The history of Munich dates back to 1158, when Henry the Lion established a market near a bridge over the Isar, marking the origin of the city. In 1255, it became the residence of the House of Wittelsbach and later the capital of Bavaria, gaining political and economic importance within the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th and 17th centuries, Munich developed as a center of the Counter-Reformation and saw significant architectural and cultural growth under rulers such as William V and Maximilian I. In the 19th century, under King Ludwig I of Bavaria, the city underwent extensive urban expansion and became a hub for the arts, architecture, and science, contributing to its reputation as a cultural capital. After World War I, Munich was the site of political unrest, including the short-lived Bavarian Soviet Republic and the rise of the Nazi Party, highlighted by events such as the Beer Hall Putsch of 1923. Following heavy destruction in World War II, Munich was rebuilt and emerged as a major economic and cultural center in West Germany and later reunified Germany.
Early history The river Isar was a prehistoric trade route and in the Bronze Age Munich was among the largest raft ports in Europe. Bronze Age settlements up to four millennia old have been discovered. Evidence of Celtic settlements from the Iron Age have been discovered in areas around Ramersdorf-Perlach.Klaus Schwarz: Atlas der spätkeltischen Viereckschanzen Bayerns – Pläne und Karten. München, 1959
The ancient Roman road Via Julia, which connected Augsburg and Salzburg, crossed over the Isar south of Munich, at the towns of Baierbrunn and Gauting.Wolfgang Krämer: Geschichte der Gemeinde Gauting einschließlich der Hofmarken Fußberg und Königswiesen nebst Grubmühle, Reismühle und Gemeinde Stockdorf sowie der Schwaigen Kreuzing und Pentenried. Selbstverlag der Gemeinde Gauting, 1949. A Roman settlement north-east of Munich was excavated in the neighborhood of Denning.Willibald Karl (Hrsg.): Dörfer auf dem Ziegelland. Daglfing-Denning-Englschalking-Johanneskirchen-Zamdorf. Buchendorfer, München 2002, .
Starting in the 6th century, the Baiuvarii populated the area around what is now modern Munich, such as in Johanneskirchen, Feldmoching, Bogenhausen and Pasing. The first known Christian church was built ca. 815 in Fröttmanning.Bernd Meier, Ludwig Maile: Heilig Kreuz Fröttmaning 815–1990. Kirchenverwaltung und Pfarrgemeinderat St. Albert, München 1990, S. 13–15.
Origin
The first medieval bridges across the river Isar were located in current city areas of Munich and Landshut. Henry the Lion, the Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, founded the town of Munich in his territory to control the salt trade, after having burned down the town of Föhring and its bridges over the Isar. Historians date this event at about 1158. The layout of Munich city, with five city gates and market place, resembled that of Höxter.
Henry built a new toll bridge, customs house and a coin market closer to his home, somewhat upstream, at a settlement around the area of modern old town Munich. This new toll bridge most likely crossed the Isar where the Museuminsel and the modern Ludwigsbrücke are now located.Peter Klimesch: Münchner Isarinseln – Geschichte, Gegenwart und Zukunft. (Zum nördlichen Teil der Museumsinsel mit dem Vater-Rhein-Brunnen.) In: Ralf Sartori (Hrsg.): Die neue Isar, Band 4. München 2012. .
Otto of Freising protested to his nephew, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. However, on 14 June 1158, in Augsburg, the conflict was settled in favor of Duke Henry. The Augsburg Arbitration mentions the name of the location in dispute as forum apud Munichen. Although Bishop Otto had lost his bridge, the arbiters ordered Duke Henry to pay a third of his income to the Bishop in Freising as compensation.Wolf-Armin Freiherr von Reitzenstein (2006), "München", Lexikon bayerischer Ortsnamen. Herkunft und Bedeutung. Oberbayern, Niederbayern, Oberpfalz (in German), München: C. H. Beck, p. 171, Deutsches Ortsnamenbuch. Hrsg. von Manfred Niemeyer. De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston 2012, S. 420.Fritz Lutz: Oberföhring. Zur 75-Jahrfeier der Eingemeindung Oberföhrings. Buchendorf: Buchendorfer Verlag 1988.
14 June 1158 is considered the official founding day of the city of Munich. Archaeological excavations at Marienhof Square (near Marienplatz) in advance of the expansion of the S-Bahn (subway) in 2012 discovered shards of vessels from the 11th century, which prove again that the settlement of Munich must be older than the Augsburg Arbitration of 1158.Archaeological Showcase at the Münchner Stadtmuseum: Discoveries from the Marienhof excavations (2011/2012). 7 November 2021.Ausgrabungen und Dokumentation – Vergangenheit aus dem Boden. Zweite Stammstrecke München. Deutsche Bahn Website, 5 May 2021 The old St. Peter's Church near Marienplatz is also believed to predate the founding date of the town.Christian Behrer: Das Unterirdische München. Stadtkernarchäologie in der bayerischen Landeshauptstadt. Buchendorfer Verlag, München 2001, , Kap. 4.2.1: St. Peter, S. 61–83.
Middle Ages
Almost two decades later in 1175 Munich was officially granted city status and received fortification. In 1180, with the trial of Henry the Lion, Otto I Wittelsbach became Duke of Bavaria and Munich was handed over to the bishop of Freising. Otto's heirs, the Wittelsbach dynasty would rule Bavaria until 1918. In 1240 Munich itself was transferred to Otto II Wittelsbach and in 1255, when the dukedom of Bavaria was split in two, Munich became the ducal residence of Upper Bavaria.
Duke Louis IV was elected German king in 1314 and crowned as Holy Roman Emperor in 1328. He strengthened the city's position by granting it the salt monopoly, thus assuring it of additional income. After outmaneuvering Freising, Munich was the principal river crossing on the route from Salzburg to Augsburg. Salzburg (vicinity) was the source of salt, and Augsburg was, at the time, a much more important city than Munich.
The growth of Munich was aided by its location on a gravel plain, where the Isar branched into multiple streams that in turn provided drinking water, defensive advantages, and power for many mills and industries within the city.
On 13 February 1327, a large fire broke out in Munich that lasted two days and destroyed about a third of the town.Bayerischer Architekten- und Ingenieurverein (Hrsg.): München und seine Bauten. BoD – Books on Demand, 2012, S. 48/49 Munich was rebuilt, extended and protected with a new fortification some years later. In 1349, the Black Death ravaged Munich and Bavaria.Wie die Pest die Münchner dahinraffte – Süddeutsche Zeitung (12. Dezember 2018), 13 December 2018 Philosophers like Michael of Cesena, Marsilius of Padua and William of Ockham supported Louis IV in his fight with the papacy and were protected at the emperor's court. After the citizenry revolted several times against the dukes, a new castle was built close to the fortification, starting in 1385. An uprising of the guilds in 1397 was suppressed in 1403.
Another devastating fire destroyed parts of the city in 1429. Since the town fathers considered themselves threatened by the Hussites, the fortification was extended. In the late 15th century Munich underwent a revival of gothic arts—the Old Town Hall was enlarged, and a new cathedral—the Frauenkirche—constructed within only twenty years, starting in 1468. The cathedral has become a symbol for the city with its two brick towers and onion domes.
Capital of the reunited duchy of Bavaria
After the extinction of the Landshut line of the House of Wittelsbach in 1503, the Landshut War of Succession broke out over its inheritance. It was resolved in 1505 by Emperor Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor with the "Cologne arbitration", which reunited the Bavarian duchies into a single Duchy of Bavaria with Munich as its capital. The arts and politics became increasingly influenced by the court. During the 16th century Munich was a centre of the German Counter-Reformation.
The Renaissance movement beset Munich and the Bavarian branch of the House of Wittelsbach under Duke Albrecht V who bolstered their prestige by conjuring up a lineage that reached back to classical antiquity. In 1568 Albrecht V built the Antiquarium to house the Wittelsbach collection of Greek and Roman antiquities in the Munich Residenz. Albrecht V appointed the composer Orlando di Lasso as director of the court orchestra and tempted numerous Italian musicians to work at the Munich court, establishing Munich as a hub for late Renaissance music. During the rule of Duke William V Munich began to be called the "German Rome" and William V began presenting Emperor Charlemagne as ancestor of the Wittelsbach dynasty.
Duke William V further cemented the Wittelsbach rule by commissioning the Jesuit Michaelskirche. He had the sermons of his Jesuit court preacher Jeremias Drexel translated from Latin into German and published them to a greater audience. William V was addressed with the epithet "the Pious" and like his contemporary Wittelsbach dukes promoted himself as "father of the land" (Landesvater), encouraged pilgrimages and Marian devotions. William V had the Hofbräuhaus built in 1589. It would become the prototype for beer halls across Munich.
The Catholic League was founded in Munich in 1609. In 1623, during the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), Munich became an electoral residence when Duke Maximilian I was invested with the electoral dignity, but in 1632 the city was occupied by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. In 1634 Swedish and Spanish troops advanced on Munich. Maximilian I published a plague ordinance to halt an epidemic escalation. The bubonic plague nevertheless ravaged Munich and the surrounding countryside in 1634 and 1635. During the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) troops again converged on Munich in 1647 and precautions were taken, so as to avoid another epidemic.
After the war Munich quickly became a center of baroque life. Elector Ferdinand Maria's consort Henriette Adelaide of Savoy invited numerous Italian architects and artists to the city, and built the Theatinerkirche and Nymphenburg palace on the occasion of the birth of their son and heir Maximilian II Emanuel, elector of Bavaria.
Munich was under the control of the Habsburg family for some years after Maximilian II Emanuel had made a pact with France in 1705 during the War of the Spanish Succession. The occupation led to bloody uprisings against the Austrian imperial troops followed by a massacre while farmers were rioting (the "Sendlinger Mordweihnacht" or Sendling's Night of Murder). The coronation of Max Emanuel's son elector Charles Albert as Emperor Charles VII in 1742 led to another Habsburg occupation. For a short time 1744–1745 Munich was the imperial residence again under Charles VII. The city's first academic institution, the Bavarian Academy of Sciences, was founded in 1759 by Maximilian III Joseph, who abandoned his forefather's imperial ambitions and made peace.
In 1777, Karl Theodor inherited the Bavarian lands. In 1785, he invited Count Rumford (Benjamin Thompson) to Munich to implement social reforms, including workhouses for the poor and army restructuring with improved conditions for soldiers. In the 1790s, Munich became the largest German city to remove its fortifications, starting in 1791 under Karl Theodor and Rumford. After 1793, citizens built new structures outside the former city walls. The English Garden was laid out—it is one of the world's largest urban public parks. By that time, the city was growing very quickly and was one of the largest cities in continental Europe.
Capital of the Kingdom of Bavaria