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Home of Bavarian Kings

DW-TVMarch 19, 2014

The Wittelsbach dynasty ruled Bavaria for more than 700 years. Until 1918, Munich was home to the royal family. The influence their passion for architecture and for art had on the city is still visible to this day.

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Munich
Image: Fotolia/Clemens Strimmer

Spacious boulevards, magnificent buildings and squares make Munich a truly royal city that manages to combine traditional and modern urban life. The royal palace is located in the center of the city. The palace complex is an impressive example of museum of court tradition, with a gallery featuring over 100 portraits of royal ancestors, and Renaissance-era hall of antiquities nearly 70 meters in length.

Munich's famous Maximilianstrasse also owes its magnificence to the Bavarian kings. This boulevard still features a number of shops that hold royal warrants, still a guarantee of high-quality goods. The rulers were also very particular when it came to beer, and they created a Bavarian institution, the Hofbräuhaus, now a symbol of Bavarian beer-brewing tradition and joie de vivre.

Munich: Royal residence of Bavarian kings