Munich
Bavaria's capital, a prosperous city beneath the Alps
Munich blends Bavarian tradition with serious wealth and an Alpine backdrop. Beer halls and the vast Oktoberfest grounds coexist with the headquarters of BMW and Siemens, baroque palaces stand near world-class galleries, and on clear days the snow-topped Alps shimmer on the southern horizon. The capital of Bavaria and Germany's third-largest city, with around 1.6 million residents, Munich consistently ranks among the most prosperous and livable places in Europe, conservative in dress yet thoroughly modern in industry.
The city sits on the elevated plains of Upper Bavaria, on the Isar River and at around 520 metres above sea level — high for a German city — roughly 50 kilometres north of the Alps. The proximity to the mountains gives Munich its crisp air and the occasional warm foehn wind that makes the peaks seem startlingly close. A continental climate brings cold, snowy winters and warm summers, and the Isar, the great Englischer Garten park, and nearby lakes lace the urban area with green and water.
Founded in 1158 by Henry the Lion beside a settlement of monks — whose name survives in the city's emblem — Munich became the seat of the Wittelsbach dynasty, who ruled Bavaria for over seven centuries and filled the city with palaces and art. It was the birthplace of the Nazi movement in the 1920s and rebuilt after wartime destruction. Today Munich is a powerhouse of German industry, finance, and research, a cultural capital, and the proud guardian of Bavarian identity.