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Fischbrunnen

Mariensäule

Marienplatz is a central square in the city centre of Munich. It has been the city's main square since 1158

Marienplatz was named after the Mariensäule, a Marian column erected in its centre in 1638 to celebrate the end of Swedish occupation

Today the Marienplatz is dominated by the New City Hall (Neues Rathaus) on the north side

Marienplatz, the true heart of Munich has on the eastern side the Old City Hall (Altes Rathaus) and the Church of St. Peter, ones of Munich’s landmarksMunich (München) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Bavaria, on the banks of River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg, and the 12th biggest city of the European Union, with a population of above 1.5 million

The Old City Hall (Altes Rathaus) on the eastern side of Marienplatz

St. Peter's Church Altes Rathaus

Neues Rathaus

Frauenkirche

The blue small fountain, a popular meeting point where you'll always see people waiting for their blind date or other friends to arrive, is the Fischbrunnen (Fish fountain)

The original fountain (by

Konrad Knoll, 1884) was

almost completely destroyed in

1944. It was

reconstructed in 1954 by Josef Henselmann

(1898 – 1987)

The three butchers' apprentices are from the original fountain. Other three Knoll's original statues of music playing children, standing around the central column, are now in the Karlstor

The group of the three Musicians by Konrad Knoll (1865) was part of the old fish fountain which stood from 1884 to 1944 at Marienplatz and are now in the Karlstor

The sculpture of the fish is by Josef Henselmann (1898 - 1987) who reconstructed the fountain in 1954

Marienplatz is the true heart of Munich. In the Middle Ages, the square used to be a market place as well as the site where tournaments and festivities took place. In the middle of the square is the Mariensäule (Column of the Virgin Mary).It was erected in 1638 to celebrate the end of Swedish occupation during the Thirty Years' War and is topped by a golden statue of the Virgin Mary standing on a crescent moon as the Queen of Heaven, created in 1590 by Hubert Gerhard. The figure was originally located in the Frauenkirche

At each corner of the column's pedestal is a statue of a putti, created by Ferdinand Murmann. The four putti's symbolize the city's overcoming of war, pestilence, hunger and heresy

Hunger or famine represented by the dragon

Mariensäule in Munich was the first column of this type built north of the Alps and inspired erecting other Marian columns in this part of Europe

Heresy represented by the serpent

Marienplatz 2

War represented by the lion

Pestilence represented by the cockatrice

Statue of the Virgin Mary at the Marienplatz with the Frauenkirche in the background

Engraving on the Marian column of Munich: the date of the visit of Pope John Paul II

Text: InternetPictures: Sanda Foişoreanu Internet Copyright: All the images belong to their authors

Presentation: Sanda Foişoreanuhttps://plus.google.com/+SandaMichaela

Sound: Richard Strauss - Der Rosenkavalier, Op. 59 The presentation of the Rose - Lucia Popp & Brigitte Fassbaender 08.2

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