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Munich is Germany's third largest city and one of Europe's most prosperous cities. The city has a population of about 1.3 million (as of 2005) and the Munich metropolitan area is home to around 2.6 million people. The city is located on the River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps.

The city's motto was "Die Weltstadt mit Herz" (The world city with a heart) for a long time and has been recently replaced by "München mag Dich" (Munich likes you). The figure on Munich's coat-of-arms is a monk referred to as the Münchner Kindl, the child of Munich.

The city was founded next to an existing settlement of monks Munichen (Latin Monacum, Monachium) by the Welf Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria. The village grew around St.Peter church next to a bridge, that Henry initially built over the river 'Isar'. To force traders to use his bridge (and, of course charge them for doing so) he destroyed a nearby bridge owned by bishop Otto von Freising (Freising). Therefore the bishop and Henry quarreled about the city before the emperor at a Imperial Diet held in Augsburg in 1158. Henry's spoliation was finally sanctioned with a yearly compensation for the bishop, Munich's trading-and currency rights were confirmed by Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa.

Munich is a popular tourist destination and has been described as Germany's "secret capital".

Marienplatz und Stachus

Center of the city is the Marienplatz (named after the Mariensäule, a Marian column in its centre) with the Old and the New Townhall, its tower contains the Rathaus-Glockenspiel, an ornate clock with almost life-sized moving figures that show scenes from a medieval jousting tournament as well as a performance of the famous "Schäfflertanz" (roughly translated "Barrel-makers' dance"). Three gates of the demolished medieval fortification have survived to this day, the Isartor, the Sendlinger Tor and finally the Karlstor at Stachus, a grand square dominated by the Palace of Justice.

The churches

The Peterskirche close to Marienplatz is the oldest church of the inner city, founded in the romanesque period. Around this church Munich grew as a settlement of monks well before the city was officially founded in 1158.

The Frauenkirche ("Dom zu unserer Lieben Frau" - Cathedral of Our Lady) is the most famous building in the city center. This is Munich's central cathedral and is famous for the brass onion domes that top the twin towers. The domes were added in the 16th century not matching the gothic style of the building and thus giving it a somewhat peculiar style-mix. The original design asked for pointed towers like the dome of Cologne but those where never built for lack of money. At first glance the two towers appear to be the same height but in actual fact one is slightly taller than the other. Unlike most buildings in Munich's old town, the towers of the Frauenkirche (but not the church itself) survived the war intact, making them more than 500 years old. The Frauenkirche's towers (99 meters or 325 feet) are also the measurement for a new rule which limits the height of new buildings to the same height in the city. This rule was passed in November 2004 by the people of Munich in a referendum organized by Georg Kronawitter, a former SPD mayor, against the will of the political parties in the city's parliament ("Stadtrat") who feared that it would harm the city's attractiveness to investors.

The Alte Hof, a medieval castle and first residence of the Wittelsbach dukes in Munich still exists in the inner city.

With the Residenz Munich owns one of Europe's most significant interior decoration museums. The palace was built in 1385 and gradually expanded and contains also the treasury and the splendid rococo Cuvilliés Theatre. Many operas were staged here, including the premiere of Mozart's "Idomeneo" in 1781.

Munich citizens also enjoy a world renown neo-classical opera house, the National Theatre where several operas of Richard Wagner had premiere under the patronage of Ludwig II of Bavaria. This theatre is today the home of the Bavarian State Opera. The modern Gasteig Center at the river Isar houses the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. The third orchestra in Munich with international importance is the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Among the baroque and neoclassical mansions which still exist in Munich is the Palais Holnstein, the residence of the Archbishop of Munich and Freising.

Four grand royal avenues of the 19th century with magnificent official buildings are reminders of the kingdom of Bavaria, the Brienner Strasse with the Königsplatz next to the Kunstareal, the neoclassical Ludwigstrasse with the Ludwig-Maximilian University, the Maximilianstrasse with the Parliament and finally the Prinzregentenstrasse with the Prinzregenten Theatre.

Two large baroque palaces with grand parks are a reminiscence for Bavaria's monarchy as well, Schloß Nymphenburg (Nymphenburg Palace) and Schloß Schleißheim (Schleissheim Palace).

The city has several important art museums, most of which can be found in the Kunstareal as the Alte Pinakothek, the Neue Pinakothek, and the Pinakothek der Moderne. Alte Pinakothek's rather monolithic structure contains a treasure trove of the works of European masters between the 14th and 18th centuries. The collection reflects the rather eclectic tastes of the Wittelsbachs over four centuries, and is sorted by schools over two sprawling floors. Major displays include Albrecht Durer`s Christ-like Self-Portrait and his Four Apostles; Peter Paul Rubens two-storey-high Judgment Day. This museum houses, in fact, one of the world`s comprehensive Rubens collections. Before World War I, Munich was also the site of the Blaue Reiter group of artists, many of whose works can be seen at the Lenbachhaus. A profound collection of Greek and Roman art is provided by the Glyptothek and the Staatliche Antikensammlung. The State Museum of Ethnology is the second largest in Germany of artifacts and objects from outside Europe, the Bavarian National Museum is one of Europe's major art and cultural history museums.

Other famous tourist attractions include the Deutsches Museum, one of the oldest and largest science museums in the world.

The Hofbräuhaus am Platzl is a world famous beer hall in the city center. It operates also the second largest tent at the Oktoberfest, perhaps Munich's most famous attraction. It is a 2-week-long fair with many rides and several very large tents. The Oktoberfest was first held October 12, 1810 in honor of the marriage of crown prince Ludwig to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. The festivities were closed with a horse race and in the following years the horse races were continued and later developed into what is now known as the Oktoberfest. Despite its name, Oktoberfest actually begins in September. It lasts two weeks and always finishes on the first Sunday in October unless the German national holiday on 3 October ("Tag der deutschen Einheit" - Day of German Unity) is a Monday or Tuesday - then the Oktoberfest still opens for these days.