 | Munich Profile |
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| | Munich: an enchantingly sophisticated city with a baroque spirit and with inhabitants possessing a singular sense of humor. This is, after all, the capital of "gemutlichkeit", the untranslatable tongue-twister that refers to a supremely cozy state of well-being. Travelers, of course, are drawn like a magnet to the city's fairy tale charm, superb museums and annual Oktoberfest. Munich has sometimes been referred to, by other German, as the "City with Heart". | | Originally named after the group of settler monks who set up shop by the crystal waters of the Isar River, Munich has at its core a huge pedestrian zone delineated at its far corners by gigantic gates or "Tors". The city's wide boulevards and tempting side streets spell paradise for historians, sight gazers, shoppers and gourmands. The colorful Marienplatz, in Munich's heart, is site of the magnificent gothic Rathaus, crowned with a working Glockenspiel of jousting, dancing figures. Just around the corner are the tantalizing aromas of the Viktualienmarkt (food market). | | The 19th century architectural treasures that ring the Marienplatz were commissioned by the beloved but somewhat unusual Wittelsbach Royal Family. They left behind a legacy of lovely palaces, wide boulevards, soaring statues and nearby fantasy Alpine castles - whose admission tickets, by the way, add substantially to state revenues. | |
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