Please click this link for Munich, Germany (Part I)
Marienplatz (Mary's Square) is located in the center of the inner city of Munich and has been the main square of the city since 1158.
The northern part of the square is the New Town Hall (Neues Rathaus). It was built between 1867 and 1908 in a Gothic architecture style. Second phase of construction dated from 1908.
Attached to the Hall is a tourist attraction in Marienplatz. The Rathaus-Glockenspiel chimes at 11am, 12pm and 5pm everyday re enacting two stories from the 16th century. It consists of 43 bells and 32 life-sized figures.
The top half of the story is about the marriage of the local Duke Wilhelm V to Renata of Lorraine. The bottom half of the story is about the dancing through the streets to bring vitality to fearful dispositions. The dance is a tradition in Munich every 7 years, the next one is in 2019.
Marienplatz was named after the Mariensäule, Mary's column.
A 11 meters tall Mariensäule was erected in the center of the square to commemorate the end of Swedish occupation during the 30 years' war.
The Frauenkirche church towers are visible on this photo.
A golden statue of the Virgin Mary, patron of Bavaria, is topped on the column. The statue stands on a crescent moon as the Queen of Heaven. The statue was originally inside the Frauenkirche (Cathedral of our Lady Church). In 1641, four putti added to the column. They symbolize fighting a different beast symbolizing the city's overcoming of adversities:
war represented by the lion
plague (basilisk)
hunger or famine by the dragon
heresy by the serpent
At the end of the 20th century, the 4 putti on the column were replaced by new models and the originals were moved to Münchner Stadtmuseum
Munich, Germany (Part III)
We had traveled by train from Salzburg to Zurich the following day, 12 June 2013. Please click this link for the post.
Europe Tour June 2013
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