Frauenkirche is the most famous building in the city centre and serves as cathedral for the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising (Freising vacation rentals | Freising travel guide).

The large Residenz palace complex (begun in 1385) on the edge of Munich’s Old Town ranks among Europe’s most significant museums of interior decoration. Having undergone several extensions, it contains also the treasury and the splendid rococo Cuvilliés Theatre.

Schloss Nymphenburg (Nymphenburg Palace) is surrounded by an impressive park and is considered to be one of Europe’s most beautiful royal residences.

The Englischer Garten, close to the city centre and covering an area of 3.7 km² is one of the world’s largest urban public parks, and contains a nudist area, jogging tracks and bridle-paths. It was designed and laid out by Benjamin Thompson, Count of Rumford, an American, for both pleasure and as a work area for the city’s vagrants and homeless. Nowadays it is entirely a park with a Biergarten at the Chinese Pagoda.

FC Bayern Munich

The Nationaltheater where several of Richard Wagner’s operas had their premieres under the patronage of Ludwig II of Bavaria is the home of the Bavarian State Opera and the Bavarian State Orchestra. Next door the modern Residenz Theatre was erected in the building that had housed the Cuvilliés Theatre before World War II.

The Hofbräuhaus am Platzl, arguably the most famous beer hall worldwide, is located in the city centre. It also operates the second largest tent at the Oktoberfest, one of Munich’s most famous attractions. For two weeks, the Oktoberfest attracts millions of people visiting its beer tents (“Bierzelte”) and fairground attractions.

The Viktualienmarkt is Munich’s most popular market for fresh food and delicatessen. A very old feature of Munich’s Fasching (carnival) is the dance of the Marktfrauen (market women) of the Viktualienmarkt in comical costumes.
[ source: wikipedia ]

The year 1158 is assumed to be the foundation date, which is only the earliest date the city is mentioned in a document. The document was signed in Augsburg (Augsburg vacation rentals | Augsburg travel guide). By that time the Guelph Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, had built a bridge over the river Isar next to a settlement of Benedictine monks – this was on the Salt Route and a toll bridge.

Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, life in Munich became very difficult, as the Allied blockade of Germany led to food and fuel shortages. During French air raids in 1916 three bombs fell on Munich. After World War I, the city was at the centre of much political unrest. In November 1918 on the eve of revolution, Ludwig III and his family fled the city. After the murder of the first republican premier of Bavaria Kurt Eisner in February 1919 by Anton Graf von Arco auf Valley, the Bavarian Soviet Republic was proclaimed. When Communists had taken power, Lenin, who had lived in Munich some years before, sent a congratulatory telegram, but the Soviet Republic was put down on 3 May 1919 by the Freikorps. While the republican government had been restored, Munich subsequently became a hotbed of right-wing politics, among which Adolf Hitler and the National Socialism rose to prominence.

After American occupation in 1945, Munich was completely rebuilt following a meticulous and — by comparison to other war-ravaged West German cities — rather conservative plan which preserved its pre-war street grid. In 1957 Munich’s population passed the 1 million mark.

The majority of residents of Munich enjoy a high quality of life. Mercer HR Consulting consistently rates the city among the top 10 cities with highest quality of life worldwide – a 2007 survey ranked Munich as 8th. The same company also ranks Munich as the world’s 39th most expensive city to live in and the most expensive major city in Germany. Munich enjoys a thriving economy, driven by the information technology, biotechnology, and publishing sectors.
[ source: wikipedia ]