Interesting Facts

Munich, the Bavarian capital, is one of the largest and most important cities in Germany � due in part to the fact that the city is the headquarters of international companies, including Siemens and BMW.
Munich was founded in the ninth century near a Benedictine abbey. The town identified itself by taking the name of the monks (in German, "Monch" and in High German, "Muniche"). Since that time, the town's emblem has been a little monk.
Not only does Munich have a little monk as its symbol but also has the Frauenkirche, whose copper onion-domed towers dominate the skyline. The building, which inspired the legend of the Devil's footprint, is now used as the seat of an archbishop.
Fasching is the local term for a carnival tradition throughout western Germany and the southwest. The festival honors Shrovetide, the time just before Lent. Like America's Mardi Gras, the festival is a time of reveling and includes masked costume balls.
There are 110,000,000 gallons of beer brewed in Munich every year, earning the city the ranking of the third largest producer of beer in the world. Think that's surprising? Wait until you hear that most of it is consumed right in the town itself!
Munich's most famous celebration is Oktoberfest, which dates back to 1810 when the heir to the throne, Prince Ludwig, officially married Princess Theresa. Six and a half million visitors descend upon the city for the 16-day event, during which nearly five million tankards of specially brewed Wiesenbier is consumed each year.
In Munich, Corpus Christ is the most important religious holiday of the year. A large procession makes its way through the streets, which are strung with branches of young birch trees. The parade crowd is preceded by clergy and members of the religious orders, Roman Catholic representatives, Catholic student organizations, and people from the guilds of the city.
With any mention of Munich, the Alps usually come to mind. Despite being slightly lower in Bavaria than elsewhere, they're still quite impressive!
Bring your appetite with you when you come to Munich! It's not difficult to eat well for relatively small amounts of money. Generous portions of heavy food are par for the course in restaurants that specialize in Bavarian cooking.
NORM! Well, the beer gardens may not be anything like the bar in the American sitcom, Cheers, but one thing might be similar. Be sure not to sit at a Stammtisch � a regular's table. The consequence? You won't be served and the staff won't tell you, they'll let you figure it out for yourself!