The story of this place
Munich's main square has been the city's beating heart since Henry the Lion founded the town on the salt road in 1158. For centuries it hosted markets, executions and tournaments; the name 'Marienplatz' honours the golden Marian column raised in 1638 in thanks for the city's survival of Swedish occupation in the Thirty Years' War. The neo-Gothic New Town Hall dominates the square, its Glockenspiel re-enacting a 1568 ducal wedding tournament with 32 life-sized figures at 11 each morning. Marienplatz was heavily bombed in the war and rebuilt; in 1972 it became one of Europe's first pedestrian zones. It remains the stage for Munich's celebrations, protests and Christmas market.