Biergarten
We visited Munich a few weeks after the end of the 2024 Oktoberfest — which was OK with us. We guess we’ve passed the attraction of hanging out with a gazillion people chugging enormous steins of beer. (France and age have firmly made a couple glasses of a nice red wine our happy place.) But, when in Munich… You know. So we went to the famous Hofbräuhaus for a dip into the experience.
What a fun place! Even early afternoon on a weekday, the indoor halls, and even some of the outdoor courtyard, were full of loud happy people. Very handsomely decorated vaults above our heads.
We slid into middle seats at one of the shared picnic-type tables. On one side, a fun talkative American couple revealed their travel itinerary. On the other side, a local German couple smiled and kept to themselves. All of which was just fine.
We chose quintessential plates. One was various sausages with sauerkraut and potatoes. The other was a particularly famous local dish: roasted pork knuckle. (Sorry, vegetarians.) Rather nice roasted pork flavor — although some green beans or green salad would’ve been nice!
And one nice dark beer… and a glass of red wine! Could they tell we were from out of town?
Here are the real priorities:
Another enormous palace
In our ongoing education about the history of Bavaria, we learned about the House of Wittelsbach. Founded in the 12th century, they ruled Bavaria without interruption until World War I. Amazing: 700 years of dynastic rule of this region of central Europe.
Munich was their capital during many of those centuries. That long residence translates to another grand palace with some 130 rooms. Unlike the Würzburg Residenz which was born of a specific moment, the Residenz in Munich reveals the always evolving tastes of the Wittelsbach family over the centuries.
We’ll try to keep the tour short. ※
Rather austere on the outside. Current construction and parking drain the palace of some of its gravitas. The design comes directly from the Pitti Palace in Florence; the Wittelsbach family announced their legitimacy through allusion to glorious Renaissance Italy.
Antiquarium: This hall is the oldest room in the Munich Residence. With a length of 66 metres, it is the largest and most lavish Renaissance hall north of the Alps. Duke Albrecht V had it built from 1568 to 1571 for his collection of antique sculptures, hence the name “Antiquarium”.
Grotto Courtyard: From 1581 to 1589 Duke Wilhelm V had a summer palace built around a gardened courtyard next to the Antiquarium. Shell grottoes were popular in Renaissance Italy, and the Duke wanted some of that for himself!
Ancestral Gallery: Karl Albrecht created a splendid monument to draw attention to the rank and connections of the dynasty. It was from this that he derived his claim to the imperial throne, to which he ascended in 1742 to become Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor
Rich Chapel: The Rich Chapel, which was consecrated in 1607, was the private place of worship of Duke Maximilian I and his wife. It was here that the Duke kept his collection of precious relics, the bodily remains of saints. Because of the beneficial powers attributed to relics, the Rich Chapel became the ideological and spiritual centre of the Baroque Residence.
Cabinet of Mirrors: The court architect from 1725-68, François Cuvilliés, followed French practice by building two small rooms, or cabinets, onto the state bedroom. The first was designed as a room for writing and relaxing in. Large mirrors like these were among the most expensive decorative items of 18th-century aristocratic residences. Their reflections multiply to infinity the gilt wall consoles.
And more and more and more galleries…
Cuvilliés Theater: What is now called the Cuvilliés Theatre, after its architect, François Cuvilliés the Elder, consists of the auditorium of a theatre that Elector Maximilian Joseph III built in 1751-55 as his “new opera house.” Originally reserved exclusively for members of court, the theatre lay in close proximity to the Residence. Many lavish opera productions were mounted here, including the first performances of Mozart’s Idomeneo, in 1781.
Tombs in the church wall of Frauenkirche
This is Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady). It’s an imposing late Gothic cathedral, begun in 1468. It wasn’t until the 16th century that the onion-dome-topped towers were added.
But here’s what we wanted to show you: the headstones or grave markers on the outside of the building. The story we were told was that, traditionally, rich and important people would be buried within the church or outside as close as possible to the building. There’s only so much space inside and right outside, so only the richest people could express their devotion in this way. At some point, the people of Munich started to think that all these dead people underfoot and next to their cathedral were very unhealthy. They transferred the buried remains to cemeteries outside the city walls. But those rich people still wanted to rest near God, and have their devotion clearly visible to all who passed by. Hence headstones (maybe including remains) glued to the outside of the cathedral.
Town halls old and new
To us, the New Town Hall looks older than the Old Town Hall.
The Old Town Hall was first built in the late 14th century. It was significantly re-designed in at least the 15th and 19th centuries. The neo-Gothic facade that we see today is from the 1860s.
In the mid 1800s, the town felt it had outgrown the Old Town Hall, so they built a much larger neo-Gothic New Town Hall. Perhaps because of the dark stains on the exterior, it looks much older than just 150 years.
One bit of modernity is a nice little elevator in that spiky tower. We enjoyed grand views over the city and toward the Alps to the south.
Dancing clock
An elaborate mechanical clock sits high over the main entrance to the New Town Hall. When the clock announces the hour, the figures in the upper portion reenact a famous tournament with heroes, jesters, cheering fans and even pagans. In the lower portion, the “Schäfflertanz” is commemorated. ※ The Schäfflertanz is a cheerful dance that supposedly dates back to 1517 when the plague raged in the city again. The people of Munich were understandably terrified and wouldn’t leave their homes. A shepherd whose name is unknown decided to cheer up the still-living inhabitants with a dance. He wanted to help the people let go of their isolating fear and come back “into life.” He started to dance in the streets. Soon, Schäffler — who were barrel makers — joined him. They danced with garlands over their heads, which you can see in the clock figures. Little by little, other Munich-ers ventured outside and joined the Schäffler and began to enjoy their lives again. ※
Tricky Duke
Here’s a great story, as recounted by a tour guide:
Duke Maximilian I (1573-1651) had inherited a bankrupted Bavaria, thanks to his father, Duke William V. Even though Duke William had frittered away Bavaria’s wealth, after he died, he was still buried with gold and treasure.
Duke Max was a much more capable ruler than his father. Among his projects for Munich was the erection of new defensive walls. The Thirty Years War (1618-1648) was raging while construction of the walls proceeded.
During this time, Protestant Swedish forces invaded Bavaria and were heading to Munich. In the middle of one night when the invading forces were closing in, Duke Max clandestinely headed south into the mountains with the Bavarian army.
The Swedish army had expected and even relished a battle with Catholic Duke Max. They occupied the city, settled in and waited. They asked the people where their Duke was. The people replied that they were confident that the Duke and the army would return shortly, ready to defend them against the Swedish army.
Some months went by and no Duke and no Bavarian army showed up. The people had to accept that their Duke wasn’t coming back. Still, the Swedes really wanted a battle. However, considering the situation, they announced they’d be amenable to receiving a ransom instead.
Unfortunately, thanks to Duke Max’s father, Bavaria was cash-poor; the people didn’t have enough to pay the ransom. The Swedes said, OK, then we’ll just have stay a bit longer with you nice folks.
Desperate but also clever, the people asked themselves what do we have that we can offer in lieu of money and treasure; what are we very good at producing? (Can you guess? This is the home of Oktoberfest, after all.) Yep, beer. They offered 200 grand barrels of beer.
Either bored and/or thirsty, the Swedes accepted the offer, took the barrels and left.
What do you know: Shortly after the departure of the Swedish army, the Duke and his army appeared. They marched into the city and paraded up the main city boulevard, claiming victory over the Swedes.
The people were understandably confused and probably not in a great mood. “What do you mean, victory?”
The Duke said that he’d stolen off in the night to protect the people. If they didn’t know his whereabouts, they couldn’t be tortured for the info. He had taken the army as high up into the mountains as they could go, to be as close to God as they could get. Then the Duke prayed day and night to Mother Mary to liberate Bavaria.
“Look! It worked!”
You and I would probably say something that starts with “Bull…” But, the people of this era were deeply religious and superstitious. To them, this explanation made complete sense. They flipped confusion into joy, and joined in the victory celebration.
The Duke felt pretty good about what he’d done (or not done). Modestly, he proposed to put a celebratory golden statue of himself on a column in the main square.
These were people of faith, but also not born yesterday. They said, “Hey, wait a minute. Didn’t you say Mary liberated us?”
“Good point,” the Duke said. The Duke conveniently recalled that a golden statue of Mary had been buried with his father. “I’ll be right back,” he said to the people. A quick visit to his father’s tomb, and he returned with the statue.
The people enthusiastically placed the golden statue of Mary on top of a grand column, and named the plaza there Marienplatz for Mary. Not Maximilianplatz.
BMW
We all see the blue-and-white four-part BMW logo on the cars and don’t think anything much beyond the brand. Munich reminded us that BMW is Bavarian Motor Works (actually, Bayersiche Motoren Werke). And that the Bavarian flag includes a skewed blue-and-white checkerboard. That reminded us that the late famous architect Zaha Hadid had designed a headquarters showroom for BMW not far from the 1972 Olympics village just outside the historic center of Munich.
On our way out of town (in our Volvo – sorry BMW!), we had to stop by to see.
Zaha Hadid’s design impressed as expected with flowing, racing curves.
Earlier buildings nearby show how previous generations expressed the high-tech zippiness of BMW vehicles.
Inside, we found a combination showroom and brand experience. Kids could ride motorcycles in a simulator. You could hang out and eat a burger while you inhaled the brand magic. In the middle of it all, it looked like a drop-off for your annual servicing if you lived in the neighborhood.
We have to admit, we enjoyed looking at BMW’s latest electric vehicles, including one cut-away to show how the batteries connect throughout the car.
Mike rather liked the motorcycles.
By the time we arrived in Munich, we’d been on the road a little while. We were starting to tire of boiled meat, heavy bread dumplings and Spätzle.
Pfistermüble Restaurant was a breath of fresh air: elegant fusion of tradition and farm-fresh sensibility.
Our server was a cheerful middle-aged fellow. We commented on how much we liked the dishes, that they were all fresh and flavorful. He said this was real Bavarian food. Bavaria is full of streams and fields and farms, so real Bavarian food is all fresh. Not just stewed meat!
October 2024