Morning: St.Peter’s – Victuals Market – Isar Gate – Platzl
– Alter Hof – Max-Joseph Square – Residenz – Odeon Square –
Theatiner Church – Hofgarten.
Afternoon: Wittelsbacher Square – Amira Square – Maximilian
Square – Lenbach Square – Karls Gate – St.Michael’s Church –
Frauenkirche – New Town Hall.
An initial view of the city is afforded from ‘Alter Peter’, as
the locals call the tower of Peterskirche, one of Munich’s oldest
churches, whose origins date back to the 11th century. Together with
more than half the city’s buildings it was severely damaged during
World War II. When the demolition of the 91m high tower was successfully
prevented after the war, the way lay open not only for the retainment
and restoration of the church, but also for the wide-ranging
reconstruction of the entire inner city in accordance with ancient
documents.
From June 2000 onwards, the baroque ceiling-frescoes will once again
illuminate the church’s barrel vaulting, even if the designs of their
creator Johann Baptist Zimmermann were only partly available for the
restoration. For lovers of sacral music also, St.Peter’s is an address
worth mentioning, as the popular Masses by Mozart and Haydn are often
performed here on Sundays. 306 steps up the spiral staircase elevate you
to a height of 56 metres and to a wonderful view of the spires and roofs
of the Altstadt – the ancient heart of the city. In particular
on days when the Föhn wind blows, the ascent is rewarded: the Alps seem
to approach the city limits to form a super-dimensional row of ramparts.
The medieval nucleus of the old town lies at your feet: closely
built-up, with tight corners, roofs with turrets, bay windows and
dormers. If the ‘Alte Peter’ is Munich’s soul and the Town Hall on
Marienplatz her head, Viktualienmarkt, opposite the Rosental, is
her stomach. To Germans, ‘Victuals’ sounds old-fashioned – it
derives from a French term for foodstuffs, namely victuaille. A
farmers’market, originally called Kräutlmarkt (cabbage
market), has existed here since 1807 and was steadily enlarged over the
decades. To this day, stallholders get down to an early start and
arrange fruits and vegetables, herbs and spices, cheeses and wines into
displays resembling works of art. One of the seven statues adorning
the market’s fountain and called ‘Levitenleser’ shows Karl
Valentin (1882-1948) casting a sceptical glance over the market’s
bustle. More than 50 years after his death, the women vendors of today
still tuck fresh flowers under his arm.
Now follow Heiligenstrasse to reach the street called Tal (Valley).
In the middle age, carts heavily laden with salt rumbled down the light
gradient, leaving the town behind to cross the Isar bridge by the
Gasteig just beyond the ramparts. The valley lies between the Alte
Rathaus (Old Town Hall) with its gothic tower, and the triple-winged
Isartor (Isar Gate), both of them remains of the town’s
defensive system. The old town hall was both tower and gate of the
initial ramparts, while also the representatives of the citizenry used
to meet here later on. Today it houses the Spielzeugmuseum (Toy
Museum). The Isar Gate was built around the middle of the 15th century
when the town fathers considered themselves threatened by the Hussites.
Today the novel Valentin-Musäum is situated here.
Seeing the sights.
