich owes its architectural magnificence largely to Louis I. of Bavaria, who ascended the throne in 1825, and his successors; while its collections of art entitle it to rank with Dresden and Berlin. Most of the modern buildings have been erected after celebrated prototypes of other countries and eras, so that, as 'has been said by Moriz Carriere, a walk through Munich affords a picture of the architecture and art of two thousand years. In carrying out his plans Louis I. was seconded by the architect Leo von Klenze, while the external decorations of painting and sculpture were mainly designed by Peter von Cornelius, Wilhelm von Kaulbach and Schwanthaler. As opportunity offers, the narrow streets of the older city are converted into broad, straight boulevards, lined with palatial mansions and public buildings. The hygienic improvement effected by these changes, and by a new and excellent water supply, is shown by the mortality averages4o4 per thousand in 1871-1875, 30.4 per thousand in 1881-1885, and 20.5 per thousand in 1903-1904. The architectural style which has been principally followed in the later public buildings, among them the law courts, finished in 1897, the German bank, St Martin's hospital, as well as in numerous private dwellings, is the Italian and French Rococo, or Renaissance, adapted to the traditions of Munich architecture in the 17th and 18th centuries. A large proportion of the most notable buildings in Munich are in two streets, the Ludwigstrasse and the Maximilianstrasse, the creations of the monarchs whose names they bear. The former, three-quarters of a mile long and 40 yds. wide, chiefly contains buildings in the Renaissance style by Friedrich von Gartner. The most striking of these are the palaces of Duke Max and of Prince Luitpold; the Odeon, a large building for concerts, adorned with frescoes and marble busts; the war office; the royal library, in the Florentine palatial style; the Ludwigskirche, a successful reproduction of the Italian Romanesque style, built in 1829-1844, and containing a huge fresco of the Last Judgment by Cornelius; the blind asylum; and, lastly, the university. At one end this street is terminated by the Siegestor, while at the other is the Feldherrenhalle (or hall
The Ludwigstrasse and the Maximilianstrasse both end at no great distance from the Frauenplatz in the centre of the old town. On this square stands the Frauenkirche, the cathedral church of the archbishop of Munich-Freising, with its lofty cupola capped towers dominating the whole town. It is imposing from its size, and interesting as one of the few examples of indigenous Munich art. On the adjacent Marienplatz are the old town- hall
Among the other churches of Munich the chief place is due to St Boniface's, an admirable copy of an early Christian basilica. It is adorned with a cycle of religious paintings by Heinrich von Hess (1798-1863), and the dome is supported by sixty-four monoliths of grey Tyrolese marble. The parish church of Au, in the Early Gothic style, contains gigantic stained-glass windows and some excellent wood-carving; and the church of St John in Haidhausen is another fine Gothic structure. St Michael's in the Renaissance style, erected for the Jesuits in 1583-1595, contains the monument of Eugene Beauharnais by Thorwaldsen. The facade is divided into storeys, anc the general effect is by no means ecclesiastical. St Peter's is interesting as the oldest church in Munich (12th century), though no trace of the original basilica remains. Among newer churches the most noticeable are the Evangelical church of St Luke, a Transitional building, with an imposing dome , finished in 1896, and the Gothic parochial church of the Giesing suburb, with a tower 312 ft. high and rich interior decorations (1866-1884).The valuable collections of art are enshrined in handsome buildings, mostly in the ,Maximilian suburb on the north side of the town. The old Pinakothek, erected by Klenze in 1826-1836, and somewhat resembling the Vatican, is embellished externally with frescoes by Cornelius and with statues of twenty-four celebrated painters from sketches by Schwanthaler. It contains a valuable and extensive collection of pictures by the earlier masters, the chief treasures, being the early German and Flemish works and the unusually numerous examples of Rubens. It also affords accommodation to more than 300,000 engravings, over 20,000 drawings, and a large collection of vases. Opposite stands the new Pinakothek, built 1846-1853, the frescoes on which, designed by Kaulbach, show the effects of wind and weather. It is devoted to works by painters of the last century, among which Karl Rottmann's Greek landscapes are perhaps the most important. The Glyptothek, a building by Klenze in the Ionic style, and adorned with several groups and single statues, contains a valuable series of sculptures, extending from Assyrian and Egyptian monuments down to works by Thorwaldsen and other modern masters. The celebrated Aeginetan marbles
The immense scientific collection in the Bavarian national museum, illustrative of the march of progress from the Roman period down to the present day, compares in completeness with the similar collections at South Kensington and the Musee de Cluny. The building which now houses this collection was erected in 1894-1900. On the walls is a series of well-executed frescoes of scenes from Bavarian history, occupying a space of 16,000 sq. ft. The ethnographical museum, the cabinet of coins, and the collections of fossils, minerals, and physical and optical instruments, are also worthy of mention. The art union, the oldest and most extensive in Germany, possesses a good collection of modern works. The chief place among the scientific institutions is due to the academy of science, founded in 1759. The royal library contains over 1,300,000 printed volumes and 30,000 manuscripts. The observatory is equipped with instruments by the celebrated Josef Fraunhofer. At the head of the educational institutions of Munich stands the university, founded at Ingolstadt in 1472, removed to Landshut in 1800, and transferred thence to Munich in 1826. In addition to the four usual faculties there is a fifthof political economy. In connexion with the university are medical and other schools, a priests' seminary, and a library of 300,000 volumes. The polytechnic institute (Technische Hochschule) in 1899 acquired the privilege of conferring the degree of doctor
The English garden (Englischer Garten), to the north-east of the town, is 600 acres in extent, and was laid out by Count Rumford in imitation of an English park. On the opposite bank of the Isar, above and below the Maximilianeum, extend the Gasteig promenades, commanding fine views of the town. To the south-west of the town is the Theresienwiese, a large common where the popular festival is celebrated in October. Here is situated the Ruhmeshalle or hall of fame, a Doric colonnade containing busts of eminent Bavarians. In front of it is acolossal bronze statue of Bavaria, 170 ft. high, designed by Schwanthaler. The botanical garden, with its large palm-house, the Hofgarten, surrounded with arcades containing frescoes of Greek landscapes by Rottmann, and the Maximilian park to the east of the Isar, complete the list
The population of Munich in 1905 was 538,393. The permanent garrison numbers about 10,000 men. Of the population, 84% are Roman Catholic, 14% Protestants, and 2% Jews. Munich is the seat of the archbishop of Munich-Freising and of the general Protestant consistory for Bavaria. About twenty newspapers are published here, including the Allgemeine Zeitung. Some of the festivals of the Roman Church are celebrated with considerable pomp; and the people also cling to various national fetes, such as the Metzgersprung, the Schaffiertanz, and the great October festival. Munich has long been celebrated for its artistic handicrafts, such as bronze-founding, glass-staining, silversmith's work, and wood-carving, while the astronomical instruments of Fraunhofer and the mathematical instruments of Traugott Lieberecht von Ertel (1778-1858) are also widely known. Lithography, which was invented at Munich at the end of the 18th century, is extensively practised here. The other industrial products include wall
flowers
History.The Villa Munichen or Forum ad monachos, so called from the monkish owners of the ground on which it lay, was first called into prominence by Duke Henry the Lion, who established a mint here in 1158, and made it the emporium for the salt coming from Hallein and Reichenhall. The Bavarian dukes of the Wittelsbach house occasionally resided at Munich, and in 1255 Duke Louis made it his capital , having previously surrounded it with walls and a moat. The town was almost entirely destroyed by fire in 1327, after which the emperor Louis the Bavarian, in recognition of the loyalty of the citizens, rebuilt it very much on the scale it retained down to the beginning of the 19th century. Among the succeeding rulers those who did most for the town in the erection of handsome buildings and the foundation of schools and scientific institutions were Albert V., William V., Maximilian I., Max Joseph and Charles Theodore. In 1632 Munich was occupied by Gustavus Adolphus, and in 1705, and again in 1742, it was in possession of the Austrians. In 1791 the fortifications were razed.Munich's importance in the history of art is entirely of modern growth, and may be dated from the acquisition of the Aeginetan marbles
See Mittheilungen des statistischen Bureaus der Stadt Munchen (vols. i.v., 18751882); Soltl, Munchen mit seinen Umgebungen (1854); Reber, Bautechnischer Fiihrer durch die Stadt Munchen (1876) ; Daniel, Handbuch der Geographie (new ed., 1895); Prantl, Geschichte der Ludwig-Maximilian Universitat (Munich, 1872) ; Goering, 3o Jahre Munchen (Munich, 1904) ; von Ammon, Die Gegend von Munchen geologisch geschildert (Munich, 1895) ; Kronegg, Illustrierte Geschichte der Stadt Munchen (Munich, 1903); the Jahrbuch fur Munchener Geschichte, edited by Reinhardstottner and Trautmann (Munich, 1887-1894) ; Aufleger and Trautmann, Alt-Munchen in Bild and Wort (Munich, 1895) ; Rohmeder, Munchen als Handelsstadt (Munich, 1905) ; H. Tinsch, Das Stadtrecht von Munchen (Bamberg, 1891) ; F. Pecht, Geschichte der munchener Kunst im 19 Jahrhundert (Munich, 1888) ; and Trautwein, Fi hrer durch Munchen (Both ed., 1906). There is an English book on Munich by H. R. Wadleigh (1910). End of Article: MUNICH (Ger. Munchen) If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
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