Munich, or München, is the city capital of Bavaria and the third largest city in Germany. Translating to “Home of the Monks,” Munich was founded in 1157 when Benedictine monks got permission from the ruler at the time to create a market settlement across the Isar River from Salzburg. In 1175, Munich was granted city status, and a wall was built around it. Louis II revived Munich’s importance by championing Richard Wagner, the composer, placing the city at the pinnacle of musical and theatrical culture.

During the Holocaust, Munich was heavily bombed, but it was the base for the White Rose organization, a student resistance movement opposing the Nazis. The city has several of the largest breweries in Germany, making it the perfect setting for the yearly Oktoberfest celebrations. It is home to one of the largest wholesale markets in Europe and has the world’s biggest science and tech museum, Deutsches Museum.

As for the architecture, Munich boasts of various architectural styles, which can be seen most vividly in their churches that still stand from the 1100s. The oldest church within the city center, the Romanesque St. Peter’s Church has a Renaissance bell tower due to it being added after the church was built. St. Michael’s Church was created during the Renaissance era with its corinthian columns, pediments, and round arches. Before then, the original Old Town Hall was built in the Gothic style; its exterior was restored in the 19th century and again in the 20th. 

Frauenkirche, built in late Gothic style with its local red bricks and towers topped with domes, followed some time after. The Asam brothers built the beautiful Baroque church Asamkirche in 1746, and the Theatine Church and Heilig-Geist-Kirche (The Church of the Holy Spirit) was also made in the Baroque style. The Cuvilliés Theatre, created in the Rococo style, was destroyed in WWII, but luckily a lot of the interior was saved, allowing for reconstruction. To conclude this architectural journey, the New Town Hall has a beautiful art nouveau library—Juristische Bibliothek—with wrought-iron spiral staircases (which is library goals!).