Frauenkirche, Munich

The Archdiocese of Munich and Freising (German: Erzbistum München und Freising, Latin: Archidioecesis Monacensis et Frisingensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Bavaria, Germany. It is governed by the Archbishop of Munich and Freising, who administers the see from the co-cathedral in Munich, the Frauenkirche, which is never called in German Munich Cathedral. The other, much older co-cathedral is Freising Cathedral. The see was canonically erected in about 739 by Saint Boniface as the Diocese of Freising and later became a prince-bishopric. The diocese was dissolved in 1803 following the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire, although a titular bishop ruled until April 1, 1818, when Pope Pius VII elevated the diocese to an archdiocese with its new seat in Munich, rather than Freising. The archdiocese is divided into forty deaneries with 758 parishes. Its suffragan bishops are the Bishop of Augsburg, the Bishop of Passau, and the Bishop of Regensburg. The most famous archbishop was Joseph Ratzinger, who was elected as Pope Benedict XVI. The residence of the Archbishops of Munich and Freising is the Palais Holnstein in Munich.

The Munich Old Town is part of the Bavarian capital Munich and has belonged to the city the longest, even if some places which are meanwhile districts of Munich, were mentioned long before Munich's documents spoke of the Old Town. The Old Town forms together with the district Lehel, the municipality No. 1 Altstadt-Lehel. The entire area of the Old Town is listed as both a historical ensemble as well as a historical monument listed in the Bavarian historical monument list.

Munich ( MEW-nik; German: München [ˈmʏnçn̩] (listen); Bavarian: Minga [ˈmɪŋ(ː)ɐ] (listen)) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg, and thus the largest which does not constitute its own state, as well as the 11th-largest city in the European Union. The city's metropolitan region is home to 6 million people. Straddling the banks of the River Isar (a tributary of the Danube) north of the Bavarian Alps, Munich is the seat of the Bavarian administrative region of Upper Bavaria, while being the most densely populated municipality in Germany (4,500 people per km2). Munich is the second-largest city in the Bavarian dialect area, after the Austrian capital of Vienna. The city was first mentioned in 1158. Catholic Munich strongly resisted the Reformation and was a political point of divergence during the resulting Thirty Years' War, but remained physically untouched despite an occupation by the Protestant Swedes. Once Bavaria was established as a sovereign kingdom in 1806, Munich became a major European centre of arts, architecture, culture and science. In 1918, during the German Revolution, the ruling house of Wittelsbach, which had governed Bavaria since 1180, was forced to abdicate in Munich and a short-lived socialist republic was declared. In the 1920s, Munich became home to several political factions, among them the NSDAP. After the Nazis' rise to power, Munich was declared their "Capital of the Movement". The city was heavily bombed during World War II, but has restored most of its traditional cityscape. After the end of postwar American occupation in 1949, there was a great increase in population and economic power during the years of Wirtschaftswunder, or "economic miracle". The city hosted the 1972 Summer Olympics and was one of the host cities of the 1974 and 2006 FIFA World Cups. Today, Munich is a global centre of art, science, technology, finance, publishing, culture, innovation, education, business, and tourism and enjoys a very high standard and quality of living, reaching first in Germany and third worldwide according to the 2018 Mercer survey, and being rated the world's most liveable city by the Monocle's Quality of Life Survey 2018. Munich is consistently ranked as one of the most expensive cities in Germany in terms of real estate prices and rental costs. According to the Globalization and World Rankings Research Institute, Munich is considered an alpha-world city, as of 2015. It is one of the most prosperous and fastest growing cities in Germany. Munich's economy is based on high tech, automobiles, the service sector and creative industries, as well as IT, biotechnology, engineering and electronics among many other sectors. It has the strongest economy of any German city and the lowest unemployment rate of all cities in Germany with more than 1 million inhabitants. Munich is also one of the most attractive business locations in Germany. The city houses many multinational companies, such as BMW, Siemens, MAN, Allianz and MunichRE. In addition, Munich is home to two research universities, a multitude of scientific institutions, and world class technology and science museums like the Deutsches Museum and BMW Museum. Munich's numerous architectural and cultural attractions, sports events, exhibitions and its annual Oktoberfest, the world's largest Volksfest, attract considerable tourism. The city is home to more than 530,000 people of foreign background, making up 37.7% of its population.

The Kaufingertor was one of the five city gates built around at the end of the 12th century, as the first city walls of medieval Munich. It was located in the west of the old town, approximately at the point where today's Färbergraben and Augustinerstraße meet on Kaufingerstraße.

The Bayerischer Hof on Promenadeplatz in the northwestern part of Munich is a five-star Grand Hotel. Established in 1841, it remains a destination for celebrities and guests of state in Munich. It is famous for hosting the Munich Security Conference and many celebrities.

The Arco-Palais is a commercial building in Munich's Old Town, Theatinerstraße 7, at the corner of Theatinerstraße / Maffeistraße. Together with the building at Maffeistraße 4, it forms a building block which is registered as a historical monument in the Bavarian Monument List.

The Rathaus-Glockenspiel in Munich is a tourist attraction clock in Marienplatz, the heart of Munich, Germany.

Munich Marienplatz is an important stop on the Munich S-Bahn and U-Bahn network, located under the square of the same name in Munich's city centre. The S-Bahn lines , , , , , and intersect with the U-Bahn lines and . The station is one of the most frequently used stations in the network, with up to 24,400 people transferring and 8,000 passengers entering or exiting each hour. In 2007, 175,400 people used the station daily on weekdays, including entries, exits and transfers.

The New Town Hall (German: Neues Rathaus) is a town hall at the northern part of Marienplatz in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It hosts the city government including the city council, offices of the mayors and a small portion of the administration. In 1874 the municipality had left the Old Town Hall for its new domicile.

Marienplatz (English: Mary's Square, i.e. St. Mary, Our Lady's Square) is a central square in the city centre of Munich, Germany. It has been the city's main square since 1158.

The Palais Porcia is a Baroque mansion in Munich, southern Germany, which served as residence for Count Fugger. It is Munich's oldest still existing Baroque style palace.

The Komödie im Bayerischen Hof is a large private theater in the Hotel Bayerischer Hof, Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Comedies, musical comedies, musicals and revues are performed in the 570-seat theater.