19 Fun Facts You Didn't Know About Munich, Germany
“My stay in Munich was the scene of my complete liberation.”
Munich, Germany
Welcome to Munich!
Munich is one of Germany’s biggest and most popular cities to visit, and is home to two of our VoyEdge RX trips. Those being our Prague to Munich tour, and of course, our Budapest to Oktoberfest trip in the fall. On top of that, Munich is a historic city, from their football team, to dark past, Oktoberfest traditions, Germany beer purity laws, the 1972 Olympics and so much more. Some of Munich’s most legendary moments simply cannot be chronicled in one single blog post, but for today’s exercise, I wanted to take a few moments and detail some of the more quirky fun facts about one of my favorite Germany cities, Munich.
The Bavarian culture, the white-and blue flag, the traditional costumes, and the Oktoberfest are entities of a metropole which are often copied all around the world, but are home to Munich, or Munchen, as it’s known by the Germans. But exploring the city and getting to know its landmarks and history will only teach you a little bit about all that Munich has to offer (and their is A LOT), so here are some of our favorite fun facts about Munich that you probably didn’t know before this post.
Have something you want to add? Comment down below ‘As a Guest’ and let us know some of your favorite things about Munich. Let’s get to it!
Munich’s ‘Olympic Park’ where the 1972 Games took place
1) Munich is the southernmost major city in Germany, but it is farther north than any major U.S. city
Crazy. But entirely true. Check the image down below for a complete overlay of U.S. Cities to their European counterparts. Can you believe Denver is actually in line with ITALY!?
Mind-fucking BLOWN!
2) There are over 60 beer gardens in Munich
That’s a lot of places to drink beer. And no….we’re not just talking about those little dinky outside decks of a restaurant where you can drink a beer in the sun. We’re talking about real, live beer gardens.
3) Munich’s Technische Universiät (Tech University) has four-story slides to help students get to class faster
Where do I enroll? Here as a matter of fact. It’s now called the ‘Entrepreneurial University.’
4) Old Town Munich closed down it’s major streets for the 1972 Olympics to pedestrians only and they have remained that way ever since
Downtown Munich - no cars allowed
5) Oktoberfest is actually held in September (and ends in October)
But you knew that already, didn’t you? Oktoberfest typically starts around September 17th and lasts three weeks into the first weekend of October and celebrates the wedding of King Ludwig II. PROST!
6) There are SIX major breweries in Munich: Augustiner Bräu, Hofbräu, Löwenbräu, Hacker-Pschorr Bräu, Spaten-Franziskaner Bräu, and Paulaner Brauerei
These six breweries always have the biggest and largest tents at Oktoberfest, Springfest, and sometimes Starkbierzeit, the ‘Strong’ beerfest held in Munich in February. They are all bound to the Germany Purity Laws of more than 500 years ago and share the same brewing process, with minute differences and ingredients. These six breweries are often touted as having the best beer in the world, too.
7) Beer is actually considered a food in Bavaria
The 500-year-old Beer Purity Law still in effect today in Germany. It was decreed on April 23, 1516, by Munich’s Duke Wilhelm, protecting the country’s beer drinkers from contaminants, chemicals and any other additives that unsavory merchants might have thought of adding. It is still in effect today and dictates how beer is officially made in Bavaria.
8) The Englisch Garden in central Munich has beer tents, restaurants and a nudist area
Yep. Munich’s Englisch Garden is HUGE, and even has a nudist area in the summer. Turns out Munich can get pretty warm in the summer (above 90 F) and in the winter can get down below 0 F, so you will probably only see the nudists in the summer. Maybe in the spring, keep your eyes peeled. Or not.
Figured we shouldn’t post an image of it….for your sakes.
9) When the King Gustav of Sweden invaded Bavaria during the Thirty Year War, he threatened to burn and sack the city of Munich but agreed to leave in peace under the condition that the citizens surrender 600,000 barrels of Hofbräuhaus beer. – Source
Legendary. Beer conquers all. Fact.
10) Country Roads by John Denver is one of the most popular tunes played in the tents at Munich’s Oktoberfest. – Source
Literally no one knows why. Wonder if John gets any royalties. Keep your eyes peeled for it during Oktoberfest, Springfest and just all over Munich.
11) Mercedes-Benz and the Bundeswehr University of Munich created a self-driving car in the 90s that did not rely on GPS. – Source
The Germany are so tech savvy. True story, though.
12) The outside of the Allianz Arena in Munich changes color depending on what football team is playing there. – Source
An homage to all the teams coming to play in Munich. Too bad all the visiting teams probably lose, though.
13) There’s a river in the middle of Munich that’s a popular surfing spot. Surfers ride a standing wave about 1m high. – Source
Pretty cool, but you can actually walk about 5 minutes from downtown Munich and see these river surfers crushing various waves year round. Of course you need a west suit, but what’s a bro to do when he’s literally in the middle of Europe and has nowhere to surf?
P.S. Some of Munich’s best river surfers are female, too. The ‘damn’ was man-made so people could crush waves whenever they wanted. There is also often a line, so you might have to wait your turn…
Munich’s River Surfers….
14) 1. The oldest building in Munich is actually a bathroom
What a surprise! Usually one would expect the oldest building in a city or town to be a church. Not so in the case of Munich. During archaeological excavations at the Marienhof, workers found a latrine from 1260. The toilette was located outside the primary city gates, showing that the Munich of the 13th century was already bigger than historians had thought so far. Those Germanys are always in need of a place to go…..classic.
15) Munich is home to the oldest cinema in the world
The Neues Kino Gabriel is most likely the oldest cinema in the world. It has existed since 1906 and it’s been open ever since. The Guinness Book of World Records names the Pionier Cinema in the Polish Szczecin as the oldest cinema, however it wasn’t established until 1907. Munich takes the cake here in our book.
The Gabriel Theater
16) Munich is home to the BMW World Headquarters and they even have their own zip code
The well-established and popular car manufacturer BMW does not only have its headquarters in Munich, it even has the luxury of having its own zip code. The digits that no other address has are 80788. Closely situated to the 1972 Olympic Stadium, the BMW Factory (and Mini-Coper Factory) are both must-sees for anyone coming to visit Munich.
The BMW Factory in Munich, Germany. A must see for anyone visiting Munich.
17) Play-doh was invented in Munich
Plasticine is a modern integrant in any child’s toy repertoire. The fun for modeling was invented in Munich. Pharmacist Franz Kolb owned a pharmacy in the city, and his invention was intended for his artist friends, who had problems using modeling clay in the cold winter months for their work. Nowadays, it has moved past its intended purpose to become a constant companion to any person’s childhood.
18) Yes, the escalators pick up speed during Oktoberfest (and it’s funny to see)
Millions of people join the best-known festivity of Munich every year — the Oktoberfest. The management of such huge crowds is a challenge to the municipality and the tourism sector. One fun fact of how the city attends to the amounts of people that pass through it is the resetting of the escalator speed. In order to get people more quickly from A to B, the escalator speed is increased during Oktoberfest.
And now….an obligatory Oktoberfest fails compilation….thank me later.
19) Jimmy Hendrix smashed his first guitar here
The American guitar player and singer Jimmy Hendrix is still considered as one of the best in his field to have ever lived. He sadly even made it into the famous “Club 27”, a posthumous collective term for a group of talented musicians who died too early at age 27. One other thing than playing his guitar, that Hendrix is famous for, is the smashing of his instrument on the stage. He first included this act into a concert on November 9, 1966, when he was playing in the Munich club, Big Apple. RIP Jimmy.
So, that’s about it for my Munich fun facts!
I hope you enjoyed some of these and learned a few things about Munich before visiting this AMAZING city in an amazing country. Although Munich has had a dark past, there is a lot to love about this city and the people, too. As with any time you are traveling, treat locals and others with the utmost respect, dignity and interest and they will undoubtedly show you the same back. Munich gets a lot of tourists (especially during the Beer Festivals) so make sure to be the best possible ambassador and even share a few of these fun facts with your friends, family and people you meet along the way.
P.S. Need a few phrases before visiting Germany during the two beerfests? Use these down below and don’t forget to leave us a comment or two down below with some of your favorite things from this post!
~ Cam OUT