It is here that the most cheerful and famous festival in the world is held, whose name is associated with beer. Is this the only reason to consider Munich interesting?
Munich is considered a symbol of European prosperity and stability. It is called the most comfortable city for living in Germany, so you may get the impression that you can die in boredom. We spread this myth.
1. Munich - the heart of the Bavarian beer garden
Germany is divided into federal states - analogues of states or subjects. The most drinking among them is Bayern: in the difficult matter of strengthening statistics, local residents are helped by tourists, it is here that visitors come to taste a variety of beers. The leadership of the region is so dependent on taxes from a foam drink that most of all in the world is afraid of riots and protest marches caused by the increase in prices for it. Discontent with this fact for the first time resulted in an armed conflict called "beer battle in the brewery Salvator in 1888.
2. In the organization of the Oktoberfest, Albert Einstein himself participated
The father of the great scientist kept an electric company in the city. The grown-up Albert worked in it as a student, selling and installing lighting equipment. One of his first major deals was the sale of lamps for the beer festival. Einstein personally installed and tested all the goods sold in the square during the preparation for the Oktoberfest.
3. The head of the city adopted a decree on the recognition of beer as food, not an alcoholic drink
German beer laws are considered to be among the most democratic in the world. Unlike most countries, where alcohol prohibitions are intended to reduce the sales of beverages, the German government is trying to instill in young people the culture of the right attitude towards a drink. In this case, there is a restriction on the hours of selling beer in stores. The Munich people managed to understate the bar of the requirements of the law: the mayor signed a decree obliging to equate some types of beverage with a low content of hops to foodstuffs.
4. Some beer restaurants offer to come with their own food
The ban on visiting catering establishments with their dishes is considered logical: it is clear that guests of the establishment in this case will not even touch the menu. Such a development of events can not be afraid only of the owners of restaurants and pubs, making a bet on a wide range of several dozens of beers. For example, Biergartenverordnung provides visitors with more than 200 types of beverages, which can be bitten by a stewed cabbage or pork shank brought from home.
5. Culinary business card of the city - white sausage
It's no secret that Germans consider sausage to be the main "accessory" to a beer mug. The inhabitants of the capital of Bavaria consider a tasteless usual sausage from a fat pork. They add veal, parsley, onion, lemon zest, ginger and cardamom. Tradition requires cooking sausage Weisswurst early in the morning: according to a common saying, "sausage is not allowed to hear the noon bell of church bells". Due to the completely natural composition and the lack of preservatives, it really spoils if you do not eat it before lunch.
6. Every year at the festival, someone loses dentures
The impact of alcohol reduces the concentration of attention in people - every year after Oktoberfest, volunteers collect 4,000 mobile phones, tablets, expensive jewelry. Starting in 2013, not a single event takes place, after which several sets of dentures would not have been found. Interesting is the fact that neither of them was approached by the owners.
7. Victims of Oktoberfest take custody of the Red Cross
At a festival dedicated to alcohol, no one is surprised by a hangover, headache or other signs of ill health. More than 7 thousand people yearly need medical help during the festivities. Representatives of the Red Cross decided to take pity on them: it's not the first year that a tent with beds and a mobile hospital has been set up on the Oktoberfest. Everyone can relax in a few hours, improve their health and continue the tasting.
And now - not about Oktoberfest.
8. The heart of Munich belongs to Asia
In the historic center of the city, German architecture was unexpectedly replaced by a corner of nature, decorated in the spirit of the East. English garden, the size of which exceeds Hyde Park in London and Central Park of New York is filled with sculptures created under the influence of Asian culture. It is divided into two parts: in one of them is a Chinese pagoda, in the other - a Japanese tea house.
9. Its inhabitants managed to deceive the devil
The main church of the city from 1525 is the Cathedral of Our Lady or Frauenkirche. Immediately after the construction on the threshold of the church, under mysterious circumstances, there appeared a big spot - the "black mark of the devil", whose history has reached our days.
The legend says that the sponsor of the construction was the Devil, who paid for the services of local masonry masters and cutting. The only wish of the customer was the lack of window openings in the building. The builders deceived the Devil by placing a tall altar in front of the windows, covering them from the eyes of anyone standing in the doorway. When he discovered the trick, he could no longer enter the sanctified church. Angry, Satan stamped his hoof, leaving a mark on the tile in front of the cathedral.
10. In Munich, Europe's largest film studio is located
Most of the tourist packages in Germany include a visit to Bavaria Filmstudios - a European analogue of Hollywood. This is the most expensive, large-scale, technically equipped film site, where at least 10 films are shot simultaneously at 365 days a year.
Visitors are shown all stages of filming and editing, are introduced to actors and directors, they are offered to appear in the role of extras. Recently, the ticket price included viewing any 4D pictures to choose from. But even modern technologies fade in front of the main pride of Bavaria Filmstudios - a sham city with narrow streets, cafes, attractions and shops, hardly distinguishable from the real ones.
11. Munich - the city of nudists
The morals of the local residents will seem to many to be too democratic: the Germans like to show off and do not see anything shameful in this. In the English garden there is a special zone reserved for civil servants, who want to take sun baths naked at lunchtime. In each region of the region you can find public gardens for the same purposes.