Remember Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Howie Morris and Carl Reiner on TV’s “Your Show of Shows?” In one classic skit, they portray mechanical Bavarian figures on a gigantic clock who suddenly revolve in the wrong direction, bump into each other and smack each other with hammers.
I stood beneath Munich’s Neo-Gothic City Hall on Marienplatz, the city’s central square. I peered up at the Glockenspiel tower and thought about that comedy skit. The crowd cheered as the Glockenspiel’s 43 bells rang, and knights – part of the clock’s 32 life-size mechanical figures -- jousted on horseback. The locals revere their Glockenspiel.
I know about many of Europe’s emperors, monarchs and kings, but knew nothing of Germany’s early rulers (electors) until I visited Munich’s exquisite royal palaces. Munich, the capital of the Free State of Bavaria, is rich with gorgeous architecture (from centuries-old churches to wondrous palaces), intriguing history and museums and artistic venues that rightfully make it Germany’s cultural capital.
The electors’ palaces are fabulous. Munich’s 130-room, 10-courtyard Residenz, a former medieval castle built in 1358 and home to Bavaria’s rulers, has a tunnel-shaped Antiquarium room
decorated with stunning ceiling frescoes and rows of marble busts, but there is more opulence at Nymphenburg Palace, the summer residence of the Wittelsbach electors. Here, a central mansion links to open arcades, pavilions and galleries.
It was here that King Ludwig I created his Gallery of Beauties – women he bedded and/or admired for their beauty. Their portraits hang on the walls. One portrait is of the infamous Lola Montez, whose affair with beguiled Ludwig drew the public’s ire.
Successor King Ludwig II admired King Louis XIV of France, so Ludwig II modeled his Royal Palace of Herrenchiemsee (New Palace) after Versailles. The palace’s State Staircase is an absolute decorative marvel; the Rococo-style Great Hall of Mirrors, which was lit by 1,800 candles, is lavishly exquisite. Ludwig II was deemed insane. In 1886, at age 22, he drowned; Rumors that he was murdered remain unconfirmed.
The English Garden (Englischer Garten) was Europe’s first public garden. It dates to 1789 when Elector Carl Theodor converted his riverside hunting grounds into a public park. It’s bigger than New York’s Central park and contains a Greek temple, Chinese pagoda with 7,000-seat beer garden, Japanese tea house and paths studded with gorgeous blooms and sixty bird species that had me snapping pictures non-stop with my camera.
Munich’s beergartens are where I found scores of happy and friendly faces as Bavarian-clad musicians played and people forked down sausages at picnic tables. The Viktualienmarket, a bustling outdoor market with produce and bread stalls and a maypole and fountains, also adds festivity to the urban landscape.
Munich swells with art and science museums, including the Glyptothek, an impressive neo-Classical-style museum of art and antiques. The city has its own ballet, symphony, opera, and film festival, and a new Jewish museum that is helping visiting adults and schoolchildren to understand the Nazi era and why it must never happen again.
There are a few quiet reminders of Hitler’s Munich, such as an empty lot where Nazi HQ once stood, and an-ultra-modern synagogue that replaces the one Hitler ordered demolished so that he could have a better view of the city, but this is overshadowed by Munich’s wonderful shopping, dining and cultural venues. It’s a beautiful, festive city.
Roberta Sandler is an award-winning writer/author. Her newest book is A Brief Guide to Florida's Monuments and Memorials, published by University Press of Florida. She and her husband live in Wellington, FL