Munich - Shopping Plates/Bracelets

Date of visit: 14th April 2014

Sea shells bracelet from Marientplats gift shop

It was very much important to bring back cutlery and/or knife from WMF outlets, which I thought would be plentiful around Marienplatz. In reality, only 1 outlet was operating in the square selling mainly cooking pot (which I already have). According to the salesperson, there are more choices in their store on the Kalsplatz (the other side of the square). Our group was too tired to walk, hence, I just bought whatever I can in a real frustration mode. The price, is not that much cheap compared in home city. Maybe, I would come back to German with my husband 1 day.

Deciding which plates to bring home in 1 of the Marienplatz gift shop 

I was first introduced to WMF brand when hubby selected my cooking pot sometimes in 2013. Though it still kept in the box at our store, we wanted to have a full complete sets of whatever WMF has in their store (you should check it's price to see how nonsense was my wishes list). Hubby and I, both fallen deeply in love with the brand, so, I set my mind to buy at least their cutlery sets when we arrived in Munich. I refused to buy when we went inside WMF shop in Vienna thinking that it would be much cheaper from it’s origin, it’s home. I was wrong. The price is a controlled items worldwide unless they have factory sales. 

WMF AG (Wurttembergische Metallwarenfabrik) is a tableware manufacturer, founded in 1853 in Geislingen an der Steige, Germany, by the miller Daniel Straub and the brothers Schweizer. The name translates to English as Wuerttemberg Metalware Factory. WMF was originally called Metallwarenfabrik Straub & Schweizer and was opened as a metal repairing workshop. Around 1900, they were the world's largest producer and exporter of household metalware, mainly in the Jugendstil, or Art Nouveau style. They are best known for the period of Albert Mayer, sculptor and designer, who was director of the WMF Art Studio from 1884 to 1914. You may find more details, choices and most importantly appreciation of how fine their products are from the official website WMF Home.

Another important things to bring home is the souvenirs from the famous German's Football club, Bayern Munich. My sister Rosnani and I spent quite a lot here, mostly for the boys. Make sure to have enough Euros because coming all the way to their origin, where their home based are, you must want to grab home an original items.

FC Bayern Munchen plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system, the most successful football club in German football history, having won a record 24 national titles and 17 national cups. FC Bayern was founded in 1900 by 11 football players led by Franz John. The club had its period of greatest success in the middle of the 1970s when, under the captaincy of Franz Beckenbauer, it won the European Cup three times in a row (1974–76). Overall, Bayern has reached 10 European Cup/UEFA Champions League finals, most recently winning their fifth title in 2013 as part of a continental treble. Bayern has also won one UEFA Cup, one European Cup Winners' Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, one FIFA Club World Cup and two Intercontinental Cups, making it one of the most successful European clubs internationally. Since the formation of the Bundesliga, Bayern has been the dominant club in German football with 23 titles and has won 6 of the last 10 titles. My favourite German’s footballer, Michael Ballack was with the club from 2002-2006.

One last stop was at the American's origin "Timberland" that has 1 outlet in Marientplatz. Anne has been mentioning her intention to shop there for days. She was happy when she bought her most comfortable, valued for money boot (she's wearing it in above photo). We spent the longest hour in the shop. And, my poor sister was too too tired by then from walking non-stop and rise very early that made her take a nap at the couch. I'm still feeling happy that we brought her along our tour. She was able to see her dream land of where her favorite Conqueror's Fateh's were crossing all the way from eastern Europe till the British city capital, London. It was all good and I pray she will always be happy in whatever state she was and whatever test she's facing in her business as well as with her second marriage.

Munich - Cathedral of Our Dear Lady, "Frauenkirche"

Date of visit: 14th April 2014

Photo by Bmdavll - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Munich_Frauenkirche.jpg

I didn't know anything about the Frauenkirche before we arrived in Marienplatz, Munich central square. It catches my eyes as soon as I spotted the 2 reminiscent towers from Marienplatz entrance point. At the time of visit, one of the tower was under maintenance and/or restoration, therefore 1 was covered. Due to weather issues and tiredness after a long walk inside Residenz Museum, the rest of the ladies would not support me should I asked them to asses the cathedral front view to capture the same angle of the above magnificent photo by Bmdavll. I hope, the photo owner would not mind that I use his work for this entry since I didn't get a chance to do so. 

The Frauenkirche means a Cathedral of Our Dear Lady, is a church in the Bavarian city of Munich that serves as the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising and seat of its Archbishop. It is a landmark and is considered a symbol of the Bavarian capital city. I was attracted to the 526 year old cathedral's twin towers which are widely visible due to it’s local height limits. Because of it's historical significant to the city, City Administration prohibits buildings with a height exceeding 99 m in the city center. Since November 2004, this prohibition has been provisionally extended outward and as a result, no buildings may be built in the city over the aforementioned height. The south tower is open to those wishing to climb the stairs and offers a unique view of Munich and the nearby Alps.

Right next to the town's first ring of walls, a romanesque church was added in the 12th century, serving as a second city parish following Alter Peter church (nicknamed 'Ole Pete'), which is the oldest. The current construction replaced this older church and was commissioned by Duke Sigismund and the people of Munich.

The cathedral was erected in only 20 years time by Jorg von Halsbach. Brick was chosen as building material due to the lack of a nearby stone pit, beside a reasons of a higher construction cost to export stone from outside. The red bricks minimise it's financial burden. Construction began in 1468. Since the cash resources were again exhausted in 1479, Pope Sixtus IV has granted an indulgence to support the continuity of works. The cathedral is in use for the last 526 years, therefore, the investment that has been placed by the late Pope Sixtus IV was paid off well in time.

Frauenkirche in the evening, photo copied from Wikipedia

The 2 towers, North tower height is 98.57 m and South tower is 0.12 m less were completed in 1488 and the church was consecrated in 1494. There was another financial crisis, the originally planned tall open-work spires so typical for the Gothic style could not be built and the towers had to stay uncovered until 1525. Hartmann Schedel printed a view of Munich including the uncovered towers in his famous Nuremberg Chronicle, better known as Schedel's World Chronicle.

By then, nonetheless since more and more rainwater irrupted through the two tower's ceilings, a decision was finally made to expedite the works, however in a much more budget constrant design. This way the building will get its famous domes atop each tower and the church became such a non-interchangeable landmark. Their design was modelled on the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, which in turn took a lead from late Byzantine architecture.

Besides from having another parish church, Munich had only 13,000 inhabitants but erected a simple parish church that was able to house a crowd of 20,000. The first has to leave away the church benches in the naves, something most unusual at that time and being a much later addition.

The cathedral suffered severe damage during World War II where the roof collapsed and one of the towers suffered severe damage. A major restoration effort immediately began after the war and was carried out in several stages, the last was told came to an end in 1994. The Frauenkirche was constructed from red brick in the late Gothic style. The building is designed very plainly, without rich Gothic ornaments.

This late Gothic brick building with chapels surrounding the apse is 109 metres long, 40 metres wide, and 37 metres high (the church coverage area). Contrary to a widespread legend that says the 2 towers with their characteristic domes are exactly 1 meter different in height, they are almost looks equal. The north tower is 98.57 metres whilst the south tower is only 98.45 metres, 12 centimetres less. The original design called for pointed spires to top the towers, much like Cologne Cathedral, but those were never built because of lack of money. Instead, the two domes were constructed during the Renaissance and do not match the architectural style of the building, however they have become a distinctive landmark of Munich. I would recommend anyone of you to climb the south tower should you have the opportunity to do so.

The cathedral can hold approximately 20,000 people, and Catholic Mass is still held here regularly. The interior of the cathedral, which is among the largest hall churches in southern Germany, consists of the nave and two side aisles of equal height, 31 metres. The arches were designed by Heinrich von Straubing.

Constructing a church with a capacity of 20,000 is surprising when one considers that the city only had about 13,000 inhabitants at end of the 15th Century. The interior does not overwhelm despite its size because the double-row of 22 metres (72 ft) high columns helps enclose the space. From the main portal the view seems to be only the rows of columns with no windows and translucent walls between the vaults through which the light seems to shine. The spatial effect of the church is connected with a legend about a footprint in a square tile at the entrance to the nave, the so-called "devil's footstep".

Much of the interior was destroyed during World War II. An attraction that survived is the Teufelstritt, or Devil's Footstep, at the entrance. This is a black mark resembling a footprint, which according to legend was where the devil stood when he curiously regarded and ridiculed the 'windowless' church that Halsbach had built. In baroque times the high altar would obscure the one window at the very end of the church visitors can spot now when standing in the entrance hall.

In another version of the legend, the devil made a deal with the builder to finance construction of the church on the condition that it contain no windows. The clever builder, however, tricked the devil by positioning columns so that the windows were not visible from the spot where the devil stood in the foyer. When the devil discovered that he had been tricked, he could not enter the already consecrated church. The devil could only stand in the foyer and stomp his foot furiously, which left the dark footprint that remains visible in the church's entrance today. Legend also says the devil then rushed outside and manifested its evil spirit in the wind that furiously rages around the church.

Some of the interior decorations were lost during the air raids of 1944, but there are still a large number of historic works of arts in the cathedral since most of those objects were brought to a safe location before the air raids took place. Some of the interesting works of art include a painting by Jan Polack from around 1510 and a retable by Friedrich Pacher from 1483.

I hope you guys may find it useful from what I'm sharing thus far, which mostly important for me to recall this place should I have a dementia issue in my old age. That was the main reason why I have to include the historical and the geographical overview of all the places that I visited. It's more for my future reference.

Munich - Residenz Munchen

Date of tour: 14th April 2014

After we have done with our shopping in Bayern Munich fan shop for the boys back home, we were heading towards the direction of Residenz Museuem using the city map as a guide. Initial thought was just to inspect how does the famous museum look from the outside. We did not plan to explore the huge palace museum. But, as soon as we arrived, the strong wind attacked us that can be felt to the deepest bones of our body. We quickly took shelter at the museum entrance and hang out there for a while. Anne suddenly dissapeared. I went to look for her and thereafter, she and I enjoyed the most funniest photo shoots with the Bavarian kings. The most memorable 1 was our stupid secret talks only to be known between the 2 of us when we checked the kings portrait 1 by 1.

A way to enter the museuem and a way to the courtyard, the place where we took a shelter from

Before I start sharing all historical notes of this awesome palace, let me first share our beautiful and funniest photo shots at the said courtyard. You may easily find the area on your left side of the entrance museum hall. The courtyard was where the museum staff placed all banners meant to show the museum's visitors the lineage of Bavarian kings. Anne and I were truly had our moments in this small cozy area while having our tiny secret conversations with the late kings which are now kept in a form of photo. It's beautiful anyway.

As time passed by, I decided to enter and see what was on displays at the museum reception. It later brought so much interest that urged me to see the beauty of it with my own eyes after I picked a tourist book of the palace collections from it's rack. Hence, I bought 4 entrance ticket for all of us as a treat to the rest of my travelling partners to show my gesture of appreciation (most importantly I will have a chance to view it's beauty in real life). With the tourist information device in hand, we entered the first area where the room is filled with sea shells decoration. It display story of the myth from the undersea. Later, we passed through a beautiful gallery (Antiquarium) with the whole wall and ceiling painted with stories from the Holy Books beside it's beautiful art decoration. The gallery is furnished with antiquities collection by the former Duke Albret V.   

The Munich Residenz or famously referred to as Munchner Residenz by the locals is the former royal palace of the Bavarian monarchs of the House of Wittelsbach in the centre of the city of Munich, Germany. The Residenz is the largest city palace in Germany and is today open to visitors for its architecture, room decorations, and displays from the former Bavarian royal collections.

The palace complex contains 10 courtyards and displays 130 rooms. The 3 main parts are the Konigsbau (near the Max-Joseph-Platz), the Alte Residenz (Old Residenz; towards the Residenzstraße) and the Festsaalbau (towards the Hofgarten). A wing of the Festsaalbau contains the Cuvilliés Theatre since the reconstruction of the Residenz after World War II. It also houses the Herkulessaal (Hercules Hall), the primary concert venue for the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. There is also a Byzantine Court Church of All Saints (Allerheiligen-Hofkirche) at the east side is facing the Marstall, the building for the former Court Riding School and the royal stables. For the record, our group was at the museum's area as touring the whole area would require full day.

The red room

The room that matches with my outfit

The first buildings at this site were erected in the year 1385 and were financed by the township of Munich as a sanction for a failed uprising against Stephen III (1375-1413) and his younger brothers. The Silver Tower (Silberturm), as the strongest bastion, was significantly situated next to the inner walls protecting the castle against the city. This sturdy new castle (Neuveste - new fortress), surrounded by wide moats at what used to be the very north eastern corner of the new double ring of walls, replaced the difficult to defend Old Court in the middle of the town as residence of the Wittelsbach rulers.

Chandeliers in Green Gallery

Antiquities and Painting collections dates from 17th to 18th century

The Dukes of the often divided country felt the urge to keep some distance from the frequently rebellious city dwellers at the one hand and for some defence against their warlike relatives at the other. As a result, they sought to build themselves a shelter impregnable and easy to leave (directly towards the glacis, without having to enter city lanes) at the same time.

The gothic foundation walls and the basement vaults of the old castle are the oldest surviving parts of the palace. The Residenz's development over the centuries didn't only take place out of its main centre, the Neuveste, but in addition grew out of several single parts and extensions, the first of which used to be the Antiquarium. Finally, after more than four centuries of development, the giant palace had practically replaced a whole former city quarter with barracks, a monastery, houses and gardens. It assembles the styles of the late Renaissance, as well as of Baroque, Rococo and Neo-Classicism.

Huge ancient Tapestry work hung on the wall behind

Visiting this kind of place requires patience and interest. If you are truly an antiquities lover, it's worth spending the whole day inspecting all collections on displays. But the most important room that you should enter is the 3D room (in below photo) where it was first destroyed during the World War II but rebuilt on 100% copied of it's original idea for us to see how creative the first artist was. Yes, to summarise, it was a tiresome adventure but worth the money that I spent for the ladies.

This is what it looks from the outside

Munich - Rathaus Munchen

Date of visit: 14th April 2014

In my opinion, the 147 year old Rathaus Munchen is a bit similar in it’s look to the 142 year old Rathaus Vienna. Both were built in a grandeur Gothic style for the same building function, i.e. a city hall. This New Town Hall, or in German is called Neues Rathaus is a town hall at the northern part of Marienplatz in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It hosts the city government including the city council, offices of the mayors and part of the city administration. The municipality shifted to the new complex in 1874 from the Old Town Hall, seated just across for its new domicile.

The most visible difference that I spotted, between the 2 is the famous show, Rathaus-Glockenspiel which attached in the main tower of Rathaus Munchen. It is a main tourist attraction in Marienplatz, where the whole show takes about 12 and 15 minutes long depending on which tune it plays on the day that you visited. At the very end of the show, a very small golden rooster at the top of the Glockenspiel chirps quietly three times, marking the end of the spectacle show. The show dates from 1908 when part of the 2nd construction phase of the New Town Hall begun. Every day at 11 a.m. (as well as 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. in summer) it chimes and re-enacts two stories from the 16th century to the amusement of mass crowds of tourists and locals. It consists of 43 bells and 32 life-sized figures. The top half of the Glockenspiel tells the story of the marriage of the local Duke Wilhelm V (founder of the world famous Hofbrauhaus) to Renata of Lorraine and the second story of Schafflertanz (the coopers' dance). 

Neus Rathaus was built between 1867 and 1908 by Georg von Hauberrisser in a Gothic Revival architecture style. It covers an area of 9159 m² and having 400 rooms. The 100 meters long main facade towards the Marienplatz is richly decorated. It shows the Guelph Duke Henry the Lion, and almost the entire line of the Wittelsbach dynasty in Bavaria and is the largest princely cycle in a German town hall. The central monument in the center of the main facade between the two phases at Marienplatz above the guard house, is an equestrian statue of Prince Regent Luitpold. The bay of the tower contains statues of the first four Bavarian kings.

The main facade is placed toward the plaza, while the back side is adjacent to a small park known as Marienhof. The basement is almost completely occupied by a large restaurant called Ratskeller. On the ground floor, some rooms are rented for small businesses. Also located in the ground floor is the major official tourist information. For the record, we did not enter the huge City Hall but merely hang out at its courtyard which were so so crowded with tourist coming from all over the world.

The first floor hosts a big balcony towards the Marienplatz which is used for large festivals such as football championships or for concerts during the Weihnachtsmarkt. Its main tower has a height of 85 m and is available for visitors with an elevator. On the top thrones the Mnchner Kindl. 

The Old Town Hall (German Altes Rathaus), until 1874 was the domicile of the municipality. Today, it serves as a building for representative purposes for the city council in Munich. The Old Town Hall bounds the central square Marienplatz on its east side.

The building, documented for the first time in 1310, had its Grand Hall constructed in circa 1392/1394. The former Talburg Gate of the first city wall serves as spire. The Old Town Hall was re-designed in late-gothic style by Jorg von Halsbach 1470-1480. The Grand Hall was decorated by the Morris dancers, created by Erasmus Grasser. After alterations of the facade during the Renaissance and again in the Baroque the building was restored in neo-gothic style 1861-1864. In 1874 the municipality moved to the New Town Hall.

For the passage of increased road traffic the Old Town Hall was tunneled in 1877 with a drive-through and a separate pedestrian's passage. On the second attempt in 1934/35, the aftermath construction  finally destroying the original ground floor. During World War II the building was severely damaged and the spire was reconstructed in 1971-1974. Parts of the neo-Gothic elements, especially the statues of Ludwig the Bavarian (west facade) and Henry the Lion (east facade) and the gable design are preserved.

Standing beneath the Talburg Gate

The Grand Hall was the venue for the speech of Joseph Goebbels on November 9, 1938 which is known as the prelude for the Kristallnacht. Kindly take note that my source of reference is majority from the Wikipedia website. We stopped for lunch in a cafe just opposite the Rathaus which serves good quality of food and coffee. You may do the same should you wish to save time. Being a Muslim, we went for a safer vegetarian meal. I'm sharing the photos of the restaurant, Rischart should you wish to stop there for lunch too, or maybe just to enjoy a nice brewed coffee while resting your foot from a long walk in a very long square of Marienplatz.