Duke William IV of Bavaria issued in 23 April 1516 the “purity law” (Reinheitsgebot), a regulation on how to make beer, which remained in force until it was abolished in 1986 by the European Union. The law stated that beer could only be produced using three ingredients: water, barley and hops. This would favor the aristocrat’s monopoly on the trading of hops and became, without even trying, a distinctive tradition amongst the other producing countries.
Today, in Munich, beer is still produced following this tradition, considered a quality method in which chemical additives are conspicuous by their absence. Despite this fact, traditional German beer has to rival a wide range of brands. Two of the strongest competitors are the pale lager, Helles, and the top-fermented Weißbier.
In the Bavarian capital not everything is about beer and sausages, though. Heinrich Heine described the city with the following sentence: “Munich nestles between art and beer like a village between hills”. As a result of this paradoxical combination we can enjoy the best art galleries of Germany as well as the Oktoberfest, a festival held in Theresienwiese that has paid tribute to beer since 1810.
Such a diversified nature affects on the kind of traveler that visits the city, the third most populated city in the country, which offers passes for public transport, cycle lanes and a network of budget hostels in Munich to compensate the expenses when discovering this Bavarian city.
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The public housing plan designed by Theodor Fischer in the late 19th century upholds its essence despite the bombings during the World War II, and the inhabitants of the city have overcome the massacre of the Olympic Games in 1972. We can’t forget either that right after the World War I Hitler and his supporters were concentrated in Munich. This shows the strength of this people who, according to a research study carried out in 2009, enjoy the best quality of life in the country and has learnt from the past to develop towards the understanding and the interculturalism.
When visiting the city it is a must to choose at least one representation of the different elements in the city. The tour in the Nymphenburg Palace will show us the residence of five generations of Bavarian monarchs in the outskirts of the city. The parks and gardens constitute a substantial part of the city. The locals spend time in them because they are the perfect place to unwind. One of the best is the English Garden, reached by bus 54.
There are plenty of religious buildings amongst which the following stand out: the Cathedral of Our Blessed Lady (Frauenkirche), the St. Johann-Nepomuk-Kirche, example of the rococo period, the Theatinerkirche and St. Peter. The latter can become a wonderful experience after climbing 360 steps and enjoying the magnificent views of the city.
Besides its architecture, it is well worth to enjoy the ancient and classic art pieces in the different art galleries. We can not choose just one, but the best four are: Alte Pinakothek, Neue Pinakothek (18th and 19th centuries), Pinakothek der Moderne (Art Design) and Lenbachaus (Paintings Collection).
These collections make Munich a city to rival any European cit, as it captures the cultural attention of its visitors.
During the World Wars and the subsequent division of Germany, Munich was the City where a high number of multinational companies wanted to move just to get away from the center of the conflict. The German film industry, as an example, established in the city the venue for most of their productions.
For this reason, the economic performance has been remarkable in the region. The role the city has played since the Napoleonic wars, away in the south but present in all political and cultural decisions has lead Munich in a second place when talking about popularity after Berlin. Yet it has remained stable with a way of life of its inhabitants that mixes time consciousness in which they lived collated with a very pleasant way to escape through its cuisine, abundant on natural resources to produce a gastronomic delight to all its visitors.
Munich cuisine is mainly based on meat (especially pork), potatoes and cabbage. Is a must to visit the Viktualianmarkt (food market) held since 1807 in the Square at the south end of the Old Town Hall, where you will enjoy the views of numerous stalls selling fresh vegetables, fruits, bread, cakes, meat and fish.
“Food and drink keep body and soul”, a German saying says.