The City of Munich

In the summer of 1858, the city's earliest days 700 years earlier were thrust into the public consciousness for the first time. A long pageant chronicling the city's royal history paraded through its streets, offering residents an opportunity to bid farewell to their past. From the perspective of  the citizens, the celebrations heralded a new dawn, the establishment of the modern city of Munich. A new character– the self-confident "Monachia," the Roman name for Munich – was even created to personify the city and throw down the gauntlet to the royal court and the Wittelsbach dynasty as epitomized by the monumental statue of “Bavaria” built in the heart of the city. Under Monachia's wing, Munich gradually developed a new and unique profile, one framed by two elements from opposite ends of the cultural spectrum: art and beer. For the writer Thomas Mann it was this unusual "cocktail" that gave the city its unique character: "Two brothers from a family bearing a traditional, local name, one of whom might be a baker or brewer and the other a famous architect or sculptor – that's typically Munich!"

Themes explores in Monachiasaal
The birth of Monachia – The “Münchner Kindl” – Typically Munich – City of beer and art: beer drinkers, artists‘ pub, artists – Richard Wagner – Historicism – Art Nouveau – Made in Munich – The era of the Prince Regent – Angel of Peace – Exotic peoples – Schwabing in 1900 – Munich’s schools – Eccentrics